Chill As Hard As You Hustle

If you want to make more money, be more productive, stay healthy, and not lose your mind, then it’s essential to chill as hard as you hustle. The simple idea is to take care of yourself, but here is my method for avoiding burnout and quickly recovering when burnout happens.

I gotta admit, it’s been a crazy past 6 months and this week I completely burnt out. Fizzled. Hit the wall. Shut down. It happens to me a few times a year. Are you an entrepreneur? While entrepreneurs are particularly susceptible to burnout, it’s unfortunately getting more common for all of us.

When burnout hits you

All of a sudden I go from moving 120 miles per hour to 0 without warning, and once it starts coming, there is no stopping it. I gotta ride it out. It’s the same feeling every time, my mind starts to get a little fuzzy and my eyes start to lose a bit of focus. I feel tired, but like a restless tired, where I can’t actually get to sleep. Then it hits me and down I go, I’m on the couch in the fetal position for a few days, not able to move, think, or even watch TV.

You know that too-tired-to-watch-TV feeling right? It’s the worst. I rise out of it the same speed I came into it and after 2-3 days, I start to feel like myself. By day 5, I am back to 120 mph, vowing to take better care of myself, slow down, and chill as hard as I hustle.

Honestly, it’s a pretty unhealthy way to live, but I have been actively working hard (working hard to chill?) over the past few years to cultivate more balance in my life. Unfortunately, I am addicted to working and creating.

It’s my nature. I am happy when I am building things, but sometimes it’s very hard for me to stop. I let my body stop me when I should be stopping myself. Thankfully, I am getting better at this and burning out less and less.

All of these steps should help you avoid burnout or bounce back from it when it happens.

5 steps to avoid burnout (or bounce back from it)

1. Learning to say no

The simplest way to avoid burnout is learning to say no. Burnout comes from being overwhelmed, doing way too much, or scientifically a lot of it has to do with an overwhelmed endocrine system.

Most things in life, from spending and saving to eating healthy, are about balance. Finding that equilibrium state where you feel good, happy, productive, and like yourself. When you swing too far in one direction, you inevitably lose one, if not all four of those things.

Slowing down often comes back to learning when to say no. As you get more successful, the world opens up more opportunities, which, when you’ve worked so hard to get them, it’s even harder to say no to some of them. But the word “no” will save not only your time, but your mind, your health, and your balance.

2. Be honest with yourself and others about your limits

chill as hard as you hustle

Unfortunately, we live in a burnout culture. It’s celebrated, rewarded, and pretty messed up. Sure, I’m all about the hustle and the side hustle but how hard you work should be your choice, and it should ebb and flow in balance with other areas of your life.

At many companies, employees are expected to stay late, work weekends, and be reachable 24/7. I recently had a client who reached out to me and asked me if I was okay because I hadn’t emailed her back in 2 hours – this was at 9 pm in the evening BTW.

I was like, uh, I’m cool, just stopping to eat some dinner. I’ve found myself doing the same thing and getting impatient if I haven’t heard back from someone I emailed only 24 hours before. It’s an unhealthy way to live–for you, for me, for all of us. But thankfully, it feels like the cultural standards are starting to shift, if ever so slightly, from hustle to balance. But balance is a privilege and many people living paycheck to paycheck just can’t afford it.

When you do burnout, be honest with yourself and others around you. Slow down and tell everyone else in your life you need a break and that are you are disconnecting. No matter how hard your boss or anyone else in your life tries to get you to keep going, don’t. It’s your health and your life. You are only responsible for yourself.

Also, be honest with yourself about your own limits and realize that your work capacities are going to change depending on what else you have going on in your life and how old you are. I am starting to realize that while I can work almost harder than anyone I know, I can’t work as hard as my 25-year-old self. Sometimes I try to kid myself and pull an all nighter, but my body then takes almost a week to recover. The same goes with traveling–I am more conscious of the flights I book and how I travel to minimize burnout. The older you get I am finding, the more important balance becomes.

3. Do no work – not 50% or 30%. 0%. Nothing. Completely disconnect

When you feel like you are on the verge of burnout, slow down immediately and stop everything. Most likely, it’s already too late and at this point, you need to focus on minimizing the burnout time frame and focus on recovery.

Too many people, myself included, make the mistake of trying to do less work, but we keep working. There is always one email to respond to, or blog post to write, or meeting. But this is a mistake and will only make the burnout worse. You need to stop everything you are doing and quite literally shut down your life. No calls, no emails, no flights. Nothing. The more you try to do, the longer and more severe the burnout is likely to be. The more you try to do also significantly increases the chances that you will get physically sick, which could sideline you even longer or potentially be dangerous.

When you burn out, your body and mind are literally telling you to shut down, so that is what you need to do. You need to shut it all down. Close the curtains, crawl into bed or a nice couch, or if you are lucky, sit in a hammock in the backyard or on a beach, and let yourself melt away. Do this as long as needed until your mind is able to focus again, your body feels balanced, and you start feeling like yourself.

