All Side-Hustle Activities On Pause

Hi everyone,

I’m currently taking medical leave and stepping back from side-hustle activities to focus on my health. Unfortunately, this means I won’t be responding to collaboration inquiries at this time, and I’ve had to put my affiliate deals on pause.

Managing life with ADHD and balancing multiple jobs requires careful “traffic control” to maintain balance and prevent burnout. It’s not that I can’t handle stress, but I’ve learned the importance of setting boundaries to avoid preventable stressors. I think of this as using a “self-accommodation non-negotiable take-it-or-leave-it mental wheelchair” to navigate life with a severe disability. I do not deal with anything that pushes me for more time than I have or more capacity than I have because disabled people show ambition and care differently in a different method or manner. It is really that simple.

My self-accommodations, such as taking extra rest days i.e. most weekends in full - in a quiet, notification-free environment or using holidays for recovery, are essential to staying healthy and functional. I expect those close to me to respect these boundaries. Having made the choice to work, rather than depend on systems forever, does come with sacrifices and I am aware of the trade-off's.

Uninterrupted work and sleep are crucial for my well-being, and I’ve built my business to align with my needs. This includes fully digital operations to ensure consistency, even during chronic illness flare-ups, and refusing to overextend myself to fit traditional expectations as I require many sleep buffers in my schedule and a flexible business (in addition to any plans that are easy to move around and cancel on a whim).

I’ve also learned to save vacation and personal days for emergencies to stay prepared without relying on others. For me, rest and recovery mean complete peace, quiet, and freedom from overstimulation. 

I only prioritize relationships that value emotional availability over constant presence, a necessary trade-off for focusing on legacy, self-care, and long-term stability. 

How we manage our inner circle’s relationships is also to be “calibrated” to our limitations. 👏🏻

Expecting constant availability from someone managing disabilities who also works (or expecting them to dim down how busy they truly are to extract or force non-existent time) is a boundary and personal space violation (trying to package disrupting my peace as being helpful in any manner is a one-way-ticket out of my life).

Expecting more time than someone has while pursuing dreams, and working two jobs is both unrealistic and cruel (we live in hyper stress mode already with a disability, there is no space for added tugs on bandwidth when there is a chronic illness that may require us to need more rest at the last minute and require extra buffers, so we calibrate our productivity output expectations accordingly). I won’t accept such expectations or tolerate anything that disrupts my mental peace just for speculative ROI when existing obligations need to be managed first and properly.

And whoever thinks that they come before your ability to provide for yourself (the prerequisites to your health which precede you providing for yourself) and build your future safety nets (which for me, requires uninterrupted work and sleep time and insomnia buffers which are innately time-consuming) is the one with the problem. Again, working alongside a time-consuming disability with no breathing room, no margin of error, and duly rigid health constraints requires sacrifice that I am willing to make as I have suffered enough in life and I deserve to own and create my future as I wish, so long as I harm no one - I do not have to live according to their values or agreement with reality, I get to live on my own terms. I do not tolerate cages masquerading as circles.

Boundaries are not uncaring, they preserve your humanity and right to choices. 

Boundaries are limits and the right to choices, it’s not very complicated. If anyone views this concept as a personal attack, they do not have a lot of emotional maturity, everyone has mental energy limits... It is an innate part of life.

Those who have an issue with your right to choose your life's priorities view you as an extension of their agenda at your expense, whereas protecting what belongs to your is not taking anything from anyone or using them to meet your needs at their expense.

Dedicated recharge time, free from interruptions (of any length, the very concept that ADHD cannot refocus after interruptions should be known by now), is essential for my ADHD to be in check as I end up suffering the consequences and my business is far more important to my joy, happiness, and future than what the wrong people and takers think of my self-accommodations (health is not an area of compromise and survival is clearly not negotiable and I would be confused that anyone would want me to adjust my severe disability’s requirements for their gain).

ADHD means I cannot refocus after an interruption of any length, whether I am sleeping or working, so my time is not expendable and I have suppliers and contractors to pay, so coming back recharged and refusing to have my gym time hijacked away from shutting down my brain (that is alone time, point-blank) and knowing that what I share online and having a fundraiser in my time is enough is all that matters. The right clients will respect how and when I show up. I have also learned that anyone who has a problem with the fact that securing my future and providing for myself, despite having a disability, comes first is the one with the problem.

