The Multi-Hyphen Method
Extract: Just because we can do more, doesn’t mean we should. The metric of success used to be ‘busy’. It still is, in some ways. The ideal worker has to look like they are doing the most in order to be congratulated. I recognise this because I worked in this sort of environment for years. We feel as though every single moment of time needs to be filled to the brim in order to get the most out of every second of every day. However, being busy all the time is certainly not allowing us to be creative.
Being busy is still something that people like to brag about. Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer told Bloomberg News that she used to work 130-hour work weeks. Most ‘successful’ people profiled in Stylist magazine get up at 6 a.m. and often work into the evening. Apple CEO Tim Cook told Time magazine once that he begins his day at 3:45 a.m. It seems odd that working insane hours is still something to brag about, that it’s still seen in some way as equalling success. However, slowly this is changing.
Human beings aren’t meant to always be on. I love this quote: ‘There is literally nothing in nature that blooms all year long so do not expect yourself to do so.’ It reminds us that we are organisms that need to rest and grow.
