Tackling hustle culture in your twenties
Hi, I'm Saff, founder of Twenties Legacy; before I begin, let's connect on LinkedIn.
If you haven't heard, working your life away is out.
Work-life balance is in.
Since the COVID pandemic, more and more individuals are taking their own lives into their own hands.
Working 10 hours + days is unnecessary.
HERE'S MY DISCLAIMER before I get any moaners.
If you genuinely enjoy working long days and carry on into your weekends, you keep at it. Suppose you feel like that's how you're growing your business, freelance career, creator audience etc. Then, I get it.
I'm talking to those who haven't been told that you don't need to live this way.
You don't need to sacrifice time with your friends, family, travelling and ‘ME TIME’ to work continuously on your career.
Clients have said to me, "But I'm a small business. I won't grow otherwise".
Well, actually it could - even if it's a little slower.
But trust me, many businesses out there have become very successful from working smart.
You can do this by being productive.
You must have heard that if you give yourself 5 hours for a task, it'll take 5. If you give yourself 2, it'll take 2. It's the same with working hours.
If you're disciplined and tell yourself you're only going to work 7 hours today, you will. But, if you set no finish time in mind, you'll drag your feet a little, get distracted, and find a way to increase your workload. You'll end up working 10,11,12 hour days.
This is a shout out to all the business owners, freelancers, side hustlers etc., in their twenties.
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BUY INTO HUSTLE CULTURE AND BURN OUT, YOU DON'T NEED TO.
Yes you should push yourself.
Yes you should try hard.
But remember it's important to take care of yourself too.
Side note - if you're looking to become the most productive individual (ever), James Clear transformed my LIFE.
How many business owners can you honestly say are happy with working those hours or that it even works out for? Even Jeff Bezos said he doesn't take meetings before 10:00 AM, as he likes to eat breakfast with his family, enjoy his own company and then get to work.
If you implement these disciplines and strategies early on, you will find a way to make your business successful within those parameters. I've had other business owners get angry at me because I chose not to work all hours of the day and at weekends.
But guess what, it never made my business fail. And, I've always performed well in my work for my clients. If you read my introduction blog, you will know that I bought into hustle culture. It made me ill, unhappy, and so burnt out.
You can read my story on being burnt out here.
My Advice
Now listen, I'm not saying you can work 3-4 hours a week on a business that's your sole income or that you want to turn into a 6-figure business. You do have to put the hours in and work hard.
What I'm saying is you don't need to exhaust yourself every day.
You can take breaks and days off.
You don't need to work 10+ hour days.
There's more to life than that.
AND! A happy, calm, and energised business owner is a productive one.
How much good work can you do if you're overtired, burnt out, and fed up with the constant workload?
Being a business owner, freelancer, creator or side hustler means working the hours that suit you. You shouldn't let clients and customers tell you what you should do. As long as you show up, you're making sales or performing well for your clients, then why should you not have the choice?
You do!
It's not easy working 'normal' hours as a business owner, especially in your twenties.
You want to travel, see your friends/family, and enjoy life.
So, why make it harder on yourself?
Have you taken the risk of being self-employed for freedom? Yes. So, it doesn't make much sense to imprison yourself in business. At the end of the day, I can't tell you what to do, nor should anyone else. I'm letting you know that you have a choice.
The choice is all yours.
Buy into hustle culture or not, do what makes you happy. I read an excellent blog here on identifying hustle culture and how to break away from it.
Do what keeps you earning to live a happy life.
I felt like the young self-employed needed to hear that.
I felt like you all needed the reassurance that it's ok to have 'me time', it's ok to work fewer hours and to take breaks.
Hey, this is at the start of the journey. It would be cool if you would follow the social platforms and join the Facebook Group.
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