Survival and health come first for me as those are core responsibilities that ensure my peace of mind (all of the trade-off's are worth it for me and those to whom this makes sense will stick around, the rest are not exactly part of the <who> do I want in my life long-term list). As for the people who try to make you prove your care or commitment by demanding more of your time (even if you cannot spend time you do not have), don’t fall for it. 

When you’re dealing with a chronic illness and already have a schedule that’s at its breaking point, you simply don’t have time to add anything else of any length (especially if you cannot context-switch or refocus). 

The right people will actually encourage you to prioritize your health (put yourself first because they won't, but they are also not responsible for your best interests, you are and anyone who expects you to give up your personal agency to them is likely not for you) as self-neglect is not encouraged in healthy connections and you cannot outsource your health. You will not have to jeopardize your financial, mental, physical, spiritual, or any other aspect of the core conditions to your wellness for any healthy connection. 

Having limited time and energy isn’t something to apologize for—it’s a sign of having responsibilities and needs for which you are responsible. 

Healthy relationships don’t push your limits, try to tell you how to spend your time (usually as a way to extract more from you), or expect you to drop everything for their convenience at your expense or revolve your life around them (even if they are not the ones who suffer the consequences of any time-debt or manage your medical bills or medical issues which cost money, and to pay for that, you have to work more, they likely do not care what happens to you if you were not financially preparing in your spare time to always get out ahead of it).

The real lack of empathy comes from those who don’t recognize that you have time and energy limits. And by the way, do they pay your rent and bills?

I am not interested in appeasing takers of my energy and resources that I work for day in and day out. They are not bringing me any value and since I have not chosen them as my charity of choice, I do not feel that I owe them anything. I am breaking the rules of traditional business structures because the last time I checked, there's nothing wrong with being an introvert with ADHD and owning it.

Pausing my business now is a necessary step toward sustainability and further digitization for the future. 

I’m grateful for your understanding and support as I prioritize my health and work toward creating a better balance via restructuring as much as I need to.

I sell solutions, not my 1:1 time and that's who this brand is going to be right for in the end.

Here’s why I’m just pausing, not shutting down my side hustle: 

Diversifying your income is about more than just money. It’s about maintaining control and independence, especially if you have a health condition or disability, please hold onto any agency and self-determination that you have left for your own dignity. While your main job might offer accommodations, it's important to remember that nothing is guaranteed in the long term. I do not care, respectfully, what anyone wants to say about the illusion of security in jobs. Do not call me jaded, call me wise.

Burnout, unexpected health challenges, or shifts in reality could leave you vulnerable and not all systems are set up to adapt. It's not as if we are exactly designed for such systems and the uphill battle of trying to exist within them is not exactly our fault, but we still have to pay for it. 

The system itself was never built for us and I am tired:

Before I start my little rant, this is about my feelings towards the system, the reason we need accommodations in the first place, you know, the system that was built on neurotypical people?

I am not trying to focus on everything that is broken with how disabled people are unsupported in the world at large, but it can get me tired out sometimes.

The inner fight it takes just to do the basic thing of providing for ourselves is already difficult and I see why many people do not even bother with it, we cannot judge those who choose to opt-out altogether. 

I am not ready to do that, but I won't lie to you and say the thought did not cross my mind so just be like - maybe I need to consider retiring on medical grounds in a few years if I do not feel better. Not right away, but still.

I didn’t comprehend the option of medical retirement before and now at least I feel less trapped.

I’m torn between being an innovative change-maker who makes a difference for others and myself, especially in advocating for disabilities, and simply choosing to medically retire and step away from everything. 

It’s not one specific thing, but more of a gradual accumulation—what I’d call "death by a thousand cuts."

I’m comfortable (not the comfort zone - OMG!) with:

• A low-stress role with occasional peaks, as long as stress is rewarding and additional resources are allocated effectively during high-stress periods.

• A clear, low-overlap role where I’m not excluded or confused about my tasks, as I dislike chaotic or hijacked responsibilities and so do most softwares (it is not coding, but that's how orderly the steps have to be).

• Respect for limitations, not pushing against them in subtle underhanded ways.

• A remote-first role with strong benefits, retirement options, and the flexibility for a side-hustle.

I feel like I’ve reached my breaking point with how the system is structured and spaces that confuse hijacking with collaboration fully repulse me.

People may put in their best efforts to help you, but the whole system feels like an uphill battle just to exist within it. And for what reward? None.

