When the pandemic hit in March of 2020, I think there was a bit of a lull in the world.

As everyone was stuck at home, I tried searching for things to do. This went from just finishing the last semester of an associate’s degree online to starting slowly back up at my job to enrolling and starting a paraprofessional certificate to getting an internship.

I did all of this just because I wanted something to do. While I’ve always loved being really busy, I’m now starting to realize how constantly doing something can actually be toxic.

I started realizing relatively recently that I just adhere really well to hustle culture. Which in my case, worked well, but I noticed that I get burned out quickly.

For those that don’t know, hustle culture is defined as overworking yourself, to put it simply. Taylor University defines hustle culture as “the state of overworking to the point where it becomes a lifestyle.”

I think that’s the life of most college students, though. We overwork ourselves to the point of burnout and exhaustion.

In my Spanish class a few days ago, our professor asked those that did homework over break to raise their hands. Almost my entire class raised their hands, and we all said that we were some form of tired.

As I transition into a more adult world, I’m beginning to realize that having an overworking lifestyle is neither sustainable nor healthy.

Those are two of the biggest reasons that hustle culture is awful. When people are so busy, they can avoid self-care.

Another reason that hustle culture is awful is it prevents us from a good life balance. Without that, people end up getting burnt out too quickly.

Personally, I burn out so quickly that sometimes I have the intention of doing something and I won’t do it in favor of sleep or doing something fun. Especially with finals two weeks away, getting burnt out isn’t really an option if I want to do well on my exams and projects.

Finally, hustle culture is awful because it doesn’t allow people to hear themselves think. People spend so much time consumed in going through the motions of their day to day life.

When that happens, people really can neglect their health, which can affect so many things in our health and overall wellbeing. This can impact other things in our lives as well like grades, work and relationships.

However, it is also important to me, as someone who falls prey to hustle culture, to make a few minutes for myself. I always try finding time to do things I like to do in my free time.

And you should do that too. The times we’re getting into are difficult for so many students that it is important to feel like you aren’t doing enough.

Even though it may feel like you aren’t doing enough, I promise you that you are doing great. You got this and I believe in you.

Katja Benz is a junior English major and Spanish minor. She can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].