Hustle Less, Live More

If you said this to me a couple of months ago I would’ve looked at you, gobsmacked in disbelief. Hustle less and live more? Definitely not! I used to believe that good things come out of hard work – and in some instances it is true – but I took it all too seriously. I started to compare myself to more “successful” people and thought that I wasn’t good enough. ‘I had a breakdown’ was an understatement as I found myself crying in my sleep because of how ‘unsuccessful’ I was while I was on my second honeymoon in Amsterdam. Yep, on a holiday where things should’ve been super romantic and carefree.

I knew that I needed to change my mind-set about my life and the way I view the hustle as the toxic thing that it really is. Hustling has become an obsession in our society and I got caught up in it all. So here’s how I’m trying to hustle less and live more…

Know that balance is a unicorn

I’ve been trying to find balance my whole life but, as Jenna Kutcher said, balance is a unicorn. We are never going to achieve balance in our life so the best thing to do is just go with the flow and do our best. I’ve been going out a lot more recently as I realised that most of my weekends were spent working – whether that’s creating posts or artwork – and it makes me feel so much happier. I still allow myself to do blog/design stuff but I don’t feel that sense of urgency anymore. I’m just taking life as it comes. Who knows, maybe next month I won’t feel so outgoing and would spend more time doing work but I won’t beat myself up over it.

Channel my inner Ran Kotobuki

It’s crazy how much impact the Gals! manga has on me, and I thought I’d give Ran Kotobuki a mention as she’s one of my biggest inspirations. Not just in fashion, but on her outlook on life. She doesn’t stress about the fact that she needs to schedule tweets or about the amount of likes she gets on instagram – she just wants to have fun! I’ll be writing more in my next post on the impact that Gals! has on me, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Sweater: Primark / Jeans: Boohoo / Accessories: Glavil by TuTuHa and Primark / Shoes: New Look

“Now, for real gals, the golden rule is ‘seriously have fun living!’ Devote yourself to being flashy! Devote yourself to having fun! Devote yourself to smiling big!” – Ran Kotobuki

Find the best time

My best time to work is really early in the morning, as I view my weekends as how-many-things-can-I-do-before-my-hubby-wakes-up. Once it hits the afternoon I switch off from drawing/blogging and spend the rest of the day going out and doing stuff before winding down in the evening.

Accept that not everything can be done

Did you know that I also design and have an etsy shop as well as blog and work full-time? Yep, I’m multi-passionate. It sounds exhausting and that’s because it is. I get so overwhelmed with juggling everything outside of work but now I’ve accepted that I can’t do everything so I’m going to close down my etsy store. Maybe one day I’ll bring it back, but for now I am going to focus solely on my design and blog.

It sounds like a challenge to hustle less and live more, but I’m going to try my best!

What do you think about the hustle? What methods are you adopting to hustle less, and live more?

Love,
Lizzie xx