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Have you been swamped with work, so much so that you lose track of time? Does twenty-four hours a day never suffice for all the tasks on your list?
You’re probably witnessing the phenomenon known as ‘hustle culture’. What is this hustle culture we speak of? Well, simply put, it means you devote as much as time possible within a day working- or hustlin’. This idea of hustle culture began when black rappers in the 1990’s and 2000’s started framing the words ‘hustle’ into their lyrics, praising the grind-and-rise mentality of the hardworking black man. Slowly, over the years, this culture turned into ‘#hustle’ on Instagram. Welcome to hustle culture- where it’s each man for himself, trying to last longer than the other in a perpetual rat race. This hyped culture the youth is so obsessed with is not only extremely toxic- but also mentally heavy in the long run.
Apart from the short-term spikes, glamourising the toil and pushing that as a means to define oneself is, at the end of the day, nothing but dangerous workaholism- a mindset fixed by capital structures that loom over us in an attempt to exploit labour force.
How can the average individual like you and me find a way out of this virulent environment? Let’s look at Elon Musk, an icon reviewed multiple times for his views on hustle culture- ‘But nobody ever changed the world working 40 hours a week,’ he said on Twitter. On that positive note, here are some healthy ways to overcome this hustle race-
- Work smarter, not harder: find shortcuts that don’t compensate for quality. Your best bet is to reduce the time you spend monotonously and maybe try grouping similar tasks together. Skip the urge to procrastinate. Slogging didn’t get anybody anywhere.
- Find your zen: what works for you, when does it work for you? Are you an early bird or someone who works in the evening? Plan your day according to what suits you best and remember to balance parts of work time and me-time.
- Lastly- stop normalising hustle culture. Whether it’s social media or it’s all in your head- hustle culture reduces imagination and productivity by huge margins during the course of your work.
As the old saying goes, all work and no play makes jack a dull boy. We never did hear of jack after that anyway, did we?
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If you think you may be experiencing the symptoms of stress and burnout, and are caught in the never-ending drudgery of hustle culture, you can talk to one of our psychologists and gain some perspective – to hustle less, and find moments of stillness and happiness.