I think that’s why disabled people often have more options for stepping away, if needed—our vulnerabilities have, unfortunately, earned us that right... it’s not like we don’t suffer for it every single day.  

Part of me even believes there are no alternatives, and if there are, how long would they last? 

A remixed path with the right proportion of "day job" and side-hustle would be perfect, I just get very tired when I do not see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Right now, I do not know if I just do not see a variety of options that can be suitable and that could be clouding my mind, but at least I am not taking any actions from this place. I am putting this out there for those who are in the same predicament: I hope the world realizes that if our limitations and what we can offer is not enough for them and their expectations that should be calibrated, we can coast our way to medical retirement since working with a severe disability is considered coasting to some. 

Who? Oh, some ignorant acquaintance in my personal life who has since been removed from my life. I am just saying, do not give more if you are not appreciated. 

No one has the right to define striving, success, and elevation and tell you that your health is a one-and-done issue and not an ongoing matter to manage daily for the REST OF YOUR LIFE. 

Permanent disabilities are for life, so I wish the ignorant people in the world would just mind their business. Oh wait, they do not have even have their own but they tell me that having a business and a main hustle is lacking ambition? 

I build businesses in my sleep, but I am lacking ambition because I want nothing to do with bigger corporate jobs? Puh-lease. 

I don’t think the people who push you to take on bigger jobs to "prove" your ambition actually care about what happens to you. They don’t care that you might need short-term disability coverage, or that you need protection, or that your health could suffer. They act like once you figure out your health, it doesn’t matter anymore, and that it shouldn’t be the focus of your life. 

The reality is, many of them probably wouldn’t last a day dealing with a time-consuming and time-limiting disability. The people who would not last a day believe limits are a comfort zone/a choice and have the audacity to act like limits are one-and-done and we do not have to focus on health heavily? This shows that it is not wise for to let our health be in hands like that, since it is not understood, we are almost agents in our own destruction if we deal with that beyond bare necessity.

It’s disgusting to me that certain people think they have the authority to define what success looks like for you, especially when they’re just random acquaintances you met five minutes ago. Maybe my lesson here is to stop letting those people into my energy in the first place. 

And just because someone else defines ambition as climbing the corporate ladder doesn’t mean that’s your ambition. Maybe your ambition is to own something small on the side that’s yours, and that’s enough. You don’t owe anyone the version of success they expect from you as if they have any right to try to decide your values for you? Words of caring caution are different than this level of dominance and control.

Anyone who pushes you to leave your current role for a higher salary or more responsibility likely doesn't understand the importance of stability in helping you stay organized, especially when you're already juggling a million things in your mind.

The haters of “comfort zones” do not care what happens to you or the consequences, they just have an agenda to impose their values on you and erode your dignity and self-determination, no one can tell you want your values are! Those people make me want run away from them. I would even change cities to remove myself from that if I need to. Just kidding, but they are repulsive with their need to control other humans. As for me, the control I seek is over my own life, not others. 

They also don’t seem to care that you don’t owe anyone the decision to start over just to satisfy their own desires, unless that’s truly what you want. A few more dollars in exchange for instability sounds stupid to me as if my health does not have enough upheavals for my life. Leaving one problem for another, without careful thought, only benefits those who try to control others' lives but don’t care about the consequences for you.

I sometimes feel like an alien on the wrong planet, and it’s no surprise—I’ve spent my whole life feeling like I don’t quite fit in because, in many ways, I don’t. This is why I wanted to create a different path, a remixed one. 

One reason I recommend keeping a day job that is at the correct stress level for your personal circumstances even if that sounds like coasting to outsiders who a lot to say for people who are not paying your bills or suffering through your health conditions (very audacious of people who bring nothing to the table except pollution from their opinions), even if you’re working on building your own hustle, is that slower progress without the anxiety of financial desperation makes more sense in the long run.

*The anxiety of struggling to pay rent and bills could eventually push you to take on bad clients or bad business deals just to make ends meet. Instead, think of your day job as an investment in your business. You’re not building someone else’s dream—you’re collaborating with them in a way that allows you to focus on building your own in the evenings and weekends. Or, if work gets too busy, you can hire contractors to help with your side hustle. Building more slowly keeps you focused on your purpose, rather than solely on money from a place of desperation, survival, and the bad type of anxiety that can incapacitate you further than overwork might.* 

You don’t need to climb the corporate ladder to prove your worth or make a living.

