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On Finding the Space Between. On Hustling, Taking It Easy, and Everything in the Middle.

Hustle culture or slow living? Sheri Radel Rosenberg considers the benefits of spending more time doing what we love.

As someone who has always watched culture, I‘ve noticed that there is generally an antidote to any zeitgeist.   

If I have any friends in advertising reading this, you, like me, have been trained, brewed, and basted in a stew of hustle porn. Hustling has become gospel in certain industries, courtesy of uber alphas like Gary Vaynerchuk, whose success is firmly entrenched in the hustle. And though his hustle/thyroid-gone-wild vibe has always frightened me, I get it because I’ve been a hustler my entire life.

Chasing work as a freelancer is an ultimate hustle. Connect. Procure. Repeat. Add in grueling daily workouts and a once ambitious social schedule, and you’ve got a recipe for burnout. And we all know my beautiful city of New York is hustle central. After all, if you can make it here, you’re probably exhausted from doing so.

Cut to 2020.

We all know that the pandemic pause, although frightening and tragic, was necessary. And I remember the early days so well. The lack of anything to do. The quiet. The city that never slept was hitting snooze, and it felt like a scene from “Vanilla Sky.”  I remember, to pass the time between ominous obsessive news watching we’d go for drives. Once, by Central Park, we rolled the windows down and could hear the couple’s conversation crossing Central Park West. It was utterly surreal. 

And it’s true that my husband and I don’t have children, so the pandemic was easier on us. But life is returning to a new normal, and I have concerns.

Slow Living

In a recent Forbes article praising “break culture” and citing a Deloitte study, “77% of people have experienced burnout at their job, and 42% have left their jobs because they felt burned out. This results from mental and emotional stress due to working long hours and trying to keep up with unrealistic expectations set by the toxic excesses of hustle culture.” 

And with that, I read this piece on slow living with great interest.

For those seeking greener pastures, slow living may be just your brand of panacea. It’s the culmination of paring down, hitting pause, meditating, and finding balance. And yes, that includes taking breaks. I ask you, is the endless hustle getting old or maybe I just am? 

I could chalk this up to getting older/wiser, and perhaps slowing down a bit is just the logical progression of things. And maybe this whole “less is more” moment not only applies to making the earth a better place but also to our lives. For instance, I try not to work on Fridays. And this past Friday, I met a dear friend at The Met for the new costume show and then lunched uptown at The Mark. I spoke on this topic to her, and she is older than me and told me she feels the opposite.

Maybe focusing on doing “less” means less of the stuff I don’t want to do

She wants to do as much as possible because she’s more aware of time passing. Now before you think that’s morbid, it’s not. This friend has always been a type-A overachieving Leo, and for her doing is being. I think I may be the same, so maybe focusing on doing “less” means less of the stuff I don’t want to do. The stuff that causes anxiety or stress or ennui. Focusing on stuff like late afternoons lunching. Or carving out more time to see friends and family and pet the dog. And since I’m also an extroverted introvert, there also needs to be downtime to just unwind and cook more and hang out. After all, those of us (well, all of us, really) in creative fields need to turn our brains off between briefs and brainstorms. 

It’s also something I spoke about with the founder of this very community. 

In his SuperAge Mastermind Seminar series, which I was delighted to be a part of, we spoke about the importance of recovery between workouts because that’s where the magic happens. I am someone who works out just about every day, with little room for rest days.  I do this not because I want to win a bikini contest but because I’d be cuckoo without it. But I have noticed my body talking to me a lot lately. And it’s begging me to make more time for recovery, so I’ve been trying to take it a bit easier and it does seem to help.

Even fashion seems to be embracing this slowdown. Have you heard of the latest trend to take the summer by storm? It’s called “coastal grandmother,” and I’m not kidding. Think Nancy Meyers movies, relaxed linen, a straw hat, and a good book.  

Maybe I’m not going to take up truffle hunting, live in a cottage, or drink tea on a porch in Newport (though that does sound lovely). But I will rethink my hustle game and think about the positives of doing less but oh so much more. 

So is it time to tiptoe through the tulips or continue to go balls to the wall? I think I’m somewhere in between, though the great reset will undoubtedly result in many more of us pausing to smell said tulips on our way to whatever comes next.

See medical disclaimer below. ↓

8 COMMENTS

  1. Good article but I will say the solitude of COVID almost killed me without getting the virus. It was just me and my dog Tulip and our isolation was palpable. I love the hustle life as I am highly competive except when I ride my bike and then I’m passed by six year olds. I want to go go go but as you mentioned my body has slowed me down via lower back and quad pain and now studying the “mind body syndome” which is really interesting stuff. I have never been a relaxed type and am not sorry. If you want to collaborate on a sit-com I’m ready. I am always searching for the humor. Love your writing and pov!

  2. Always love reading your articles, Sheri! Please keep them coming. The pandemic has made me want to slow my roll and check out of the hustle. But I’m a recovering Type-A personality so it’s hard to give up. Once I get into something I really like or am very invested in, I go ovaries to the wall…and then have to take time off to recover. Like you, I think I’m something in between slow living and hustleville…but I hope to never be coastal grandmother!

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The ideas expressed here are solely the opinions of the author and are not researched or verified by AGEIST LLC, or anyone associated with AGEIST LLC. This material should not be construed as medical advice or recommendation, it is for informational use only. We encourage all readers to discuss with your qualified practitioners the relevance of the application of any of these ideas to your life. The recommendations contained herein are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. You should always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before starting any new treatment or stopping any treatment that has been prescribed for you by your physician or other qualified health provider. Please call your doctor or 911 immediately if you think you may have a medical or psychiatric emergency.

Sheri Radel Rosenberghttps://unapologeticstyle.substack.com/
Sheri Radel Rosenberg is a Philly-born, Brooklyn-based writer who explores style, beauty, culture, and midlife with wit, warmth, and wisdom. Her story includes successful forays in the worlds of trend forecasting, ad agency photo production, ghostwriting, and strategic messaging development for fashion and beauty brands - all while amassing a slip dress collection that would make any Gen Xer proud. At the dawn of social media, Sheri launched her personal blog–which combines her passion for writing with her style obsession–and she hasn’t looked back. As Style Editor for the AGEIST, she’s inspired by the styles of the 70s and the 90s, along with all the beautiful people she sees daily in NYC.

 

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