Hustle culture is everywhere in today’s world, and while we can’t deny that it motivates people to chase after their dreams and realize their passions, one of our biggest problems with this mindset trending is its romanticization of spending all your time doing nothing but work. Sure, many would argue that sacrificing present comforts for the benefit of your future self is the natural order of things, but once we fail to draw the line between career and personal life, it carries long-term adverse effects on the body and mind.
You see, work isn’t your entire life but only a fraction of it, and dedicating every waking moment to a career deprives you of equally important experiences that will shape your character and build you as a person. So, before you let the crowd effect lull you into the same echo chamber of working yourself to the ground, remember that the most successful entrepreneurs understand the value of time, and that goes both ways for pay and play.
You Can Only Stay Productive For So Long
To put things into context, no matter how hard you work or the cumulative hours you put into a project, you can only stay productive for so long until you start slowing down and plateauing in progress due to physical and mental fatigue. At the end of the day, you’re still human and like everyone else in the world: (1) the lack of rest will soon catch up with you, and (2) your motivation will start to break apart from the inside.
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The Lack Of Rest Will Catch Up With You
Some people like to think that the pressure and stress help them access some form of high-performance flow state, but when you’re cranking out 100% without rest, all that build-up will cause you to crash. Specifically, your working memory will be severely affected by sleep deprivation, and no amount of sheer willpower will recuperate energy lost. As a result, your productivity takes a nosedive, and you’ll be producing substandard output.
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Your Motivation Will Break Apart From The Inside
Unlike robots that run purely off the access to a stable energy source, the foundation of your drive and motivation isn’t built by dreams alone. You’re a unique individual with thoughts, emotions, and needs that go beyond the basic level, aspirations that you won’t satisfy by narrowing your mindset onto a single concept. In consequence, that burning passion inside of you starts to fade when you don’t give it the opportunity to rekindle its flame with a break.
Set Strict Boundaries on Where and When You Work
Given the constraints of working hard and the marginal costs exceeding the returns when pushing yourself past your limits 24/7, it’s pretty clear that you need to set some strict boundaries if you’re quite the workaholic. And if your career and upcoming projects are all you can think about, we recommend following the rules of (1) avoiding all forms of work past midnight, (2) keeping weekends strictly for rest, and (3) utilizing a time schedule for all your activities.
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Anything Past Midnight Is A No Go
People love to glamourize the idea of spending the entire night doing nothing but work, and while it can help meet deadlines, it’s a bad habit you should start separating from as soon as possible. The night is meant for rest, relaxation, and a bit of introspection to calm your nerves and reach a state of peace. And if you can’t help but feel anxious, try focusing your mind on something else like whipping up a delicious batch of spiced chicken.
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Weekends Are For Rest, Not For Crunch
Sometimes, we can’t help but squeeze work responsibilities into the weekend because there just isn’t enough time during regular working hours to make finalizations. However, we firmly believe that setting aside weekends strictly for rest is a much smarter way of handling your responsibilities because it saves you from immersing yourself in the crunch culture. Once something starts seeping into your weekends, you lose ground fast with your hobbies, and that’s the last thing you want to happen.
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Follow An Efficient Time Schedule
Last but not least, most newbie entrepreneurs severely underestimate just how helpful an efficient time schedule can be when attaining balance, so we recommend starting one right now. Most careers are super flexible nowadays, so if you constantly jump from one idea to the next, you’re never going to finish anything on time. Plus, you should also consider investing in time-savers such as updating your computer desktop components or buying a brand new Kia car for sale.
Please Don’t Get Carried Away With “Exceptions.”
Look, we understand that no matter how strict you are with your boundaries, there will be episodes of you lapsing back into exceptions and making space for imbalances with your time management. But, instead of reprimanding yourself over every little thing, just remember to monitor your actions and not get carried away with being so lenient.
