Let’s talk about how to create a work schedule that’s anti-hustle, so you can create a life that’s not about rushing, hustling, pushing, or forcing your way through.

The world is finally waking up to what’s important (thank you pandemic!) and when you become intentional, you can create a work schedule that lights you up, from the inside out.

And—that doesn’t mean sacrificing your revenue goals!

A little story to start:

Back when I worked in corporate, my anxiety would kick in on Sunday, knowing that tomorrow—Monday—I’d be back in my suit, full face of make-up, pin-straight hair, ready to command meetings and conversations and keeping myself completely put together.

My need to hustle would start before my work week had even begun.

Back then, Monday was the day I left my babies with a babysitter, and shut down my feminine energy—the part of me that longed to be with them, to be soft and quiet, to play and linger, to have unhurried beach days.

To get messy in the kitchen. To work on my book and try my hand at blogging.

I needed this job, didn’t I?

Who was I without my career?

Who was I without my job title?

It took me a lot of inner work, angst and tough conversation with my husband, but ultimately my soul won. She felt like she was dying. Crisping up inside. Withering like a dried-up apple.

And so after I quit…

After feeling like I had fallen off a roller coaster into liminal space…

Not knowing what I would do next…

I began to learn how to create a work schedule that’s anti-hustle. I began to learn about the energy I’d been repressing for so long—my feminine.

And when I started my own business, I realized that if I started my day rooted in my masculine, I’d be right back into the cage I’d just extracted myself from.

However you identify with gender, we all have feminine and masculine energy. I’m not talking about sex or gender roles.

I’m talking about your internal energetic being.

The feminine is the creator, the nurturer. It’s where ideas are born and gathered and given time to grow.

Where as the masculine is decisive, loves to take action, is in charge, goes forward with things, and wants to move ahead.

However, the masculine can only take action on the ideas that the feminine has had time with. Your feminine cannot be hurried, although sometimes the feminine is full of fire and flame and doesn’t take long to be ready to go.

And so in my new business (that is now 6 years old!) I knew that if I started my week in my masculine:

…Making lists, taking action on ideas

…Attacking my week and hitting the ground running

…Rushing and hustling and hurrying

Then the rest of my week would feel that way. And I don’t want to feel that way! That’s what I left behind!

My business goals are for my life and business to feel easy, expansive, wild, free, soft, exciting and connected.

And so—

I start my Mondays with softness. It’s the day I give…

….my brain space to dream and think and vision

…to look at the big picture, to think of my goals, to dream about the next 6-12 months and beyond

….to sink into ideas and allow them to be ideas, instead of trying to rush them out and take action on them right away

…to write, create, play with white papers and markers, or have an extra-long walk on the beach.

Most of us are taught that we should value our masculine energy. (And to shut down our feminine energy).

And we interpret this as meaning that we should be in hustle mode:

• Always be in action
• Resting is bad
• Being productive means we’re successful (even if what we ‘re producing isn’t helping the bottom line or metal health)
• We’re only successful and powerful if we’re making money
• Time is a limited resource and we better rush to make sure we don’t run out
• That everything we do needs to be maximized

This lens of viewing is responsible for so much burnout and stress and limiting thoughts, and it’s so prevalent in our culture that it can be hard to flip.

This is why it takes being intentional to set your week up so that your feminine is valued. So that you have some time and space to create.

Here are 5 questions to ask yourself if you want to create an anti-hustle schedule that lights you up:

1. What would your week look like if you prioritized both your feminine and masculine energy?
2. Where in your week do you need space to feel into your ideas, without taking immediate action on them?
3. Do you have a minimum of 1.5 days per week to not do any client delivery work and instead focus on giving your brain time to be creative?
4. How many hours per day do you feel good working where you are in action mode? How much rest do you need?
5. How many hours can you be on zoom before you feel like shutting down? Is that reflected in your calendar?

My final tip is to think about making it even easier to create an anti-hustle schedule. Use a calendar tool like acuity where you can put your preferences in.

Personally, I only like having 2 calls per day max, 2-3 days per week, and so my scheduler won’t let any more meetings than that. The more you systematize ease, the more you can honour your own boundaries, keep burnout a thing of the past, and stay in alignment with you.

It’s time to stop buying into the hustle culture and instead create a schedule that’s rooted in the anti-hustle culture.

Because when you do, the action your masculine takes, is easier and more effective. It feels better too. It doesn’t take so much time to be actioned or manifested, because it’s already been incubated.

And so I let my Mondays be what they need to be…

…No rush

…Nothing hurried

…No appointments

…No to-do lists to tackle

It’s a day to be in inspiration, so that the action I take the rest of the week, is completely aligned. It feels good. It feels easy.

And with that energy, you, my dear, are unstoppable.

xoxox

Becky

P.S. I’d love to hear your thoughts! How do you balance your internal energy? Your feminine and masculine? Let me know in the comments.

P.P.S. Side note – when I say something is easy, it doesn’t mean it’s without any effort. It means it feels good. It feels right.