Today we’re talking about the importance of taking breaks from your side hustle. When you’re super driven and have a big goal in mind, it’s really easy to get caught up in
Somehow I caught a cold this week… And when I was an employee, before I started my side hustle, even though I always felt a little guilty taking a sick day, or maybe like people would think I was faking it, the rare times I did actually call off sick, I would actually rest. I’d stay in bed, napping off and on in between binge-watching whatever show I was into at the moment and snuggling with my old dog, Gracie Bear.
Then I started my side hustle, and everything changed. If I caught the nasty cold that was going around the office, I’d just work from home. I’d lay in bed with my laptop and get caught up on email, blog post, and social media. I’d check my work email and answer phone calls.
It creeps up on you, the nonstop working. I know it has for me. There’s always something that can be done to fill the white space. Always email to be checked, social media messages to be answered, blog posts to write.
And then it just blends in and becomes a part of you. Which if you love it, it doesn’t really feel like work. And I love it. It feels nothing like the work I used to do as an employee.
When my friends and family tell me I work too much, I always respond by saying, “What’s the difference between me sitting on the couch watching Netflix and me sitting on my couch watching Netflix and answering emails?” Not much, in my opinion.
I wake up, I pick up my phone and check my email immediately. I don’t answer anything right then, but I do delete the junk, read the good stuff and say “Thank you, Joann” or “Thank you, Alex” to any sales that came in overnight.
I practice gratitude for my inboxes and all the little treasures that are in there because otherwise, it can feel like an albatross around my neck, all the people that are waiting for a response from me.
When I’m walking my new dog, Scarlett, I’m listening to podcasts, audiobooks or recordings of old coaching calls with my business coach. Same thing when I’m driving anywhere, or cleaning. Even grocery shopping, I pop in those earbuds. I feel asleep listening to a book, and my ears have been tender for a couple of weeks….
Whenever we are driving anywhere that’s more than 20 minutes away, I set up a mobile office. I bring my laptop, tether it to my iPhone hotspot, and work away. Last Saturday, we were driving to the lake to go boating with some friends, a route we drive pretty regularly, and I happened to look up and see a big warehouse with a huge parking lot and I said to my husband, “When did that get there?” and he said, “Seriously? They started building it a year ago. You haven’t looked up from your laptop in the car in over a year.”
When I was side hustling I was working 40 hours a week at my day job, and honestly, probably another 30 outside of that on my side hustle. But again, those 30 extra hours were spent doing who knows what before – watching garbage reality TV and hanging out at happy hour after work?
So it’s confusing to my family why I’m still working 70 hours a week when I don’t have to. When I only have one “job”. And I could cop out and say I love what I do and it doesn’t even feel like work – which is the total truth – however, it still takes a toll physically.
My eyes constantly feel tired from staring at my laptop screen or my phone. They feel heavy inside and underneath, and after a particularly long laptop session, like on a “lazy” Saturday or Sunday, they feel like they have sand in them.
My brain runs a thousand miles an hour and is always thinking about what I should or could be doing right now. When it’s time to switch gears from work to family I often find myself distracted.
And when I jam pack my schedule on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, I’m all keyed up when my husband gets home and have a hard time stopping work and unwinding and relaxing.
So this week, I had a meeting in the morning, and then when I got home in the afternoon, I just felt totally off… My body felt run down, I felt exhausted and I started to feel tenderness in the back of my mouth, you know where your nose and mouth meet? That’s how I know I’m getting a cold.
And at that moment I thought, if I don’t work this afternoon, it throws my whole plan for the week off.
But then I had another thought – If you don’t take some time to take not only a physical break, but also a mental one and give your eyeballs a rest too, you’re going to make this worse and get even farther behind.
So I made a different choice. I laid in bed, snuggled with Scarlett, and dozed off to the Mind of a Chef on Netflix. For like, 6 hours. I did check email and answered a few client questions, but otherwise, I just vegged out.
So if you’re anything like me, and you’ve found that you’re constantly in Go Mode, I want you to know that it’s okay to take a break from the hustle. It’s not going to derail your whole entire master plan.
Especially if you’re sick. Or if you’ve just not taken any time off leading up to a big project – plan to take some time off. Your brain needs the break and you’ll function better for it.
In fact, if you’re anything like me you might need people to help hold you accountable to taking breaks from the hustle.
My husband is really good at this with me. When he gets home and we have plans and it’s clear to him that I’m deep into something, he’ll say to me: “I need you to find a stopping point.” This weekend, a friend texted us and invited us out to the lake, and when he asked me if I wanted to go I said, “No, I’m in the middle of something, I’m making good progress.” And Floyd agreed, he was cleaning out the garage so he said “Yeah, I have a lot to get done around the house too,” but then 10 minutes later he comes back in and goes, “Change of plans. Go get ready. We’re going to the lake.” And I’m SO GLAD we did, because we finally taught Scarlett, our LAB who has been afraid of water, to swim! She’s like, a real dog now.
You also might need to take a really hard look at the work that you are doing and ask yourself: Is this something that actually needs to be done? Is this income-producing? Should I be the one doing this? Is this something that I can outsource?
But the trick is, and this is something that I haven’t quite figured out yet, is to not fill that white space you create back up with other projects. And that’s why it’s so important to have a larger vision, focus and a plan so that you’re always clear on what needs to be done versus working just to keep your mind occupied or your adrenaline flowing.
Even though I called this podcast Pep Talks for Side Hustlers, I actually don’t believe in working every single waking moment… I think it’s really important to have a work/life blend – but I also know that if you’re not careful, it can creep up on you like it has for me.
So what about you? Do you feel like you have a good work/life/side hustle blend going on? What have you done to make sure you’re getting enough down time? I’d love to hear from you!
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