For most of us, success won't just fall into our laps. Hard work is the key to getting far. That house, the car, the lifestyle, the satisfaction, the financial freedom, whatever it is you see as success will not happen without putting in the hours and the effort. That being said, there is a fine line between putting in the working hard and taking it too far. Let's talk about that.
I absolutely LOVE being a brand strategist, but it's still work. And work is work. It's frustrating, it's draining, and sometimes it's just a bore. It doesn't matter how much I love my business, 99% of the time, I'd choose relaxing over working. I'd rather be on a beach than in front of my laptop. And if you make me choose between bottomless brunch with the girls and doing the awkward 'waiting-for-the-audio-to-connect' smile on zoom, martinis will win every single time. I'm sure almost everyone can relate (and if you can't, replace the beach and brunch with whatever activity brings you joy and read again🙂). For the most part, working is the last thing I want to do, this is a fact. So why does it feel so wrong to say it? The answer is Hustle Culture.
Hustle Culture is "The Grind Don't Stop💯" and "I'll sleep when I'm dead" mentality. It's the idea that to make it or look like you're making it, you always have to be ‘making moves’. You need to always need be busy and you always need to be working hard. Hustle Culture says that you have to do everything in your power to make it happen, even if that means skipping meals and hours of sleep. It says that work comes first and that you need to forever chase the bag. For me, one of the worst things to ever come from Hustle Culture is the quote - "If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life". This is BS, by the way, because I love my business, but I've BEEN working🙄 (anyway, I digress).
My question is, when did we all decide to pretend to desire endless work? And, why are we so dead set on not letting the grind stop?
Hustling Is Not My Calling
For context, I'm a last-born child, and I worked retail for 3 years. I am the walking personification of getting by doing the absolute bare minimum. Husting has never been my calling. And for 21-years, I was doing just fine. But when I stumbled into entrepreneurship, I found myself with a lot to do and not enough time to do it. My schedule was suddenly full, with meetings, consultations, client work, content creation, reading, research, networking and building my brand - the list is endless, but you get the picture. All of the entrepreneurs I looked up to said the same thing; 'To get anywhere in life, you have to work hard', 'Always give 110%', 'Never stop working', etc. I definitely agree that hard work is necessary. But this mentality perpetuates a very unhealthy view of work in many entrepreneurs, myself included.
There are many days when the clock strikes 5, and I realise I’m yet to eat breakfast. And forgoing sleep to complete tasks has become second nature. Sometimes I’ll say that I gave up a life of 9-5 to do a life of 24/7 instead, and I’ll laugh and move on like it's normal. To be honest, my business has taken over my life, and it holds my thoughts captive. Whilst someone is telling me about their day, I’m wondering whether I have enough content scheduled. Instead of enjoying the music I’m listening to, I’m mentally drafting an email to my accountant. My happy go lucky self has been conditioned to believe that I (or at least my mind) should never stop working, and I hate it.
WHY. CAN’T. THE. BAG. CHASE. ME?
I don't know about you guys, but my dream job is to just get paid. As much as my entrepreneurial brain is always in work mode, the bare minimum babe in me is still alive and kicking. What I really want is no work, no effort, just a paycheque. I want to be just like the people in Daniel Mac's TikToks who drive around in their nice cars and look confused at the mention of a job. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I, too, aspire to quit and to be genuinely perplexed by the notion of labouring for the beautiful things I own. If we’re being real, I don’t want to chase the bag, I want the bag to chase me.
I desire to live a life where I’m not exchanging my time for money. The goal for me is to work on my business and not in my business. My pinnacle of success is complete financial freedom from passive income. But all this time I’ve been doing everything in my power to micromanage every aspect of my business. Hustle Culture led me to think that true success was no days off. That the only way to make it was to never stop. The day I let go of other people’s perceptions of success, was the day I truly began working towards my success.
The thing is, I’d probably be making a lot more money if I stopped taking time off and doing the things I enjoy, but to me, that’s the opposite of success. Having a balanced life that allows me to do what I love whilst still taking care of myself and spending time with the people I care about is my definition of success, and I’m living it. Don’t get me wrong, I still want the Range (a Sport in Carpathian Grey or Santorini Black in case anyone ever wants to gift me😇). I would love a house worthy of an Architectural Digest feature, and the thought of travelling the world brings me joy. I will continue to work towards that. But the real goal is to enjoy my freedom and my time. I want to choose when and how I work and still have the time to do whatever the heck I want.
