10 Tips to Help You Hustle Sanely | Part 1
Does your day-to-day life have you feeling burnt out, overwhelmed, or straight up exhausted? Let me tell you - you actually were not created to live that way! I’ve spent the last few years honing in on strategies that have allowed me to be peacefully productive so that I make real progress toward my goals WHILE I take care of my mental health and relationships.
In today’s post, I’m sharing the first 5 of 10 habits to help you HUSTLE SANELY!
But before I give you the first 5 of 10 habits that will help you Hustle Sanely, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page about what it means to Hustle Sanely because it’s so much more than just a cutesy little saying.
When I think of Hustle Sanely, I think of a lifestyle. To Hustle Sanely means that you are pursuing your dreams without sacrificing your mental health and relationships. It’s how you show up and operate day-to-day. It’s a culmination of all the small steps. It’s focused on habits, consistency, peace, and flow. I always like to make it clear that what Hustling Sanely represents is NOT the world’s view of hustle. Hustling is glamorized - working yourself into the ground and being self-centered in the sense that making your dreams happen is over everything else.
As a follower of Jesus, I believe that we are called to serve and love others over striving and seeking self-fulfillment by reaching goals. Now obviously, I love goals and making them happen but I believe that when our hearts are rooted in love and service, the goals we desire align with that and I teach these practices throughout Hustle Sanely strategies.
So now that you’re clear on what it means when you hear “Hustle Sanely” let’s dive into the first 5 habits that you can do to make sure that you’re well...hustling sanely.
Habit 1: Start each day with gratitude.
The first thing I do when my feet hit the floor in the morning is thank God for something. Literally the first thing that comes to mind. Sometimes it’s coffee. Cute dog snores. Having a roof over my head. When we start our days with a grateful heart, the chances of us staying in that headspace are higher. Y’all know what I always say - when you focus on things to be grateful for, you find things to be grateful for.
One of my favorite verses from the Bible says this:
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18”
It’s God’s will for us to give thanks in all circumstances - point blank. So again to help you Hustle Sanely - start each day with gratitude.
Habit 2: Fill up spiritually, mentally, and physically with a morning routine.
It’s no secret that I am obsessed with my morning routine. If we spend some intentional time first thing in the morning to ground ourselves and make sure we have our mindset aligned with our values, then the likelihood of us staying in alignment with those values is higher (as opposed to us letting every little thing derail our attitudes all day long).
I shared with y’all a few weeks ago how I’m doing a simplified morning routine these days - I spend about an hour reading, journaling, and praying then finish things off with either a short walk or stretch. Just figure something out that gives you a few minutes to yourself to check in spiritually, mentally, and physically so you can make sure that you’re Hustling Sanely on the daily.
Simple morning routine ideas:
~ Make coffee, sit outside and write down 5 things you’re grateful for, and stretch for 10 minutes while you listen to a podcast (approximate time: 20 minutes)
~ Read your Bible for 15 minutes, pray for 5 minutes, meditate for 5 minutes, and go on a 10 minute walk to reflect on things you’re grateful for (approximate time: 40 minutes)
Habit 3: Have a clear vision of your values and goals.
If you’re not sick of hearing me say how important it is to be clear on vision for your life’s values and goals yet then you must not have listened to enough episodes of the podcast yet - just kidding, I hope you never get sick of hearing about it because it’s so important!
If you don’t know what you stand for (ie your values) and how you live that out (ie your goals) then how on God’s green earth are you going to live a meaningful and impactful life? You’ve got to be an active participant in your life, girl. You can’t align your daily actions and words to something that you’re not clear on.
And again, this is way bigger than singular, destination goals like “write a book” or “pay off my debt.” Those are solid and worthwhile goals but what is your vision for your life? What do you want it to look and feel like? If you don’t get clear on it, you’re going to wake up in 15 or 20 years and wonder what you've been doing all this time - I can almost guarantee it.
Habit 4: Define your priorities so you know where to spend your time and energy.
So once you’re clear on said vision/values/goals - you’ve got to define your priorities so you can make sure that how you’re spending your time points back to those things. Pretty simple concept but sometimes it can be easier said than done.
Let’s say one of your values is consistent weekly time spent with your family - maybe a priority that you have attached to that is family dinner every Thursday night because it’s the only night your entire family can be home at the same time.
Because you’re clear on the value (family time) and the priority that upholds the value (Thursday night dinners) you can make sure that your time and energy are aligned with that by not making other plans Thursday nights and by scheduling your week to make sure that you have energy left by Thursday night to show up for your family. Make sense? Y’all know I love concrete examples, lol!
Habit 5: Use batching, grouping, and automation to get things done efficiently.
Okay I could do a whole episode just on these time-management strategies and I teach them in depth over in the Hustle Sanely Program but I’ll give you a quick rundown of each one here real quick:
Batching: doing the same task over a period of time to refrain from doing it day- to-day or week-to-week
Example: Meal prepping (cooking multiple meals at once instead of cooking them all separately); writing all of your Instagram captions at once instead of writing them every day (allows you to only have to get in the zone once)
Grouping: putting tasks that are similar in nature close together when creating your routines + schedule
Example: Running all of your errands on a Tuesday instead of going out and running one errand every day; writing Instagram captions, emails, podcast scripts all the same day (writing day)
Automating: the technique of making a process or a system operate automatically
Examples: having your bills on auto pay; using the subscribe and save feature on Amazon Prime for items like dog food or vitamins
You know that saying, “Work smarter, not harder?” These strategies help you work efficiently so you can take care of your responsibilities AND be able to give your family your best energy instead of leftover crumbs of burnt out energy. I know that statement stings a little but I so wish I would’ve had someone to call me out on giving my family the burnt out version of myself. So as your online BFF, I’m telling you to use tools like batching, grouping, and automation to manage your time and energy well so that doesn’t happen!
I’ll be sharing habits 6-10 next week!
If you enjoyed this post, tune into episode 049 of The Hustle Sanely Podcast to listen into this topic!