If you value autonomy, balance, and peace of mind/clear roles over climbing for a few extra dollars or a bigger title which to me doesn’t sound more fulfilling, then a stable lower-stress job paired with a side hustle might be the perfect fit for you. 

If you decide to leave your 9-to-5 job to pursue your passion, remember you’re on your own for benefits and retirement, so aim to earn at least three times your current salary. Do BOTH! Just get a properly designed 9-5 far away from over-lap loving people.

The notion that you need to know exactly what job you'll retire from or that you must stick to just one career path is outdated. Also, the idea that you need a "big girl job" to prove success is flawed. A corporate job, for example, might drain your energy and leave you too tired to focus on side projects or personal passions.

If you're intentionally choosing a lower-stress job to maintain a better work-life balance, that doesn’t mean you lack ambition or respect for your potential. It means you respect your health and well-being, especially when dealing with a chronic disability. People without similar challenges might not understand that, but that’s okay—it's not their place to judge.

It’s odd when others try to impose their beliefs on you, trying to control your life according to their standards. It's an invasion of personal agency, and it's a mindset I find distasteful. These overly controlling people get upset when they can't dictate how you live your life, and they often try to manipulate or coerce you into following their agenda.

Here’s the thing: you can use your day job to fund your dreams, and still approach that job with enthusiasm and dedication. And if you’re selling products, like supplements on grocery store shelves, they don’t require your constant oversight once they’re in circulation. People who push financial instability, especially for those with disabilities, clearly don’t care about the consequences if you lose your benefits. Don’t listen to trolls who try to rush you out of your current situation prematurely—they don’t respect your autonomy and shouldn’t be taken seriously. 

I no longer care what anyone thinks of the manner in which I express my ambition, they do not know what it is like to live a hair away from burnout and how controlled our output needs to be. The restrictions and limitations are strict, as with my alone-time-sleep-catch-up crash days and how I pause my side hustle whenever I please due to the online format I chose for a reason; however, I think that's better than not working at all.

Why would you need "more hours" to build an online or product-based business that is managed mostly by other people or technology? How illogical!

And "moving up" any corporate ladder for a 20K increase when they take over your life and you cannot have a side-hustle does not work for me. I love my "little girl" as opposed to "big girl" job that is lower stress as the side-hustle is not for added income streams alone, it is for ownership and investing in myself with a portfolio and products that I built.

Is it lacking ambition to have two lanes and a disability? I do not think so. Such people have absolutely no logical thinking skills. 

It takes a lot of reflection for me to envision opting out at some point, because again, clearly the system was not built for me, my conditions have been misunderstood my whole life, so why would I continue to be an active participant in something that can ultimately destroy me if other financially-protective options exist if the plug ever needs to be pulled?

People who are not responsible for the consequences of your chosen path are not in charge of your choices, nor do they truly care what happens to you. Protective people who encourage you to protect your financial safety are the only ones worth listening to.

And again, since working two lanes with a disability (that leaves me no spare time or breathing room or error margin for slippage or errors in planning) is considered a comfort zone or coasting, perhaps I can have them understand that retirement is actually coasting and what is really stopping me from that when I am ready? Since I love coasting, right?

Back to side hustles:

Having an additional income stream—even if it's part-time—puts you in a position of control. It’s not just about earning more money—it’s also about having your medical expenses covered more easily, which can be higher when you have a disability. Managing your health is complex and ever-changing, and it’s not always as straightforward as following a set path. Working towards extra income helps alleviate some of the financial stress that can come with unpredictable healthcare costs and the evolving nature of your condition or disability. Only you can depend on yourself for having your back in the end because every other possible route has multiple approval steps and nothing is guaranteed, build your own certainty by knowing how skilled you are in other arenas if needed. I do not care how neurotic I may sound right now, I am big on self-preservation and in fact, it is the first law of nature. 

When you have a health condition, it’s crucial to protect yourself and your future. That's why I always recommend having a backup plan, even if your backup skills are currently dormant. You never know when you might need to pivot out of necessity. It's not as unfair as it might seem on the surface, it is reality. 

Under no circumstances will I ever compromise on ensuring I am being responsible as my safety net under all of life's circumstances. I am thanking myself right now for having the sense to have maintained my certifications, even if I did not use them. My safety net is based on skills and certifications I have chosen to invest in over the years, it may not be immediately fruitful, but at least I know that I did something good for my future and that I did not allow it to be in someone else's hands. It's not about not trusting people (it is not wise to do anything but what makes you feel protected and no one should expect you to give up having your own mechanisms that you build), it's about respecting myself and never allowing myself to be submerged in life's storms. 

