Episode 491: #Tashmas Day 6: All this anti-hustle content has gone too far!

Do you ever feel like the anti-hustle content online has swung too far in one direction? Maybe you’re comparing your work style or hours to the “behind-the-scenes” stories we see on Instagram and Facebook, and you’re left exhausted. Or you’re wondering if you should work less, or hustle more. Today, I want to break down how the pendulum between hustle and anti-hustle can actually get in the way of building a heart-centred business, and how to find your sweet spot—one that feels good to you.

PLUS it’s #Tashmas day 6, so I have another gift for you with this episode!

Wait… What is #Tashmas?

I do it for both my birthday (1-12 March) and pre-Christmas (1-12 December) every year! Every day up to the 12th of December, there will be a new daily podcast episode, with a hot tip or practical strategy as per usual… but you ALSO get a gift! The daily gift could be a freebie, a special offer, a competition… but there will be something for YOU every single day.

Let’s dive in!

EPISODE 491: Listen using the player below, or click the links to your fave platform to subscribe and listen over there:

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The Comparison Trap: How Social Media Changes Our View of Work

With everyone sharing glimpses into their days online, it’s so easy to fall into the “comparison game.” Sometimes, I see business owners with jam-packed daily agendas and think, “WOW, I’m exhausted just looking at that!” I mean, I have no desire to model my business or life after constant busyness.

But here’s the curveball: there’s another group of people online who make it look like they barely work at all, and yet their business seems to rake in multi-million dollar incomes. After meeting dozens of successful business owners at masterminds and at the Heart-Centred Business Conference, I can honestly say there’s often a lot more happening behind the scenes than what gets posted online. Sometimes people are intentionally sharing the highlights—the easy money, the beach trips, the “effortless” wins. And sometimes they just don’t feel like sharing the tough bits, or the times when things are messy and unglamorous.

Here’s my tip: remember, you’re only seeing the highlights reel. You’re not getting the full picture.

The Anti-Hustle Message: What Gets Missed

Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for anti-hustle content! It’s important to remember that there isn’t always a direct link between how hard you work and how much money you make (let’s be honest, if that were true, nurses and teachers would be the highest earners). But anti-hustle isn’t the whole answer. “Anti-hustle” doesn’t mean “anti-effort.” It doesn’t mean you should just sit back and wait for your dreams to turn up at the door.

Where the Seesaw Shows Up: Examples From My Own Business

I get lots of questions about whether I ever “switch on the hustle” before a launch or stay up until 2am getting things done. Short answer: absolutely not! I’m in bed by 8:00 or 8:30 most nights—especially now that I’m in perimenopause. In over ten years of running my business, the only times I’ve seen midnight are while partying at the Heart-Centred Business Conference.

On the flipside, sometimes I get told I make it look like I don’t work at all. That’s not true either. For most of 2021 and all of 2022, I averaged under eight hours a week in my business. The first half of that period, it was under five hours a week, because I was recovering from surgery and pretty unwell. My business DID shrink during that time—I didn’t do a big launch for my Take Off program, and my sales took a serious dip. My income stagnated in 2023, too. So while I’ve had periods of working very restricted hours, it was reflected in my results.

The Myth of Hustle in the Early Days: What I Learned

People often assume I must have hustled hard when I started my business, especially since it’s now established. Here’s the truth: yes, I quit my job and started working full-time on my business. My partner, Davey, would head off to work, and I’d fill my days with “business stuff” because I thought that’s what you had to do. For the first six to eight weeks, I worked into the evenings, convinced that burning the candle at both ends was the only way to grow.

But looking back, about 90% of what I did was wasted effort. I was just trying to “look busy” instead of focusing on what actually created results—like marketing, sales, lead generation, and follow-ups. Once I realised what really drove growth, I shifted to working maybe one to two hours a day, four days a week on the key tasks. By month six, I hit a five-figure month. And it didn’t come from hustling non-stop—it came from being strategic.

Lifestyle Business First: Setting Boundaries Early

The reason I started my business was simple: I wanted a lifestyle business, not endless grind. About three months in, I decided not to work after Davey got home. Every day, I’d take a 1.5-hour lunch break and watch the midday movie—every single day! Plus, I did Denise Duffield-Thomas’s Money Bootcamp, and got clear that my business could make money easily, without burning out.