So much good can come from deciding to press pause. Personally, some of my best and most creative thinking happens when I’m not pressuring myself into constantly churning out work. I believe that this is the case for most of us. Only when we have a balance between work and play can we truly be great. This is why it’s time to dismantle ‘Hustle Culture💯’.
The Myth That is Work/Life Balance
Twitter is full of posts like these.
Stay on the TL long enough, and you'll start to believe that the only way to be successful is to work really hard 24/7. Many entrepreneurs will tell you that there’s no such thing as a work/life balance when you’re building your business. This is something that we’ve been conditioned to believe, but I don’t think it’s true. Work/life balance isn’t a monolithic concept. For some people, work is life. It’s what keeps them going, and rest is optional. For the majority of us though, rest is needed to avoid burnout. Building something sustainable takes a lot of work, but that work shouldn’t take over your life. Hustle Culture will convince you to take no days off and keep going. This is a one-way ticket to physical and/or mental collapse.
In my opinion, Hustle Culture plays a huge role in burnout among a lot of entrepreneurs. There isn’t enough emphasis put on the importance of rest in helping us stay in a state of equilibrium. Why? Because we’ve all been led to believe that a state equilibrium doesn’t exist for entrepreneurs. We’re told that your business coming before, eating, sleeping and anything else is just a part of the process. This, coupled with our warped perception of success, has led many of us to desire to be perceived as someone who is working themselves into the ground. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you just unhealthy and unsustainable that is. Balancing work and life is something I believe that we are all capable of, no matter what point we’re at in our journeys. It just requires deep introspection, effort, commitment and a mindset shift.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
There are many ways to live a more balanced life. The first is to let go of the belief that hustling is the only path to success. Don’t let the internet and social media fool you into overworking yourself. If there's one thing coasting through life has taught me, it's that you can achieve great things without doing too much. There's always a quicker and easier way of doing things. When you let go of the hustle mentality, you’ll realise that there's a more efficient way to do things. I learnt this the hard way. Don't be like me. I'm telling you now, excessive work isn't some kind of badge of honour. No one will clap for you for taking the long way round; all people really care about is results. I find that many entrepreneurs (again, myself included), like to look busy for external validation. But busyness doesn't equal productivity. Doing more doesn't mean you're progressing. The goal shouldn’t be to work harder; it should be to work smarter.
How to work smarter:
Be frugal with your time:
Only invest your time in the tasks that give the highest return. Anything that doesn't contribute to the ultimate goal shouldn't be on the to-do list (at least not your to-do list). This leads me nicely to my next following points.
Outsource the small tasks:
All of your extra tasks should be outsourced. For things like admin, hire a virtual assistant. If you're like me and you can't afford to, hire one of your cousins as an intern for work experience and mentorship.
Keep your To-Do list short:
3 tasks short. (Almost) Every week I outline the most important goals for that week. Every day, I write a 3-task to-do list to work towards those goals. Instead of filling your to-do list with arbitrary tasks to make you look busy, keep it to 3 tasks. This helps with staying focused, doing the things that matter, and avoiding overwhelm. Anything that isn't on that list doesn't need to be done. (Note: this doesn't mean I don't do other things. If I can do more, I will, but only after completing the top 3.)
Don’t be a lone wolf:
The results don’t count more if you achieved them alone, I promise. Doing everything yourself just to be ‘self-made’ will slow your progress and tire you out. Instead, focus on growing a network of people who are skilled in different areas and utilise them to help you grow. Don’t just take from them though, make sure you’re a valuable asset to them in exchange for their help and expertise.
So, it’s true that hard work is the key to getting far. There’s no disputing that. I’m not for one minute suggesting that you should use this newsletter as an excuse to start slacking. But this desire to have a lot on your plate so people think you’re ‘eating good’ is a recipe for disaster (pun intended😌). I believe there is so much more to life than grinding. The sooner we let go of this ‘endless hustle’ mentality, the happier and more fulfilled we will all be. Working hard doesn’t have to mean overworking yourself. Swapping busyness for productivity and realising that success doesn't have to come from stress and exhaustion helped me, and I hope it helps you too. Now, I prioritise regular breaks, a normal sleep schedule, eating all my meals and working towards building a business that I don’t need to micromanage. Letting go of Hustle Culture was the best thing I ever did, for me and my business. You should do it too.
Love it. Let the bag chase me. Some gems were dropped in this. Definitely food for thought ♥️