More work doesn't always mean better results. Not in the long term.

I am a sucker for the industrial revolution narrative—the artifact of modern life that tells us working 8-hour days, 40+ hour weeks, putting in an "honest day's good work" will lead us to a picket fence home, health benefits, and retirement.

It's just not so—not only as a robber-baron-serving narrative but as a measure of output over time.

Managers and entrepreneurs are incentivized to get as much squeeze out of their employees as they can. Middle managers at large corporations are especially incentivized—with turnover rates at 1-2 years, whether via promotion, firing, or quitting, there is a short time trajectory where pushing people to sprint actually gets more output. That's just about the time needed for a manager to show how they've "improved" a team and therefore deserve the next level of leadership. It's at the hidden cost of personal burnout for the employees.

So we have both a narrative problem—that artifact from the industrial age and early 1900s—and an incentive problem—where overworking for a year or two actually does yield greater short-term output at the cost of burnout.

I am personally guilty of overworking myself as my own manager. I fall prey to the notion that "if I just work more, I'll finally get the thing done and be able to relax." The problem is that the to-do list never ends. There's always something that feels like work, even if it's not work—whether errands, health appointments, you name it. There is always more work that can be done.

I've come to think of the to-dos in life similar to an email inbox. Today's world has everyone and their AI mother sending emails to us, advertising to us, drawing our attention with some CTA to engage or to buy.

Remember the idea of Inbox Zero? Here's my hot take: that's an illusion, a mirage we should avoid pursuing. Start getting comfortable with an overflowing inbox. Getting to every email is not a worthwhile goal. For every email you respond to, there is a follow-up cadence or response cadence. Each email is the head of a hydra—when you cut it, three more appear. It is never-ending and therefore an illusory goal to try and maintain it at zero.

Maybe then, we need to be comfortable with the fact that there is always something to do that may just need to be left undone. Maybe it's about getting comfortable with knowing that you just can't get to everything. Working harder to get everything done doesn't mean you get greater rewards for it.

I remember first encountering this in high school. One semester, I just worked as much as I could. I spent less time with friends, more time studying. My grades were fine, but not great. The following semester in my senior year, I let myself be a little looser -- I allowed myself to go see friends much more often. I unconsciously prioritized fun and connection. I remember my straight A's feeling miraculous -- how is it that I didn't work as hard and yet I got the best grades I've every gotten?

Lately I have been flirting with burnout, feeling overwhelmed against this never-ending hydra of to-dos between music, software, and other work. Sometimes the solution isn't continuing to hunker down until all the work is done. Sometimes it's taking a real vacation where you're not allowed to do work. At least a day or two, ideally a week or two. Maybe it's about integrating more fun into the day to day or taking work a little less seriously.

The irony of overwork is that it drains the very energy needed to do great work. Maybe the real success metric isn’t how much we work—but how well we rest.

Here's my invitation: if you catch yourself in cycles of overworking, ask yourself: am I getting diminishing returns on working more than I need to each day? Am I at the point where a vacation may actually revitalize my spirit?

You may find that taking the break actually gives you the energy you need to complete your work more effectively.