Why making that distinction could save your life

Waking up at 5 a.m. to work on a personal project or side business before heading off to a day job has now become a common negative stereotype of hustle porn. Do we need to work this much?

If you’re doing something you love, maybe.

Figuring out if what you’re working on is just keeping you busy to make money or giving you something more significant than dollar bills is vital.

I like work. In fact, I’m writing this article early in the morning before my teaching job. Getting up at five in the morning is challenging at times, but the natural high I get from writing and drawing first thing in the morning stays with me throughout the day.

I feel good, and most importantly, I’m having fun.

It wasn’t always this way. There have been plenty of times where I worked myself to the bone freelancing or trying to build a business, asking myself, “Why am I doing this?”

I had to figure out what worked. The hardest part was being honest with myself about what I truly love and desire to do.

The uncomfortable truth is, you may have to get everything wrong before you can move in the direction of what’s right.

What work addiction looks like

You’re afraid of silence. Afraid of peace.

Not what you expected? Hear me out.

You’re accustomed to something happening, or something you have to do is present at all times. You feel like a hard worker when you’re constantly taking care of tasks for your work or thinking about ways to make it better.

You feel like constantly spending time doing, producing, or making, will lead to growth, success, respect, and riches. You overwork yourself.

“I can’t stop, or I’ll get left behind.” you think.

You’re doing time-consuming tasks, keeping you busy but ultimately not moving you forward. It’s not what you love, but you’ve heard this type of business or action at work will lead to financial success. You think it helps you feel better about yourself.

But it leads to burnout.

You can’t let go of making things happen. It’s time to stop, but you can’t see it until your body forces you by getting sick or losing motivation or excitement for what you do.

What loving your work looks like

You can’t wait to get up in the morning to jump into a project you’ve been working on each day. In your mind, making money from it is nice, but you’d do this for free because it’s so much fun.

Even if it’s something you weren’t good at first, but now you’ve learned more and are excited and, not to mention curious, about learning all you can and getting better at it. You have a passion for the work.

Does this mean you never get tired? Of course not. You understand we all get run down eventually.

Burnout can still happen even when you love what you do, or it’s your passion. You know this, so you schedule downtime. Planning work in terms of seasons, months of the calendar year where you’re more productive, and others where you slow down and recharge to help you stay balanced.

I love being an educator and during the pandemic went through teaching primarily on Zoom. At first, I thought holding classes on video would be easier because I’m at home. It ended up being twice as much work.

On top of that, I was keeping up with my daughter’s fifth-grade homeschooling due to the pandemic and drawing comics and writing in what little spare time I had left. I love everything, but after over a year of pushing without much leisure time, I passed out and was sent to the emergency room.

I got sick from one bacterial infection to the next, getting sent to the hospital four times in three months. Fortunately, as a teacher, I get the summers off, so I finally had a wake-up call and made sure to slow down as much as possible and heal.

Like me, you may love what you do but get addicted to doing it regularly. Writing, teaching, and drawing are my outlets, and I could not be myself without them. This could be true, but it doesn’t mean I need to do as much.

Like in the play “Hamilton,” his wife keeps getting on him for “Writing like he’s running out of time.” I feel that way at times. Like I have to get out as much work as possible with the time I have.

Rest and remove the unnecessary

Give yourself true leisure time. Your exhaustion is more than not having a vacation in a long time. It’s the fact that you haven’t made time for real rest.

Some ideas for letting go and giving your body and mind a break are playing sports, meditation or just sitting outside staring at nature, reading a good book, hiking in the woods, and spending time with a good friend.

Refresh your mind and spirit so when it’s time to get back into doing the work you love, you have passionate energy for your chosen passion.

When you know the parts of your business or passion project you enjoy the most, it’s easier to give tasks away to assistants or hired help.

If you don’t have the money to hire help, try and do less of the excruciating functions and spend more time on what you enjoy. When your business grows, you may add on more help with what you like the least.

Being realistic about how much you do and when to rest can save your health and your life.

Decide to take ownership of who you are

You’re not superhuman. No matter how much you enjoy what you do every day. The human body can only take so much.

Stop being addicted to work and accept that loving it leads to burnout just as much as when you hate what you do for a living. Either way, you must give yourself time to rest and rejuvenate.

You’re not going to win an award for the most passionate worker.

Sure, when you hate what you do, you’ll need more time to work through mental frustrations and stress, but doing what you love carries stressors as well.

When you decide what you’re doing is essential to you, make it your way of giving to the world and helping others, then your hard work will feel like it’s worth the time. Planning for relaxation because you know it’s vital for your mental and spiritual health is extremely important.

No one is going to force you to take time for yourself. Even if they do, you are the one who decides what you’ll do with that time.

Learn to love your work and scheduled leisure time so you’ll live long enough to appreciate what you earned.

Want more? If you’re struggling with creativity and putting your work out regularly, join my (free) email list, and through comics and articles, discover how to upgrade your mindset here.