Most of us are familiar with the hustling mentality of working longer hours, going the extra mile all the time, never resting, eating lunch at our desks, making as much money as possible, and so on. And we get it, we really do, but one thing those motivational speakers, and motivational posts don’t talk about? Exhaustion, counter-productivity, and burnout. While there is a lot to admire about those that would say they’re a part of the hustle culture, we also know that this culture takes a toll on both our mental and physical health.
Hustle culture will tell you that there’s no time for breaks. And first of all, breaks are awesome, you should take them. Second of all, it’s been proven that breaks are conducive to success. In fact, after a study Researcher William S. Helton (2019) concluded, “No matter which type of break they were given, all of the students in the break groups performed better on the attention task than those who kept slogging away without an intermission.” (40).
If you consider yourself spiritual, the proof is there too. Take the Sabbath day which is practiced in both Christianity and Judaism. Once a week, on the holiday (holy day), productivity is halted and people are encouraged to spend a day resting, enjoying time and meals with friends and loved ones.
Researchers have also found that our want or urge to continue working even though we could use a break has a lot to do with the fact that we’ve become disconnected from the natural world. Instead of letting our bodies tell us what to do, or at least getting a word in, we’re being ruled by the time clock.
Now, if you’ve ever solved all the world’s problems in the shower (or at least thought of the best rebuttal to an argument) then you’ll be interested in what is now known as the “shower effect”. Richard Sima (2013) writes, “Our ability to generate novel ideas and creative thoughts probably arises from our brain’s ‘default mode network,’ a constellation of brain regions that are active when our thoughts are turned inward, such as when mind-wandering.”
The bottom line? We understand the hustle culture but to support it is frankly, ignorant when we can prove that pressing pause every now and again produces real psychological effects. In fact, taking time out of our day to just slow down prevents us from rushing through life and never really being present, and we think that’s a good enough reason to take a break.