Tips to Pause Hustle Mode and Slow Down
In our society, we’re taught that if we’re not being productive, we’re being lazy. This fear of laziness can affect our mindset towards relaxation without us even noticing it.
But if you don’t give yourself time to decompress, you’re more prone to burnout. The problem with burnout is that it negatively affects your creativity, motivation, and mindset – the things you need to do good work in the first place.
Defining Hustle Mode
Justin Anderson defines hustle culture as “the belief that one must spend every waking moment fully exerting themselves to become successful.” If we’re not doing something…ANYTHING, we start to feel like we’re being lazy.
Burnout is real and it affects your creativity, motivation, and mindset. If you’re in hustle mode, you might be making things more stressful for yourself because your mind is constantly in a state of overwhelm.
Hustle mode doesn’t give you much time for self-reflection or the opportunity to learn and implement new things.
Do you need to slow down?
One way to know that you’re stuck in hustle mode is if you feel useless when you’re not doing something. Do you feel guilty if you take a break or don’t get your to-do list done?
5 Tips To Pause And Slow Down
1. Notice when you’re inspired by hustle culture
When you’re scrolling through Instagram or reading books for personal growth, notice if you feel inspired by someone’s hustle. It’s obviously not a bad thing to be inspired by other people working hard. But you also need to be smart about your strategy. It’s important to do things with intention, not just because you think they should be on your to-do list. Think about ways you could find a better balance between action and relaxation.
2. Check yourself when you think “I need to do more”
Where does this thought come from? Are you trying to prove something to someone? Realize that you don’t need to do EVERYTHING. You’re already doing enough. If you can train your mind to stop thinking you need to do more, you won’t feel as overwhelmed.
3. Adjust your daily routines
Create space in your day that separates your workday from personal time. Do something for yourself in the morning before jumping into emails first thing. At the end of the day, do something that signals it’s time to let go of work (take a bath, go for a walk, etc) and try not to do any work after that.
4. Schedule in blank time
Add a blank time block to your schedule at least once a week (better yet, once a day). You don’t have to include any particular tasks or plan it out to a T. Block it off and know that it’s your time to spend doing anything but work.
5. Journal it out
To better understand your relationship with hustle mode, you may need to dig deeper into your mindset around self-worth and productivity. Here are some journal prompts to write about:
What about being productive makes you feel good? How do you feel if you’re not being productive?
Who inspires you in the business/work world? What type of lifestyle do they lead?
What would your ideal work-life balance look like?
Do you feel like you need to DO something to be worthy? How are you worthy outside of work? How are you valuable in this world beyond your work?
I hope this post has encouraged you to step away from the hustle mentality or at least try to find a balance between being productive and letting yourself relax.
Here at Inbloom, we believe that offering a Virtual Corporate Mindfulness Meditation Session to your team will make a big difference in their day. Email us and we’ll discuss!
Reference:
https://mindworks.org/blog/what-is-walking-meditation/