WHY HUSTLE HARD WHEN YOU CAN HUSTLE SOFT?

Ever wonder why the language surrounding business growth is so predictably aggressive? Sometimes it feels like everyone on LinkedIn is grinding, hustling, leveraging, drilling down, and, worst of all, making sure the juice is worth the squeeze. 

Considering that most of us chose the freelance life in pursuit of balance and autonomy, becoming the disruptors of our own work-life balance is a strange thing to celebrate. Yet, here we are, promising clients and colleagues 110% when we know full well that everyone only has 100%. 

It’s easy to get consumed by work when you’re self-employed, especially for remote freelancers who can’t physically separate from their desks by more than a few feet. We all want to create stand-out original work and translate our shower thoughts into brilliant strategies, but we’re quick to forget how essential rest, fun, and creative fuel are to our productivity. 

If you’re running on empty, this is your sign to stop and fill up. Here are some strategies for clocking out, managing stress, and cultivating a headspace that welcomes your next great idea. 

Build in Mental Health Days

If you’ve ever been someone else’s employee, you understand what it’s like to just need a day. As a solopreneur, you no longer have to get approval from an outside authority, dip into a dwindling PTO bank, or feign illness to win back some personal time — you are free to meet your own needs.

Of course, it’s important to honor deadlines and keep response times reasonable, but it’s equally important to build flexibility into your schedule. Block off a couple of days each month to knock out business-hour errands, rest your brain, and take care of yourself. Holding those blank spaces in your schedule is a great way to prevent the inopportune burn-out emergencies that can really harm your business.  

Feed Your Creativity

Not all freelancers are artists, writers, and designers, but we’re all creatives in our own way. Your business is based on your unique perspective and ability to solve problems, and that isn’t something you can effectively wring out of yourself if you have nothing left to give. 

Set aside time for activities that remove your creative blocks, even if they’re otherwise completely unrelated to work. Maybe you have your best ideas on long walks, at the gym, or while shooting the breeze with your smart, funny friends. That makes those things productive, so make time for them. 

Be Nice to Yourself

Imagine starting your own business only to discover that your boss is a jerk. While the occasional frustrating, labor-intensive project comes with the territory, freelancers are empowered to manage work in the way that feels best to them. 

Breakroom pizza wasn’t adequate compensation for mandatory overtime when you were traditionally employed, and it still isn’t. You are an expert on your own needs, and you know how and when you’re at your most brilliant. Give yourself what you need to stay in the zone, whether it’s a deadline extension, support from a subcontractor, or a nap. While it’s true that sometimes the only way is through, don’t be your own cruel taskmaster. 

Create Separation

When you’re your own entire company, it’s hard to truly feel done with work. So often we convince ourselves that we’ve been struck by inspiration when we’re really just laying in bed ruminating about a project when we should be sleeping.

Boundaries are the cornerstone of self-care, personally and professionally. Separate your business and personal email accounts, and utilize scheduling tools like Calendly to designate un-bookable days in your calendar so you can tap out without worrying that you’re missing out on new leads. Along the same lines, protect your sanity by establishing (and actually adhering to) business hours. 

If you’re not in a position to physically close your office door at the end of the day, create a routine for signaling to your brain and body that you’ve shifted gears. Cook dinner. Take a walk. Make martinis. You do you. 

Find Community

“Networking” has a sleazy undertone, and that’s probably why so many of us struggle to get excited about it. Somewhere along the way, networking got wrapped up in hustle culture, evoking transactional relationships with people you may need favors from or who may need favors from you.

Reframe networking as community building, and notice what changes. A softer approach to professional connections is usually the most effective, especially if you authentically want to meet people who will inspire you, build you up, and add important perspectives to your work. Pursue the opportunities that seem likely to put you in the orbit of people you’ll be glad you met — skip the rest. 

Don’t Be a Hardass

There is no glory in burnout. There’s no one around to praise you for coming in early or working late. Nothing is preventing you from trying out desk yoga, taking a dance break, or letting out a cathartic scream. 

So much is said about how freelancers can cope with isolation, and not nearly enough about how we can thrive in it. Give into the urge to do the silly-feeling thing if it makes you happy. Have ants on a log for lunch. Make a vision board. Meditate. Embarrassment requires onlookers, and your secrets are safe with us.

Find ways to honor your humanity — and all of the wants, needs, and limitations that come with it — in the work you do every day. You’ll be floored by all the ways that softness makes you sharper.