Hailee Steinfeld Is a Doomscroller, Too
For an actor who’s starred in films and TV shows with some of the biggest fandoms in pop culture, it’s nice to know Hailee Steinfeld struggles with the same life goals as the rest of us: She’s trying to drink more water and cut down her screen time. “I find that I’m being productive, responding to emails, and then suddenly I’m scrolling, and I get caught up and I’m falling down a rabbit hole,” she says. “It’s a goal to get that screentime notification and have it down by 50 percent every time. Oh, and always drinking more water.” Girl, same.
Like any true Sagittarius, Steinfeld is determined—sometimes to her detriment. “I’m an incredibly ambitious person and sometimes I will bite off more than I can chew,” she says. “I love what I do, it very rarely feels like work until I realize I haven’t stopped for a while.” But she’s gotten better at recognizing the signs of burnout before they hit too hard. On a humid New York evening at The Well, Steinfeld and I spoke about how she takes care of herself, her new collaboration with Core Hydration, and how she finds confidence on those days when she’s just not feeling it.
What new wellness things have you worked into your routine this year?
I have become more aware and more concerned about everything I put in my body, from the ingredients and products that I’m using and the food that I’m eating. I have found a love in preparing my own food, for the sake of knowing exactly how it’s prepared and what’s going into it. I’ve realized that I genuinely feel better when things are cleaner and it makes a fun night out at your favorite restaurant that meal way more exciting, and you appreciate it more.
You spoke earlier about being ambitious, and from your career, that much is clear. How do you prevent burnout?
I’m so thankful that I can now detect it. I can feel I can catch it early enough to the point where I don’t ever get there, or not nearly as often as I used to.
How do you find stillness?
I think it’s understanding that a break doesn’t have to be two weeks, three months, whatever. It can be 20 minutes; it can be a weekend. I’ve also learned that a day off can feel like an eternity if you go into it with the right idea of how to utilize that time.
A day off can feel like an eternity if you go into it with the right idea of how to utilize that time.
Hailee Steinfeld
You have a very public life that calls you to be confident all the time, even when you’re not feeling it. What’s your secret there? Do you, like, stare yourself down in the mirror before a red carpet?
Fake it till you make it! As far as getting ready for an event, I think there’s a mental component. I guess that is confidence. I can allow myself some time to mentally prepare and it’s a wild part of my job, but it’s a part that I love so much.
It’s so exciting to be able to have the greatest hair and makeup people and beautiful clothes—you’ve just spent the last two and a half hours getting ready and I sometimes I’m like, ‘If I don’t feel confident under this, I don’t know what’s gonna help me.’ But I think it depends on the day, you can wake up and be having an off day for a multitude of reasons.
It just comes down to understanding that you’re human and you can have an off day. Confidence has to be executed. You fake it till you make it and once you want to get into it, you believe that you feel it. I think I’ve realized that when I feel good—and this goes for any aspect of life—if I’m out to lunch with my friends, if I’m in a good mood, it’s a great lunch. If I’m feeling good about myself, then everything just seems to flow.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
