Many professionals have grown weary with the mentality that constantly working is a good thing.

Insider spoke with two counselors and a productivity coach for tips on unlearning hustle culture.

They say it's crucial to learn to say no, prioritize downtime and rest, and avoid multitasking.










Loading
Something is loading.















"Hustle culture" is the belief that we're meant to burn the candle at both ends in order to be successful in our careers. It's a mentality that can push professionals to the edge of burnout and exhaustion. What's more, it's especially concentrated and internalized by millennials. 
"Hustle culture is driven by surviving," Alphonso Nathan, a Philadelphia-based counselor and co-owner of psychiatric practice Brightside Medical Associates, told Insider. "When you're in survival mode, the fear of not having makes you want to hustle even more."
But despite the prevalence of hustle culture, more and more people are rebuking the "grind" mentality in favor of jobs with a healthier routine. According to a Prudential survey of 2,000 people, one-third of respondents who'd switched jobs during the pandemic took less pay in exchange for better work-life balance.
How hustle culture has been internalized by a generation of professionals 
The reasons for internalizing hustling are varied, Nathan said. On one hand, it can be absorbed from our environment.


 "We see celebrities and influencers making substantial amounts of money … praising entrepreneurship, and sometimes even degrading the 'working class' to feel that they aren't working hard enough," Nathan said.
On the other hand, the urge to constantly be working can also stem from childhood, said Angela Robinson, a licensed professional counselor and clinical director at NorthNode Group Counseling. "The culture of growing up in despair can cause a person to go into hustle overdrive in order to gain a level of security," Robinson told Insider.
Job security and the fear of being let go can also cause some professionals to feel the need to go above and beyond at all times. "We see that a 'hustle' can give a sense of ownership," or security with a job, Robinson said, which can allow the person "to maintain a sense of control" that they're doing what they need to to stay employed and keep their career on track.
How 'living for work' leads to professional burnout
Since hustle culture is driven by a need to work, it can similarly diminish the importance of downtime, taking breaks, and creating a social life and having hobbies outside of work. This can cause some professionals to over-rely on their job for their sense of identity and self-worth.


Embracing work-life balance can help you spend your time doing more things that you love outside of work and inspire reflection as to whether or not your work life is truly fulfilling.
Here are six steps that counselors Nathan and Robinson and career coach Donna McGeorge recommended taking to unlearn hustle culture and improve your wellbeing.
1. Protect your time and energy
The first step is to realize that constantly being "on" doesn't mean you're productive, productivity coach and author Donna McGeorge said. In fact, taking breaks and prioritizing rest has been shown to boost productivity. 
McGeorge suggested scheduling protected time in your day to "stop, breathe, and take stock." This can be as simple as protecting just one hour a day by scheduling a self-check-in — time when you can defuse and reflect on what's sapping your energy "so that you can respond positively to, and even take advantage of, changing circumstances," McGeorge said.


2. Stop multitasking
"The hustle mentality can have you multitasking at a high level but not completing anything — or worse, completing everything below your capabilities," Nathan said.
Multitasking has been tied to decreased attention spans and poor memory function. Instead of doing five things at once, focus on one task at a time.
 "Making a running task list can be helpful," Nathan said. "As you complete one thing, check it off on your list. It's a boost of dopamine to your brain to know that you successfully completed something." 
3. Wipe the slate clean
There's a sense of overwhelm that comes with constant hustling — your brain is in a constant fight or flight response mode, which can lead to prolonged spikes in cortisol, the stress hormone. 


Getting these overwhelming or intrusive thoughts out of your head can help. McGeorge said one of the best ways to do so is by writing, whether journaling or making lists, and using a pen and paper for the best results. Writing has been shown to help relieve anxiety, combat intrusive thoughts, reduce depressive symptoms, all of which can be indicators of burnout.
"Do a 'wipe the mind' every morning where you download everything that's on your mind from your head to a notebook," McGeorge said. "It's to get everything out of your head so you don't have to hold on to it."
4. Learn to say no
When we're in a hustle mentality, "we think that we have to say 'yes' to everything and try to make it work," Nathan said, which can lead to being overworked.
To say "no" effectively, learn to simultaneously ask for help and make your needs known. If your boss puts another project on your desk that you don't have time for, for example, Nathan suggested the following response: "Hi, I'm actually swamped right now and I've hit my capacity as far as my workload is concerned. Would you mind if I ask a coworker to tag-team this project instead?"


5. Define your own needs and values
With social media inundating us with ads and influencers that glamorize the grind of hustling, it's easy to confuse or lose touch with our own values.
A journaling exercise can help you "explore what learned behaviors have been generationally passed down or learned from society," Robinson said, which can help you separate what you're told to want — i.e., a lucrative job — with what you may personally want — i.e., a job that offers a healthy and supportive work-life balance. 
To start, write down self-sabotaging thoughts or behaviors, such as feelings of imposter syndrome or minimizing your accomplishments to coworkers. Consider where these feelings are coming from and whether they're beneficial to your personal and career growth. 
Instead of feeding into feelings of inadequacy, consider what you can do to improve each feeling, such as taking an online course to strengthen a certain skill or networking more proactively to be more confident among colleagues. 


6. Seek help
If you feel that you're nearing burnout, Robinson said it's important to talk to a therapist. "They will give you a third-person perspective and help you analyze any behavioral patterns that are an issue," she said.
At the end of the day, even if you struggle with hustle culture, remember that you're of no good to yourself, your employer, or your loved ones if you're burned out, Nathan said.
"Just like on an airplane," Nathan said, "You have to put your own mask on before you help anyone else with theirs."

Source: Business Insider

Powered by NewsAPI.org