How long have you been hustling?
Maybe the better question is – how long have you been overworking?
As a high performer, hustling has become a lifestyle for getting things done and taking on more than is humanly possible or realistic. It’s causing people to feel stressed out, exhausted, overwhelmed, anxious and this can all lead to burnout.
There are so many quotes that glorify husting. Company cultures often encourage it after all, they have a financial benefit of paying you to do the jobs of 1.5-2 people. And if you’re an entrepreneur – you’re told to hustle so you get there faster. Regardless of how you got stuck in the hustle, know this – the hustle is a SHORT TERM solution.
You can do anything for a SHORT
period of time.
When it comes to hustling, you want to look at what are you personally losing by being stuck in the hustle?
As an entrepreneur with over 2 decades working as a Spiritual Medium & Mentor, I spent a lot of time in my career hustling – which really is just a glorified way to say I was overworking and even more specifically, I was proving my worth. I’d push myself so hard that something would happen to literally force me to stop and slow down. I did this twice before I finally realized – ah, I can’t do this anymore -and I haven’t.
My first hustling aka overworking experience happened my freshman year of college. I was working 3 jobs to put myself through school and I got mono which meant bedrest for weeks and I had to go back into work slowly with a full course load.
You’d think I would have learned, but I didn’t. I kept pushing myself in my work as a Spiritual Medium and Mindset & Energy Coach to help more people. When I wasn’t working with my clients, I was working at a spa to help more people. I was also helping my husband in one of his businesses. Plus I’m a mom and stepmom so if the school needed help, I was there volunteering. I was on a fast path to burnout but I injured myself first – I tore my Achilles Tendon and that forced me to rest my ankle for weeks.
It took me years, but I finally realized that when I push myself to do more, be more, help more, make more, more, more, more…the person I’m really hurting is myself. Can you relate? How is hustling or overworking affecting you? How is it affecting your relationships?
When I used to hustle, I didn’t let it affect my family time or time with my husband. So what did it affect? My personal time. I didn’t have any and most of my clients come to me doing the same thing. I would take time out of my sleep or things that I really wanted to do for me. And of course this just led me to feeling overwhelmed and exhausted with a tinge of bitterness – but I was the one creating this reality for myself.
How do you go from Overworked to Living?
There are 4 areas I like to help you focus on shifting. I could spend hours talking about this, so I’ll give you 1 tip for each section that you can start implementing immediately.
1. Time
The best way to get more time is to create a work/life balance. Not some imaginary, mystical idea but create boundaries around the time and energy you put into your work whether you work for someone or you’re an entrepreneur.
Create boundaries around your work and don’t let it go into your personal time. Work your allotted work hours and be done. There really isn’t a reward for you to go over and beyond. If you keep overworking, you seem to be the one rewarded with more work that others can’t or won’t do. When you’ve done your work for the day, you’re done until the next day.
2. Relationships
The second area is RELATIONSHIPS. Make time in your schedule to spend with people that bring you JOY. Spend time with people that you love doing things that make you happy. Your memories will last a lifetime, so make lots of fun ones. You’re here for more than your work – no matter how much you love it or how good you are at it.
3. Energy
The third area is ENERGY. Make self-care a priority daily. Often high achieving women say, well I get my hair and my nails done. NO- this isn’t giving you back energy. Think of self-care as a way to recharge your energy. Get enough sleep at night, take naps when you need them, eat the right food for you, exercise, energy work and meditation are all things that will help you recharge. Think – does this give me energy or drain my energy.
4. Mindset
The fourth area is MINDSET. I know – your mindset is amazing – except your mindset is what is driving you to overwork and hustle. What is driving or pushing you to do more? Why do you push yourself so hard? Why are you the one who gets it all done when no one else can? Get to the root of what is driving you so you truly can relax and live this amazing life you’ve worked so hard to create.
My passion truly is helping high performers and achievers to go from overwhelmed and overworked to operating at your next level. You can schedule a Connection Call with me to see how I can support you in achieving this.