How to Burnout: Overachievement & Constant Productivity
Have you ever felt like you’re not good enough simply because you weren’t as productive that day as you could have been? Trust me, we’ve all been there. Equating your self-worth to your productivity is a common trap in a world like ours that glorifies busyness ahead of everything else. It’s also a key way on how to burnout. When worth = accomplishments, hustle culture is nearby. Hustle culture is toxic and tells us that slowing down and resting is for the weak. It diminishes people’s accomplishments as well as creates perceptions of scarcity. Not only am I not enough, but there’s also not enough. Whether enough is work, money, jobs, time, sleep, worth, or something else, this mindset can quickly lead to burnout on one end and overachievement and constant productivity on the other.
But what happens when the constant pursuit of success starts chipping away at our mental well-being? In this blog, we’ll determine the hidden mental toll of overachievement and constant productivity and get into why balance is actually essential for long-term success and happiness.
Hustle Culture is Toxic: The Pressure to Always Be “On”
From a young age, society has conditioned us to believe being busy equals being valuable. Whether it’s excelling at school or work, maintaining an active social life, or chasing personal goals, many of us feel like we can never take our foot off the gas because we fear being seen as “less”.
Once you get trapped in the overachievement cycle, it’s tough to break out. Moreover, living in this state often triggers chronic stress, which can lead to burnout, anxiety, and even depression. So, how do you know if you’re trapped in this cycle? It’s easy, consult with our checklist:
- Do you feel guilty when taking breaks?
- Are you constantly checking emails or messages, even outside work hours?
- Do you measure your self-worth by productivity levels?
- Do you prioritize work over personal relationships and self-care?
- Do you struggle to celebrate accomplishments because the next goal is always in sight?
If you answered “yes” to three or more of these questions, you’re in serious danger of burning out. That is, of course, unless you change something about your mindset and behavior!
The Myth of Work-Life Balance
Many workplaces promote work-life balance on their websites and in HR meetings. However, in reality, the expectation is often to be available 24/7. On the one hand, this leads to blurry boundaries where work spills into personal life, making it vital to learn how to manage stress more effectively. This is especially hard when you’re working from home and feel like you’re always at the office, always available. Or, if you are in a leadership position and believe you need to regularly be available, which turns into not ever really stepping away from work.
On the other hand, permeable or more open work life boundaries can create social isolation. Basically, when deadlines and obligations take over your brain, friends and family tend to take a backseat to all of that. You stop making time for these essential connections, and the effects are very visible. Finally, always being “on” leaves little room for genuine rest or joy. At the end of the day, it’s emotionally and psychologically exhausting.
In sum, work-life balance is a myth. A better description is the work-life juggle or work-life boundaries.
Overachievers, Anxiety, & Perfectionism
Sometimes, the lack of work life boundaries creates perceptions that your work outcomes are never enough. For some people, quality outcomes become the focus of their work. What can start as well intentioned performance and work enjoyment can slowly devolve into stress, anxiety, comparison, and a desire to make things “perfect.” Perfectionism and anxiety are like dancing partners. The constant vigilance to compare and the pressure to outperform can create an internal dialogue of self-doubt, leading to stress, imposter syndrome, and even panic attacks for some people. The desire to excel at everything can spiral into self-criticism and fear of failure, leading to lack of initiative and low self-esteem.
The perfectionism trap is quite common, and it usually starts with setting unrealistically high standards for yourself. Furthermore, you start being overly critical of your mistakes even though you wouldn’t see them at all if other people made them instead. Because all you can notice are your flaws and mistakes, you start avoiding new challenges, fearing you’re not excelling and feeling anxious or like nothing you ever do is “good enough”.
The belief of needing to do a “perfect job” or produce exceptional outcomes can further be exacerbated by geopolitical decisions, changes in work culture or policy, layoffs, or an increased amount of oversight into your performance. Perfectionism then, demands more and more, and between deadlines, meetings, transitions, and other work, as well as home-related tasks, some employees may question where the time is going to come from to get work done. In these situations, what may initially start as 5- or 15-more minutes at work at the end of the workday, to try and get ahead, or simply get things done, can evolve into hours or even weekends.
The Physical Consequences of Overachievement
Burnout can be both mental and physical. Most commonly, productivity-oriented burnout is followed by a number of symptoms, such as:
- Headaches and migraines
- Trouble sleeping or constant fatigue
- Digestive issues due to chronic stress
- Muscle tension and body aches
- Weakened immune system (frequent colds, infections, etc.)
However, it’s not just about these symptoms themselves. When we ignore the body’s signals, we risk long-term health issues like heart disease, hormonal imbalances, and even autoimmune disorders.
When Productivity Becomes an Escape Mechanism
Alternatively, staying busy isn’t just about ambition or their inner need to prove themselves. For some, staying busy is a way to distract themselves and avoid uncomfortable emotions. However, as you could’ve guessed, work isn’t one of the healthiest coping mechanisms out there. The real issues don’t just disappear just because you don’t have the time or energy to think about them. Instead, they just get buried under endless to-do lists.
If you’re afraid you might be using productivity to cope, ask yourself these questions:
- Have you noticed yourself being more irritable or annoyed than normal?
- Do you struggle to sit in stillness without feeling restless?
- Do you feel anxious when you have a break or are laying down at night to go to sleep?
- Do you use work to distract yourself from personal problems, unwanted thoughts, or emotions?
- Do you experience the “Sunday scaries,” where you dread going into work on Monday?
If the answer is yes to any of the above, read on.
Redefining Success and Finding Balance
As we already covered, pushing for constant productivity can take a serious toll on mental health. Many people don’t have good coping strategies in knowing what to do when unwanted thoughts or emotions come up, so they turn to temporary fixes like denial that there is a problem, working more, using alcohol, drugs, porn, or weed, or numbing out through screens of any size, here are some alternative ideas:
- Consider what exactly you are trying to avoid
- Record what you think will happen if you face the issue you are avoiding
- Consider alternative examples of what could happen
- List the ways that you have tried to manage the situation so far
- Consider what you can realistically accomplish each day
- Write down estimated, but realistic timelines next to your to do list, whether it is specific dates, time frames, or priority levels
- Identify what is within your control
- Consider working with a mental health professional short-term to identify ways to manage stress effectively, reconfigure negative thought patterns and establish healthier work-life boundaries.
Having goals and chasing them is great! Feeling motivated and finding purpose is what makes this life worth living. However, there is a limit to chasing these goals before the process starts consuming you. If overachievement is running your life, it may be time to pause and ask: At what cost? There’s a huge hidden mental toll of overachievement and constant productivity, and for some, the effects can be devastating. That’s why it’s essential to create a sustainable, boundaried life that allows space for joy, rest, and self-acceptance.
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