4. Eat super well and stay hydrated

Eating healthy and staying hydrated will help you both avoid burnout and recover faster if you hit it. When you feel crappy, you crave crappy foods. While it’s okay to have a little bit of comfort food, you should make sure that you eat healthy enough and stay hydrated so your body can start to heal. When I start to burn out, I drink green juice and carrot juice and stay hydrated with water and some coconut water.

It all really helps you feel better and ward off sickness that can often follow burnout. When your body is burnt out and run down, your immune system is inevitably compromised and it’s super easy to get sick. The green juice, carrot juice, coconut water combination works for me every time. It’s all about nutrients and hydration.

Sure, feel free to indulge in some comfort food, but make sure it’s balanced by healthy food and you will recover a lot faster.

5. Take walks and get fresh air

Yes, I know that I told you to chill out and do nothing, but you should go for walks and get some fresh air if you can. While you might not be able to go for walks right away, they definitely help with burnout recovery and reconnecting you to the real world. Getting outside for just 20 minutes a day is healthy and will speed recovery. Being outside also makes you feel more alive.

When I burnout, I take my dog for a walk and move slowly. It always helps me reconnect with myself and establish a calmer rhythm. While getting outside and fresh air can help with burnout, they are also essential in preventing it.

I tend to find the more walks that I take, the calmer I am in my everyday life. I walk to and from my office. I walk my dog and when I travel, I take walks every morning. Moving slower, getting outside, and finding a calmer rhythm help me cultivate balance, reset, and avoid burnout.

Conclusion

Burnout is serious, unsustainable, and unhealthy. It wreaks havoc on your body and your mind. When you are honest with yourself, by setting limits and saying no to cultivate balance, you will feel better, make better decisions, and form stronger connections. These are all essential to achieving long-term success and happiness.

It took me a long time to learn this, but now I know how essential it is to always chill as hard as you hustle.

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  • Comment Author image blank
    Hey Grant, Burnouts are the worst, I know just what you mean, 120 to 0 with no warning, then you have to figure out how to get back up to speed. I'm a big fan of getting outside, I'm from the Evergreen State, there's lots to see in the outdoors here, I find myself walking around a lot when I don't want to do work, and I need to learn to say no more, I get so many tasks built up, but I always eventually get them done! I also find on the days that I don't drink enough water, I get tried much quicker and want to be done, I will try staying more hydrated when I work! Great Post!
    • Grant Sabatier
      Thanks Kenny
  • Comment Author image blank
    Hey Grant, I need to do a much better job at this. Even when I'm attempting to "disconnect" and be with the family, I'm constantly checking my phone. Not for the day job, but for my blog. Not always, but it does take away from time with my wife and son. Not really the type of father that I want to be. That said, I do have a lot more time with my son than most fathers do. So, I do try to take advantage of those moments when I'm hanging out with him in the pool, taking walks, or putting him to bed. At work, I run on my lunch 2 to 3 times per week. So, that allows me to get some "non-child chasing" exercise. And I do bring a 64 oz. UnderArmor jug of water to work every day. That helps me stay hydrated. Healthy eating is another story ...
  • Comment Author image blank
    I find it hard to avoid burnout because when I feel on my game, I just want to keep going before the energy goes away. But the constant "going" inadvertently brings on the burnout. Sometimes it really is better to do less so you can do more. Staying hydrated is the idea that seems to help me the most. - you'd think drinking would just come naturally, but I guess when you get busy, it's just not a priority.
  • Comment Author image blank
    In the moment we feel like we need to keep working through the times we feel down, like we're at least getting more done. But really if you aren't regularly resting, you're diminishing your ability to be productive. Regular rest produces way more results than constant effort. Good stuff!
    • Grant Sabatier
      Thanks!
  • Comment Author image blank
    Great post. Saying "no" is probably the hardest though. Stopping and thinking about what you are giving up before saying yes is crucial to making a smart move, Still, its hard to turn down opportunities.
    • Grant Sabatier
      Thanks Ian
  • Comment Author image blank
    Great advice. I think we all work so hard sometimes that we forget to "stop and smell the roses" sometimes. Remember to take a break is a really important part of being an entrepreneur. The idea that you can't stop because you won't be successful is just wrong. Without taking a break you suffer burnout, just like you said, and this can cause more damage to your business than if you were just proactive by slowing down every now and then.
    • Grant Sabatier
      Thanks Joe
  • Comment Author image blank
    I remember hearing a statistic about how most of the people leaving management consulting firms (notorious for crazy hours and intense travel/work schedules) were quitting with over 2 weeks of paid time off. That study made me realize early in my career that I needed to be vigilant about how "balanced" my life is and make sure I take the time off that my company offers.
    • Grant Sabatier
      Taking time off is so important. I know one guy who left and had 2 years of vacation left! Wha??
  • Comment Author image blank
    This is such an important point to make! We're all hustling toward our goals at 1000 mph. But what's the point of getting there when we "destroy" our health in the meantime. R&R is a crucial part of success! Thanks for touching on the subject.
    • Grant Sabatier
      Thanks for appreciating ?