Hustle is how I work…

Hustle is a state of great activity. It’s each and everything you can get hold of and every opportunity. It gives you more hands to reach with. You push and you juggle. You get hold of things while simultaneously letting go of other things.

Hustle is a mindset. It doesn’t mean being busy all the time and it doesn’t mean having to be exhausted. It’s having your eyes open and being open. It’s being engaged and being prepared to step in and lead. It’s the belief that everything is possible with the right conditions, conversations and people, but you have to push.

Hustle is honest. It’s the risk that you’re prepared to take for strong opinions in order to make progress.

Hustle is movement. It means going places. It’s being deliberate in working with people, instigating as well as listening. You learn to observe the world from the perspective of being in it. Like walking down a busy street, the background noise, the colours and sounds and all the possibilities are something to draw on and from.

Hustle is a filter. It’s a fast response to where your focus and the currency of your time is best spent. It’s putting yourself in the position to respond to everything around you.

Hustle is attention and curiosity. It’s design put to work.

Footnote: I’m exploring why ‘hustle’ is both a necessary and useful approach to design and a way of working here. It can be associated with being something negative i.e. leading to burnout or a lack of focus. I often say that design is about about being able to hold onto opposing ideas at the same time. This is how my work feels as much as anything.