It’s Not Hustle First, Then Coast Later

Some people say, “You hustled for the first few years, and that’s why you have it easy now.” Nope! I believe your business learns what to expect from you in the early days. I purposely trained my business to work with me for 25-30 hours a week, right from the start. Every time I’d trip up and think it wasn’t possible, I’d check in with my mindset and remember—balance and sustainability matter.

The Passive Income Trap: Where Easy Money Promises Go Wrong

Now let’s talk about “make it once, sell it forever” passive income. That’s been a big online promise for years. And while it’s true you can create something once and keep selling it, the idea that it’ll sell itself is where people trip up. Many come into business wanting to work in their zone of genius—creativity, coaching, supporting. But after launching their passive product, they find most of their time is spent on marketing and sales, not on the work they love. And honestly, most people didn’t start their business to become full-time marketers.

Front-Loading: The Myth That Hard Work Upfront Means Coasting Later

Here’s another common trap: thinking you can front-load your year with hard work and then coast for the rest of it. I call this “front loading”—that two- to three-week window of nothing but hustle, hoping it’ll set you up for a chill rest of the year. Most of the time, it doesn’t work out like that. If you’re anything like me, you might plan to have a super-productive burst, but end up tidying your downloads folder, decluttering photos, or getting stuck in busywork.

Anytime I’ve tried to work 10 hours a day for a week straight, I’m burnt-out before the end. That’s a one-way ticket to brain-fry, and honestly, it’s never as productive as you expect. I’ve done this plenty of times, so I know how it feels!

Hustle vs. Anti-Hustle: Why Swinging Between Extremes Doesn’t Work

If you swing into hustle mode and hit a big month, next month you might find yourself burnt-out and unable to keep up with marketing or sales. Then you think: “I need recurring income!” Like, a membership that’ll just keep paying you each month, no matter what.

But even that’s not the magical fix. Some of the lowest-ticket memberships have the highest churn rate, and successful memberships almost always have someone hustling in the background to keep growth steady. If you don’t know how to keep marketing and selling sustainably, your membership won’t fix that problem.

Hustle Isn’t The Solution—But Neither is Stopping Everything

Maybe you’ve tried both extremes, and now someone’s telling you it’s a mindset issue—that you should pause all business activity to work on your mindset. Or maybe you’ve self-diagnosed and decided the best thing is to stop marketing, creating, or taking any action until your “block” is cleared.

So… Should We Hustle or Not?

You might be wondering, after all this—should I hustle, or should I not? The real answer: it’s about finding YOUR sweet spot. There’s a place where ease and stretch are balanced, where you’re productive, but not burning out. That spot looks different for everyone—it depends on your ambition, urgency, capacity, resources, and what you actually want from your business.

A Mindset AND Strategy Combo

Here’s something I see a lot: mindset specialists tend to call every challenge a mindset issue, while strategists say it’s always strategy. Honestly? It’s always both. Productivity, for me, is the balance between strategic action AND the right mindset and energy. It’s about results—not just how many hours you work, or how many tasks you tick off.

What’s a Realistic Working Week? It’s Unique to You!

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to “How many hours should you work on your business?” It depends on your goals, capacity, resources, skills, experience, and what kind of business you want to build. Some people have startup money and can hire help; others are short on both time and money, and need to stretch the process out.

Strategy is a Practice, Not a One-Off

You don’t make the big decision once and never look back—it’s a practice. That’s why my Heart-Centred Business Planner comes with a full year of support; it’s not about mapping out a year and then ignoring it, but building routines of reviewing results, testing strategies, and coming back to your priorities every quarter.

Your Day 6 #Tashmas Gift!

Join the 2026 Heart-Centred Business Planner and get your enrolment in Kickstart 2026 absolutely free!

Kickstart 2026 runs from January 12th to 16th, and is designed to give you strategic workshops and co-working sessions every day, so you can kick off your content, consistency, and conversions right from the start of the year.

Be one of the first 6 people to purchase at tashcorbin.com/planner and you’ll automatically get Kickstart 2026 for free. EASY!  

(Want to see how many spots are left? I’ll update it in the comments of the Day 6 #Tashmas post on my FB Page: facebook.com/tashcorbincoaching)  

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.