In my first year of business I bought into the whole "hustle culture narrative."

I thought I had to work all hours of the day to achieve my goals.

And at first, it worked out well.

Within 6 months I'd landed a few clients and I was making a stable income.

I thought I'd found the secret to success in business.

But things started to change around month 9.

I felt irritated.

I felt unmotivated.

I felt exhausted.

Waking up in the morning felt like a chore in itself.

I'd drag myself out of bed, pour cup of coffee, and turn on my laptop dreading the notifications I was about to receive.

At this point I'd been working 8 to 10 hours a day for almost a year.

I hadn't taken any days off.

No bank holidays.

No weeks away.

No time to relax.

To make matters worse, lockdowns had kept me inside which left me little room to socialise.

So instead I just kept working.

By the end of my first year I was burnt out.

A task that should have taken me 10 minutes would take an hour.

I wasn't enjoying my work.

And I started to miss deadlines.

Things were a total mess.

I was achieving my business goals but in the process...

I'd sacrificed every other area of my life.

I had no balance at all.

And this is the mistake a lot of new business owners (and copywriters) make.

They think you need to work all hours of the day to be successful.

But here's the thing...

A lot of the top creatives only worked around 4 hours a day.

Stephen King only writes for 4 hours a day.

Charles Darwin only wrote for 4 hours a day.

Albert Einstein only wrote for 4 hours a day.

The entire concept of working 10+ hours daily is a lie.

It's a narrative spread by people working 4 hours a day and laughing at you while they chill on the beach.

Now, don't get me wrong.

You need to work hard.

Those 4 hours should be 4 hours of complete focus.

And when you're first getting started, you'll need to work a few extra hours every now and then.

But over a long period of time this is completely unsustainable.

So what's the solution?

Forcing yourself to rest.

This year I've:

Taken 90% of weekends off.

Taken a week off every quarter.

Taken time off during the day to go for walks.

The results?

My energy has never been higher, my focus is the best its ever been and my business has hit new highs.

You see, when you rest your unconscious mind begins to process everything you've gone through over the past week.

This lets you make better decisions, improves your thinking, and just makes working more enjoyable.

After all, there's nothing worse than showing up to do something you hate every day.

So if you're feeling a little burnt out or like you need a break, give yourself one.

Take a few days off now so you can work harder for the next 3 months.

Trust me, your body and mind will thank you for it.

Have a great week,

Copy "Avoid Hustle Culture" Maverick