You are likely familiar with the term hustle, especially, as it pertains to your life as an entrepreneur. But hustle isn’t the only thing to consider when you are trying to be truly productive, you must create and maintain a rhythm of hustle and rest in order to increase your productivity while decreasing that dreaded B word… burnout.
And that’s what today’s episode is on, I’m talking about how to stop burning out while still getting stuff done. I’m sharing my rhythm to do so: the hustle and coast rhythm.
Let’s dive in.
Big Takeaways:
- Discover why I actually don’t have a problem with the idea of hustle.
- Understand the steps to take to create your own hustle and coast rhythm.
- Learn what you can do today to stop burning out while still getting stuff done today!
Links in this Episode:
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You are likely familiar with the term hustle, especially as it pertains to your life as an entrepreneur. But hustle isn’t the only thing to consider when you are trying to be truly productive. You must create & maintain a rhythm of hustle & rest in order to increase your productivity while decreasing that dreaded B word – burnout. And that’s what today’s episode is all about.
My Issue With Hustle
I don’t have a problem with the idea of hustle. This idea of buckling down and doing the work. I love that and I do think that work ethic is necessary in entrepreneurship. BUT that isn’t what ends up happening.
So, here is the problem I have with hustle. Hustle now means a 24-7 hustle mentality where you spend years or decades paying dues, staying up late, getting up early, putting in your 10,000 hours or whatever, neglecting the responsibilities you have and the people who you care about, basically hating your life for an extended amount of time for the hopeful promise of it all paying off in the end.
uh… no.
If I know anything as a productivity coach, it’s that time is a finite resource meaning once you use it, it’s gone, no getting it back. And most importantly, people aren’t sitting around waiting for you to pay them attention, so while you are hustling giving your business all your attention, your partner is growing older, resentful, and further apart from you. Your kids are going from being cut 2 year olds to 22 year olds who no longer need you or want to snuggle on the couch. Your parents are going from vivacious, travel partners to home bodies or worse— they aren’t here at all anymore.
I know you know the study where a hospice nurse asks all her patients what their biggest regrets are on their literal death beds, and I have never seen a single one where they said I wish I woulda worked more.
And the brilliant part about my telling you all this is you don’t have to sacrifice productivity to enjoy your life and vice versa.
Why You Don’t Have to Sacrifice Your Family or Your Productivity
And here’s why:
Productivity isn’t doing more, it’s getting more done that moves the needle on what’s important to you. Not efficiency but effectiveness. Not how many things can I check off my list, but how impactful are the results I’m generating on pushing me closer to where I wanna be faster?
Ans as a productivity coach, I can honestly say that true productivity is sustainable. And sustainable productivity means that you are able to more towards your goals faster and easier because you are consistent.
Productivity is a practice, not a one-time destination. As entrepreneurs, we are what we consistently do meaning that our routines around our lives and businesses & daily habits dictate our success.
If you are busy & running the 24-7 hustle race, sprinting toward the finish line, you are going to run out of steam much faster than if you moved forward strategically, resting and recharging when it made sense. Because running a business, living your life, isn’t a sprint.
Because energy ebbs & flows and the idea here is to capitalize on the flows and ride out the ebbs, working with natural energy waves rather than fighting them. (I talk about this a bit more in episode 033, so go check that one out next if you are interested).
So that is why I suggest creating a hustle & coast rhythm to follow.
What is a Hustle & Coast Rhythm?
Let me explain: I live in northeast Oklahoma which does have some hills to it. I know that surprises some people because Oklahoma is supposed to be flat plains but where I am at, there are hills. And when I would run every day on the same path I would run up and down those hills. Going uphill required a bit more effort to get to the top of the hill but running downhill was pretty easy, kinda like coasting on a bike downhill.
I like to think about my daily, weekly, monthly, and even annual rhythm in this way. Some parts of my day are intense and require significant effort and some parts are easy. Same for my weeks and my months and yes, even my year. In fact, in August, I worked significantly less than in July, both in my business and the other aspects of my life.
Creating a hustle & coast rhythm will allow you to maintain momentum & avoid burnout while planning ahead to be productive & move the needle in your business & life.
But there is more to this too.
Rather than guessing or overestimating what you can accomplish in a given time-frame and then getting disappointed when you don’t live up to those unrealistic expectations, falling into guilt or shame, etc., what if you knew with pretty good accuracy, what you could accomplish in any given day, week, or month and that your cup was filled too?
That would make planning easier, give you an accurate timeline of things that matter to you, and leave you feeling like an accomplished badass because you actually get it done and spend time with your awesome fam. Boom, better mental health, better relationships, moving forward on your goals, and confident A.F.
This is what a hustle & coast rhythm can provide you. And it makes space for that downtime or coasting so you can minimize the guilt. If coasting is part of the overall productivity plan, it is your responsibility to live it! No questions asked.
So you may be like, okay, I’m on board.
How do I create this hustle and coast rhythm?
- Get curious. Start to recognize your own energy level ebbs and flows. Play detective and map out when you feel energetic and when you feel a lull. Document everything.
- Make a plan. Determine if you need more coast time or more hustle time and make shifts to make it happen. Maybe you need more quality hustle time to make a bit more room for coast time. Hit up episode 033 where I talk all about 3 areas to work on to up your energy.
- Optimize. Start playing with the rhythm and making small tweaks to it.
This rhythm can be applied to a full calendar year, a month, a week, and even a day. Think about it. You likely already have a rhythm even if it isn’t an intentional one. You likely are your most productive either early in the morning when no one is awake, after your partner has left for work and the kids are at school, or after everyone else is in bed. Monday’s are a total drag but Tuesday is a total jam and by Friday, forget about it.
I talk a bit about monthly cycling in episode 033 so check out that episode next.
You can even apply this to an hourly basis. That is what the Pomodoro method or other focused action/break methods are all about.
Action Step:
I always like to end each episode with an action step that you can take right now to help you move forward and begin to implement immediately. Here is your action step for this episode: Map out a possible hustle & rest rhythm. What would be an experiment that you can run over the next week to live that hustle & coast rhythm?
