Tartan Shirt // Leather Skirt // D’Orsay Flats // Tory Burch Satchel {similar} // Rhinestone Bracelet // Gold Necklace // J.Crew Sunglasses

Originally, I had planned to write a truly compelling post about why we should all wear plaid all year long {and not just around the holidays}, but when I mentioned it to my cousin who I adventured around Florida with a few weeks back she legitimately laughed and thought I was kidding. It was one of those moments where I had come up with an idea that had made complete sense to me – but once I stepped out of my body I realized just how ridiculous that actually sounds. So yeah, no plaid today – I’m sure I’m not disappointing anyone with that one 😉

Instead of mediating on the oh-so serious subject of warm weather plaid {spoiler alert: it’s pretty boring}, I thought I’d share my never ending struggle of catching up and falling behind on life. I’m sure you can all relate – but I’m constantly playing a game of checking off my to-do list, only to add twice as many things to it. While society teaching us to love the hustle and appreciate the grind, but there’s something about letting it permeate your life that can totally bring you down.   A few weeks ago I finally got to reading an article from Clementine Daily Emily had recommended months ago. She had turned to me at work, and asked if I had caught the “Why We’re Embracing the Anti-Hustle” article, and in between e-mails I bookmarked it on my browser. Then two weeks passed by, a month – then a few more – and finally as I was packing up my things to leave and cleaning off my computer, I saw it again. And since I was still too busy to get to it, I emailed it to myself and made sure to read it the first morning I didn’t have to go to work – the first day in awhile I didn’t have to hustle too hard.

If you haven’t read it, you’re probably one of the people {like me!} who definitely should. The author basically lays down the law about why glorifying the hustle in our lives can drive us crazy, making us forget to slow down and savor the most important, everyday moments we may otherwise miss out on. She very adequately writes:

“If the hustle never stops, the cycle never stops. We get stuck in a state of constant doing and moving, rushing from one destination to another in pursuit of what’s next. The present stops seeming like enough; who we are, right now, stops being enough.”

Clapping emojis for DAYS, amirite?  While I’m all about getting things done and working your butt off, I can definitely see how the constant strive to hustle has made me into a more stressed out person, constantly working to achieve something undefined {otherwise probably known as a crazy person, I’ll admit it.}

There are days where I hover over my to-do list like a magpie who just spotted a rhinestone, staring at it as if it’s completion holds the keys to complete happiness. Crossing things off gets me one step closer to feeling accomplished, but I completely loose sight of enjoying the creative process, and living in the moment of creating something fulfilling.  So, what’s a type A, always hustling, stress-ball gal to do? Chill the F out, for starters.

But chilling out is seriously hard to do, so knowing myself I need a few more tactical things to check off my list in order to get any closer to that magical notion of, “chilling”. So here are a few I’ve come up with:

• Take 1 day a week off where you don’t do any work. Yes, I know – that’s what the weekends are supposed to be for, but for me the weekends are usually a day where I work on catching up on blogging, freelance work, and everything in between. So rather than spreading it over a few days – I’m going to try to dedicate one day for work and one day for fun – because everyone needs a day off, right?

• Give myself the permission to say, “No” more often. My first inkling is to alway say “Yes and then figure it out later”, and while I don’t want to insult the great Tina Fey {the queeeeeen!}, I don’t think that’s always the healthiest route to go, especially when you’re saying “Yes” to a whole heck of a lot already. So I’m going to say “No” a lot more – unless it’s something that I really need in my life, or will challenge and inspire my creatively. We’ll see how that goes…

• Enjoy the little things {and do more of those things that make you happy!} Eat more chocolate, enjoy silky pijamas and sleeping until noon, indulge in the things that make you blissfully happy, and do so more often.

• Choose love more often. It’s easy to choose annoyance, or frustration, or stress – so I’m going to challenge myself to choose love a little more to de-hustle my life. If that means doing what I love more, being with who I love more, showing people more love instead of getting things checked off my to-do list, then I’m going to do that instead 😉  Now, wish me luck! Hopefully getting a little less hustle and more stillness in my life will make me a little bit happier 🙂

I started working on this when I was in Florida a few weeks back {see the outfit above, complete with sunglasses and bare legs – clearly, we’re not in Chicago anymore!} and taking some time to unplug and de-stress was exactly what I needed before getting back to reality. Here’s to hoping I’m able to tackle my un-hustle to-do list in the coming months too – I’m hoping it will make me a happier, healthier and slightly more sane person! xx