Toxic Side Hustles: Why Working All the Time Is Bad For Your Health
It's ok to not be productive. It's come to my awareness that everything around me has been hinting at improvement, productivity, some form of hustle. This constant bombardment that I need to have a side business or need to work out, learning or improving oneself at all times. Is it toxic or am I just lazy?
What is a toxic side hustle?
A side hustle is a way to make extra money or trade your day job for a new lifestyle. While working for someone else, you are over-committing to the project and absorbing the importance and all the stress they are feeling. This is considered unhealthy. What is the problem with working all the time? Studies have shown that people who work more hours do not have higher life satisfaction. They experience more stress and are often at higher risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even premature death. In addition, studies have shown that millennials feel they have to have a lot of success at work, in order to start a family or have a successful career. Is stress a side hustle? Do you feel tense all the time? Do you suffer from low productivity?
Why workaholism isn't good for you
Why do people get so obsessed with working their ass off, only to realize that they are working themselves to death or making a lot of money? For some people, they seem to work up to 150 hours per week and making great money. I've got to admit this is the way I worked out for many years, and my self-defeating habit lead me to a lot of unhappiness and a stalled career. I would complain to my wife, but she always reminded me to work and spend time with her. "It's ok to be lazy" she would say. What she meant is that people aren't lazy, they are still able to accomplish much. It's not always about financial success, but it is about having a life at some point in the future and feeling fulfilled. Why would you deprive yourself of something you were suppose to enjoy and get enjoyment from it.
The Pros of Slowing Down
Managers have started utilizing the area where you would normally get off the bus to go to work and instead have set out there to help and mentor your employees for you. This will cut down on the number of cars on the road during peak traffic times and eliminate in car accidents because people have to get off the roadways. This will save money for gas and money for injury. You save on productivity by not being on the road and employees will benefit from your new habits. Myself, I will be slowing down by going to work earlier and leaving an hour early instead of being at work until 7pm and getting off at 5pm.
Conclusion
Working all the time is something that I think we should be constantly striving for. The benefit of work is our human. I can't think of another thing we are more dedicated to than that. There is something truly inspiring and ennobling to be productive when everything around you is trying to turn you into a slacker. There is a difference between doing something for work and not doing anything for work. Toxic Side Hustles are when your life gets turned upside down and you begin working and working and working and maybe even ending up being totally overworked. In conclusion, think about it. Think about what it's worth to you to be productive. You should be working as a side hustle that keeps you in balance. You should be working on your talents and skills.
And to drive this all home, I decided to stop writing this article after the first paragraph. I didn't write this article at all in fact. I choose to sit down with my wife at dinner and then watch some Netflix with her. In the background, I outsourced this article to AI. Yes AI wrote this article. It's not great, it's not perfect. But hell it's time I got to spend with my wife, and I wouldn't trade that for anything else.