We’ve all seen the Instagram posts: hustle culture quotes telling us to grind while others sleep, push through exhaustion, and sacrifice today for tomorrow’s success. But honestly, I love that people are starting to really get over this and realize the potential of living a soft life.
The good news is that while I agree that in life we cannot be constantly comfortable and it takes discomfort to achieve comfort, it doesn’t have to be THAT hard.
We’ve been sold a lie that to reach somewhere, we have to go through a really rough stage. Uncomfortable at times? Yes, there’s no doubt in that. But burning yourself out and adopting the “rise and grind” mentality? We’re over this.
To be more honest, it’s a great thing when we live moments of discomfort instead of having a soft life at all times. It makes us appreciate time off, slower days, and work we’ve done.
That is why you can live a soft life and accomplish amazing things – in fact, they might even complement each other perfectly.
What “living softly” actually means (and what it doesn’t)
source: canva
Before we dive in, let’s get clear on what living softly while achieving actually means. It’s not about lowering your ambitions or settling for less than you deserve. Living softly doesn’t mean being lazy or unproductive.
What it does mean: Prioritizing your well-being as you pursue your goals. It means rejecting the idea that suffering is a prerequisite for living a good life later on. It creates this resistance against achieving or living a good life.
It’s about creating space for enjoyment while you work on your goals. As cliche as it sounds, truly, life is about the journey, not the destination. And most importantly, it means honoring your needs as a human – your need for rest, pleasure, and gentleness – as you work towards what matters for you.
Think of it as working smarter, not harder (or, at least, not harder than necessary).
Let’s get into actionable and easy ways to live a softer life while still achieving.
Practical tips to having more work boundaries
- The meeting cap system: Limit yourself to a maximum number of hours of meetings per day. It’s easy to get yourself into too many meetings that distract you from doing your actual job, so block your calendar with “focus time” that appears as “busy” to others.
- The Friday rule: Make Fridays your “no new tasks” day. Anything new that comes in should be added to next week’s list so you don’t get overwhelmed to finish everything on the last day of the week, and it gives you breathing time to finish the week strong.
- The project buffer: When asked for a deadline, take a realistic estimate and add 30%. Deliver early occasionally to maintain trust, but use that buffer zone to work at a humane pace.
- The designated device: Use separate devices (or at least separate apps/ profiles) for work and personal life. When you switch devices, you’re mentally clocking out.
Make your weekends sacred
- Book weekend plans in advance: You can have a 3-month weekend planner where you book something enjoyable for at least one day of the weekend for the next three months.
Even small things like “Saturday morning farmers market” count. You know those Instagram Reels or TikToks that you save for places to visit later? It’s time to use those. Or, if you’re not a planning person, you can just plan your weekends on weekdays so you don’t get too lazy to plan something during the weekend.
- The non-negotiable weekend element: Choose one weekend activity that becomes your constant – whether it’s Sunday morning yoga, Saturday afternoon reading time, or weekend pancakes.
- The “places you want to go” jar: Write down 20 local adventures (new restaurants, hiking trails, museums, one-day trips, shops, etc.). Pull one out each Friday to do that weekend (or even pull it out during the weekday if you think it might need booking in advance).
Things that make you look forward to your work week
Something I live by to be able to live softly while having a corporate job and working on my blog:
I make my work revolve around my life, not my life around my work. Meaning that work is a part of my life, not the other way around.
While definitely easier said than done, I believe it’s very doable.
I came to this “epiphany” after I’ve spent 2 weeks at home in Egypt working remotely before returning back to work in Paris is that when I’m home, I have a lot of things to look forward to (family time, meeting friends, etc.), and my job is just a part of my day.
While in Paris, work is mostly my life. I do meet friends on the weekend and work out, but I made my job the essence of my life, which led me to become very resistant towards it as I feel it’s taking over my life, and in reality, it’s me who is not planning other things to look forward to.
The only difference between my life at home and here in Paris is having things to look forward to. You then want to be more productive at work so it doesn’t take much of your time and you can do other things, and you’re motivated to do better as you need more money to do other things, and the cycle goes on (at least from my experience).
So, since I came back, I’m committed to having more activities to look forward to and make work a part of my life not the other way around.
- Booking beauty appointments (nails, hair, etc.) after work or in between during break time
- Planning weekend activities in advance, like brunch, afternoon tea, etc.
- Trying new restaurants during lunch break
- Traveling as often as I can (doesn’t have to be to a new country, could be a city nearby)
- Booking spa and massage treatments once in a while
- Self-care routine is me time every day, and I plan to have enough time for it in the morning and before bed
- Scented candles and diffusers to make my home smell so good
- Taking some time every 2-3 weekends to style my clothes and check if I want to buy new pieces
- Getting coffee breaks at work (actually getting nice coffee occasionally instead of the company coffee machine)
- Taking time to dress up before work and apply makeup, even if very lightly. When you look good, it makes you feel better
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