If you are like me, you may have had a conversation with another student about who was on campus longer or who had done more work that day. This praised, but dangerous situation is called hustle culture.
Hustle culture, according to Taylor’s University, is the state of overworking to the point where it becomes a lifestyle. At a school filled with overachievers, we are no stranger to this lifestyle. Every fellow student I have met seems to be taking on an excessive amount of work to the point where they are burned out a week into the semester.
I am tired of the unspoken competition of trying to accomplish more than everyone else. We are constantly trying to best each other by taking on an excessive amount of credits, working multiple jobs or participating in several extracurriculars.
Yet we constantly are bragging about how burned out we are or how overwhelming our lives are to gain approval or find worth in overworking ourselves.
I can’t say I haven’t participated in the hustle culture at BYU. I’ve been that student who spent late nights in the library or extra hours at work. However, I have also been the student having a breakdown from being overwhelmed, crying to roommates and parents about how exhausted I am.
Hustle culture needs to end. It’s time to stop bragging about all the work you do and start giving yourself rest. Resting may seem counterproductive but it’s not. It’s good to replenish your mind and body so the work you do is not consuming your life. We need breaks to have better quality work and lives.
Somewhere along the way, we crossed the boundaries of work and our personal lives; they are not the same thing. Homework doesn’t need to come home, work can stay in the office and what happens on campus can stay on campus.
We are working ourselves too hard. I know that might not seem possible since many of us have been taught we need to work hard in college, but as students, we definitely don’t need to be continually overbooking and overworking ourselves.
The exhaustion we experience from college is not worth it. We are missing out on enjoying the present and giving time to ourselves.
How can we move away from the hustle culture of BYU? It starts by slowing down and taking on less.
Make your schedule easier; those 18 credits aren’t worth your sanity. You can work fewer hours or, if even that seems daunting, just set aside an hour or two a day to not do any work. Instead, read, watch a movie, spend time with friends or do anything else that brings you joy.
Additionally, we can check on our friends and make sure they are doing okay. Encourage them to slow down and reassure them it is okay to do less. As a campus community, we need to support each other in taking care of ourselves rather than competing against each other.
Let’s leave the hustle culture in the past: We don’t need to sacrifice our lives anymore to feel accomplished.
— Kelsey Mae Nield
Web Editor
