Don’t Believe in Hustle Culture

Workin' 9 to 5 / work hard play hard / good things happen to those who hustle...Let’s file those statements under “things I no longer believe in". In the last 3 years of building my freelance business, I've realised how damaging hustle culture is and how that has changed things.

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I went freelance, not only to pursue diverse passions but also to gain time freedom. And although becoming self-employed and starting your own small business isn’t a cakewalk (you need to put in the work), working yourself to the bone isn’t going to get you anything but burn-out.

Dark blue computer screen with browser window and light blue lock on the left, ladder in front of screen with tiny light blue blob person with backpack climbing, back to viewer — _{Design by Sonja Geracsek
Illustration by unDraw}

Rejecting Hustle Culture

It seems almost like a badge of honour for many, to say they wake up at dawn and stay up through the night working or “hardly getting any sleep” because they are so busy. In my day-to-day, I already feel I am tethered to my phone and I don’t like it. I feel drained after hours of looking at the screen. I reject the mindset that constantly working or being busy should be deserving of pride or praise.

If you want to achieve a goal for yourself, you need to put in the work to do it, that is true. But boasting about how exhausted you are due to your self-inflicted rat race, is neither healthy for yourself, nor any aspiring entrepreneur looking up to you.

Even I sometimes struggle with doubt, when I hear all these “successful” freelancers, small business owners and entrepreneurs preaching that in the first few years of your business, you have to put in the hours. I feel guilty sometimes, not following this trend and wonder if I am doing something wrong perhaps.

Success Looks Different

What makes someone successful? Often we listen to advice from individuals that we perceive as successful because they have reached a platform, where their voice can be heard. Meaning, they seem successful because they are popular. Perhaps they have a large following, a YouTube channel or podcast and therefore credibility for sharing advice. We often equal success with popularity. But success can look different to each one of us. Our success doesn’t have to mean, having lots of followers.

Browser window with two locks, an incrypted password window and an "access" button, ID card is being inserted above locks into a slot inside browser window, access button is about to be clicked by mouse cursor — _{Design by Sonja Geracsek
Illustration by unDraw}

In moments of doubt about my business choices, I remind myself of my personal success markers. For me to feel successful, means to have choices of projects I can work on, to have the time freedom of when I can work on them and to earn enough, to live comfortably. This doesn’t mean working for large or famous brands, it doesn’t mean hardly working and it doesn’t mean becoming rich. My markers of success may differ from other people’s markers, which is why I can’t compare my success to their success. We all waver in our conviction, but it’s important to remind ourselves what is important and refocus on our goals.

Gray circle with offset dark blue ring holding one light blue and multiple dark blue dot inside — _{Design by Sonja Geracsek
Illustration by unDraw}

Don’t Be Fooled

I’m not saying you can cherry pick your clients at first or that you can start working at noon and stop at 4PM, but setting boundaries, practicing self-care and knowing which projects will move the needle forward for your business (and which won’t), will be far more valuable than chasing the always-on entrepreneur lifestyle. There is definitely a warming up period, where things are tougher and you’ll have to make some sacrifices to achieve your goals.

But I try not to make those sacrifices affect my mental, physical and social health. I try to balance dream projects with purely commercial projects to make ends meet, I try to stick to a work schedule, so I can get things done but not at the expense of my health. If I feel I need to take a break or call it a day, I try to be non-critical with myself and practice self-care. I try not to prioritise work over friends and family, because those social interactions are what helps me get out of my own head and feel part of a community.

What’s something you’ve realised for yourself and left behind? Let me know in the comments!

– Sonja

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Great explained tips that every motion designer should know. Thank you :)

Great teaching style; very clear and thorough. Some very high level best practice advice in here too. Looking forward to the other two lessons in this series and the other classes by Sonja.

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Great contents and value in your channel ! ;) I have to recover the old streams on the motion side !

Love your stuff! I would love to see some short-form video content from you in the vein of tutorials or showcasing your workflow.

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That was a nice process to watch! Thanks for sharing.

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