Why You SHOULDN’T Be Hustling 24/7
Say no to the culture of hustling 24/7 — and start playing more.
Working hard to achieve your goals is a good thing. Don’t get me wrong. It is important to put consistent effort into the things you want.
However, as I come to find on my own journey, it is not everything. Actually, it might be counter-effective to what you want.
By hustling all the time and thinking about your work and goals all the time, it can actually stop you from achieving your goals.
If you have no time to rest up and process all the information that you have dealt with during the day, you will burn up very soon and will not be able to continue your work and achieve your goals in the long run.
Why you shouldn’t be hustling 24/7
Our brains get overloaded daily with all kinds of information and stimuli from the outside world.
And this is without taking into consideration all the thoughts that are running around your mind and draining your energy.
We are often stuck in our minds, busy thinking about a lot of things. We are busy thinking about what we will have for lunch or for dinner that day, what is still on our to-do list, how we can solve that problem at work, and at what time we need to leave to be at that appointment later.
This kind of overthinking can drain your energy significantly and cause a lot of stress.
If we are constantly busy working and chasing our goals, we have no mental space to process all the information and thoughts that enter and occupy our minds.
So, in order for our brains to get more time and (mental) space to actually process everything and be our most productive and inspired self, it is vital for us to implement more time to play in our lives.
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” — George Bernard Shaw
The importance of play
With play, I mean time to relax and do something that recharges you. Something just for the sake of enjoyment.
This could be anything from reading an interesting book, watching a good show, talking with friends or family, spending quality time with your partner, going for a walk, or whatever it is that gives you joy and recharges your batteries.
Play is essential, not just because it relieves stress, but also because it gives room for creativity and inspiration.
It gives our brains the mental space to solve the problems we have been dealing with, and to think of new ways of approaching them.
Dr. Stuart Brown, MD, founder of the National Institute for Play, found that play improves everything, from relationships to health to learning. It leads to an increase in brain plasticity, adaptivity, and creativity. All very important if you want to reach your goals.
“Nothing fires up the brain like play.” — dr. Stuart Brown, MD
Three key benefits of play
As Greg McKeown writes in his book ‘Essentialism’, play is important for three reasons:
1. It opens up more possibilities
Playing helps us see options that we otherwise would have missed. It also helps us make connections that we otherwise would not have made.
It opens our minds and our perspectives to new ideas and new ways of doing things.
2. It reduces stress
I don’t have to tell you how bad stress is for our health. You have probably already come across this piece of information somewhere, or you have experienced it yourself.
Stress is not only bad for your health, but also for your productivity. It shuts down the creative and explorative parts of our brain, so you literally can’t think clearly anymore.
Maybe you have felt this already when you are stressed about something and you forget to do something important.
I know that when I am stressed about something, I am distracted and often miss opportunities to do or say something that I wish I had later on.
Well, play can help with that. In fact, play is the antidote to stress according to Greg McKeown.
3. It increases the executive functions of the brain
These functions include for example: planning, prioritising, deciding and analysing. All very important functions in any area of our lives, I’d say.
It also stimulates the parts of the brain that are logical and reasonable, but also the ones that are carefree and explorative. So you not only increase your ability to be more logical and reasonable, you also increase your creativity and carefree attitude.
This might explain why we have our greatest breakthroughs when we are doing something other than thinking about having a breakthrough :)
“Whoever wants to understand much must play much.” — Gottfried Benn
How to play more in your life
One way to invite more play into your life is to think about what you used to do as a kid to play and how you can translate that into your life now.
This is a great way to think about how to play more in your life.
But, you might now only be thinking of playing in your free time after work.
However, work is such a big part of our day — and of our lives. That is why I think it is important to also introduce play during times of work.
Playing during your workday
Now you might be wondering, that sounds great and I want to implement that more into my life, but I am just too busy and don’t know how to make the time for it.
Well, for this I suggest we turn to the 52–17 method.
This proven method advocates that you work for 52 minutes straight — but really work, no Whatsapp, no social media nor any other distractions! — and then take a break of 17 minutes.
During these 17 minute breaks, you step away from your desk and computer and go do something completely different.
This might sound counterintuitive or like a waste of time, but this actually replenishes your motivation, energy, and creativity so you can be more productive and focused during the times that you do work.
From my personal experience, I noticed that these 17-minute breaks really refresh me and give me a clearer mind and energy to continue my work. On top of that, I often feel even more inspired because of taking this 17-minute break.
Not only is this a great way of increasing your focus and motivation when you work, but you can also try to use these 17-minute breaks to implement time to play in your workday. Who knows, you might even start enjoying your workdays from now.
Final thoughts
Play is incredibly important. It not only reduces stress, but also helps us gain more clarity, productivity, and creativity. It can help us find the answers to the problems we have been crunching on for a while. And let’s face it — it is also just plain fun to spend time doing the things you enjoy doing.
Play gives us renewed energy. Play gives us new ideas and new perspectives. Play revitalises us.
By revitalising us in this way, we can go out and smash our goals much easier than if we are overworked by hustling all the time.
So why not try and see how this works for you and your life? Whether it is after work, or in breaks during. Maybe you will be more inspired, deliver better work and be so much more productive during the times you are actually working.
Let me know in the comment section what you think about this! Or you can send me an e-mail at: [email protected].
As always, I am grateful to be able to share things that have really helped me on my journey. I hope that by sharing this, it will also help you on your journey. If you liked the content, leave some comments, leave some claps and follow for more. Thanks!
With love,
Catharina