Start planning for short-term disability (before you need it) and ensure you’re saving for those "what if" moments. 

Yes, this means you not only may be at a disadvantage by a chronic health condition you do not just "figure out" once, but a health condition that can flare up at any time, and yes, you will also have to work harder than the average person, live a hair away from burnout, and have higher living and medical costs, all at once. It’s important to diversify your skills and have multiple options available, so that if your health worsens or accommodations are not possible in reality (which is a fact of life in many places, we just have to accept that this possibility exists), you’re not left scrambling like a rat.

Stack your skills in a way that makes you feel safe. You can always take your time to learn something new, bit by bit. And when I say stable job, I mean predictable paycheck to avoid financial disorganization, I do not mean that something is forever or stable in that you should not still have your head on a swivel.

I am not jaded, I am just saying that people should use their brains and up-skill when they can so that they are not passive in their life and take a proactive approach. 

For now, I’m pausing my side hustle until my health improves, but I’m not shutting it down. It's a personal protection strategy, and I encourage anyone facing similar challenges to do the same. Take care of yourself first, and keep your options open.

Everyone who is disabled deserves to not be at anyone else's mercy when it comes to the precursors to their health. A side-hustle, even if dormant, makes me feel safer.

At least I have alternate skills, that I may not use right this second, to fall back on if all else fails.

I would rather spend time considering all my options and mapping things out than not, it's a "be the flow" type of approach, do not just go with the flow, run the current to the extent you can. You are not a passenger in your own life, and neither am I. It's just about not being devastated when there may not be a place for your neurodivergent self everywhere, and that is fine, because you chose to spend most of your personal time learning other things for these exact situations. I was not going to share any of this, but I also know that I am not the only one who is exhausted. 

I look forward to more collaborations hopefully with Forbes and Adobe who respected the remote nature of my business, where we had clear roles, and where my scope was never over-burdened or pushed against (which is disgusting, cruel, and callous when there is a disability in the mix and someone is already at their maximum capacity, but many love to demand extra as if that was appropriate despite already knowing the scopes in place). Disabled people manage time and energy via clear scopes, that's usually how time management works in healthy situations. I also think it's important to mention that I love working with other businesses who respect autonomy, they do not know what is on my plate, I do not know what is on theirs, so requests are made as requests, not impositions.

Limits are not uncaring, they are very much normal, healthy, and responsible lines to draw for self-preservation. 

Who knows, maybe I will end up feeling better, but maybe I will "coast" my way to medical retirement for an existence free from needless interference and overlap, only time will tell. 👌

My wiring, just like amputees not growing their legs back, does not change because I love my work, my loved ones, or my business, my wiring is to be worked around - not worked against or pushed against, otherwise medical decisions have to be made about who and what can be in my life and some may not be able to as their pushiness is making my already-full schedule and high-stress level worse and what they bring to my life does not justify this and neither to the breadcrumbs they gave me in childhood (back when I had the spare time, not having it anymore isn’t something I can change or apologize for so my limits are what they are - take it or leave it but additional stress will not be tolerated). 

I will not walk around this planet acting like I have less limitations than I have because certain systems were built against neurodiversity and are inconvenienced. 💯

When your schedule is at a maximum pressure-cooker level because your ADHD wiring makes you burnout-prone, you are not to stay around anyone, if avoidable, who tries to push you to spend time, resources, or energy you do not have.

I do not mind living on the “edge” of burnout as I am choosing to work many lanes as it makes me feel alive, but not when I need to do more with fewer hours constantly rather than only once in a while. I work on my own time on businesses as I love working, but when I stop feeling rewarded, it makes me want to retire. I love comfort zones, remember?   

I place high importance on respect for limits and frankly, if I have to preserve my health through drastic-seeming changes, I am all for it. I do not have time for additional health-risks. And in terms of what is included with my products or services or within my work, you get what you pay for because otherwise, cutting into my sleep or ability to work somewhere else on my own time for pay or for time-respecting clients to fund future possible medical emergencies is undermining the fact that I am even willing to work more to make more in the first place.   

I’ll reconnect when the time is right and I appreciate everyone's understanding. 

Warmly,
Karisa