You know what they say: if you want something good out of life you’ve got to work hard. Achievement and success come from embracing the grind, always hustling, and never giving up.
But hold on.
While it’s obviously important to have some sense of direction, and to be able to work consistently on things you care about, this productivity-centric “hustle-culture” may end up doing a lot more harm than good, when all is considered.
Here are just a handful of reasons why you shouldn’t try to be productive all the time.
Because inspiration and quality work are often fuelled by leisure and play
For one thing, even if you’re thinking primarily about the quality of the work you are doing, it is very often the case that the best quality work – spurred on by the greatest degree of inspiration – Is fuelled by leisure and play.
Many brilliant scientists of the past, including Richard Feynman, argued that it was only because they were allowed to play around and not strictly “work,” while on the job, that allowed them to actually have their greatest Eureka moments.
By the same token, many of the most gripping novels out there were conceived in flashes of inspiration by people who were doing other things at the time.
Although there is something compelling about the idea of “just doing the work,” the reality is that inspiration actually does matter, and everyone needs to recharge their batteries from time to time in order to avoid burnout, in any case.
Because your health can suffer dramatically from always being “on the go”
If you have a particular physical ailment, you will likely take some proactive steps to address it, whether that means sleeping in compression socks, or visiting the dentist.
But the best way to protect your health and well-being is to focus on avoiding those sorts of problems in the first place, and to live in a holistic way that helps you to feel your best on a consistent basis.
The bottom line is that trying to be hyperproductive can seriously impair your health in a bunch of different ways, ranging from robbing you of much-needed sleep, to causing a chronic elevation of stress hormones, to robbing you of precious time spent with your loved ones.
Because the world can end up seeming like a very cold and hollow place if you are constantly trying to systematise everything
If you are constantly trying to systematise everything – such as by dividing the day into 15 minute blocks and trying to make sure that it’s all perfectly scheduled out – life can very quickly end up seeming totally cold and hollow.
This shouldn’t be surprising, since what you’re really doing is trying to model your entire life after a machine or a computer program.
But life is something organic that’s meant to flow, and to be rich and deep.
By breaking out of the mindset of constantly trying to optimise productivity, you allow the richer and more meaningful aspects of life to come to the fore.
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