Sick of Hustling: Why Your Health Shouldn't Be Optional
There’s a quiet shame that creeps in when I sleep in past 9, or when I let myself lay in bed on a Sunday with no plans. I’ve internalized that rest = laziness, even though I know better. But when I get eight hours of sleep, take a slow morning, or let myself truly do nothing, I feel better. I’m more creative. I’m more present. So why is the world built to make us feel guilty for that?
In college, I wrote a research paper about the lack of federally mandated paid sick leave in the U.S.—and re-reading it now, it feels more personal than ever. We live in a country that prioritizes profit over people, hustle over health, and never taking a day off as something to brag about. But I don’t want my worth tied to productivity. I want to build a life where getting out of bed is something I want to do—not something I’m forced into.
The Lie We’ve Been Sold
On Body, you might find Allana’s post about workout burnout. She touches on some really good points about switching up your routine to keep yourself present, especially when pertaining to working out. I want to cultivate this idea in our everyday lives. Burnout has been a very real factor in my life for as long as I can remember. Wanting to graduate high school just for it to be over and starting the next chapter, or quitting a sport I loved because my body couldn’t take it anymore and grew to hate it. Often in movies we love, there are depictions of “Girl Bosses” who are overworked and underpaid.
Glorifying hard work has been pushed on us since primary school: Finish your worksheet and go to recess. Finish your chores and get to watch TV. Finish what we want you to do, and you can finally have time for yourself. Those who do nothing with their days are categorized as lazy. Having fun is seen as goofing off. Following your dream is frowned upon as if you gave up on a real life. But a real life for me is being free of the norms, and being truly happy.
A term we often see in mainstream media is “rotting in bed.” My friends and I have discussed this so much that sometimes you need a good rot. But even this has a negative depiction of wasting your life away until you are mushy. What we’re really doing is recharging. Even our language is shaming slowness in our society. Hustlers are often praised, when they have in reality picked a hobby that makes them money to prevent themselves from drowning in debt. We started this blog somewhat as a “side hustle” but we are in no way hustling. We are in no hurry to pump out articles, fill the page with ads, and make millions, we just want to share our real experience and we write so often because we genuinely love what we are doing. It’s a hobby that makes me feel fulfilled and productive even though I am not being financially benefited.
Because my life is not surrounded by money, and I am privileged to say this, but I hope it never is. I compared the American mindset to what I observed in France in my Study Abroad piece on City; Even taking long breaks or lingering at a restaurant is often frowned upon in The US. I was especially guilty of this in my freshman year of college, always bringing my backpack with me to the dining hall or a friend’s house just in case I needed to do a quick assignment. In reality, I was never giving myself a break because my mind was always elsewhere.
What My Research Taught Me
America is the only “developed country” without any requirements for paid time off. This means that while some workers may be given paid leave, they are not guaranteed this right—especially in blue-collar industries. Many refrain from taking time off altogether due to fear of losing their job, societal pressure, or simply because they can’t afford unpaid time. For example, only 23% of workers considered federal employees are entitled to any amount of maternity leave. And even then, “many Americans take less than 12 weeks of maternity leave, even when granted more.” Most workers who do have access to some form of leave don’t use their full-time because they can’t afford it.
People see taking time off as a loss of productivity but the myth that rest is “bad for business” isn’t supported by evidence. Companies actually lose over $160 billion in productivity every year due to the spread of illnesses in the workplace. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, after New York City implemented its Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law, there was no increase in costs or decrease in job opportunities—debunking the idea that giving workers time off hurts the economy. Paid time off is also a mental health issue. There are movements towards better these issues, with acts such was The Healthy Families Act, which would allow workers to use sick days to recover from domestic violence or seek mental health care, including therapy. But without these federal protections, workers are forced to choose between taking care of themselves and keeping their jobs.
Capitalism Gave Me a Cold
After graduating college, I had a lot of downtime. My part-time job was tied to school and ended with the semester. I then went into a manic-panic with free time. Although I yearned to graduate and desperately craved a break, I had never had one. The only comparable time off I had was when schools shut down in 2020. Even then, we were all in it together and had to figure out ways to fulfill our time. Now, it feels like my life has halted while everyone else’s has continued as usual.
With this time off, I developed a whole new sleep schedule. I originally attributed this to catching up on years of sleep deprivation. I often fall asleep at midnight and sleep until noon. Doing this made me feel lazy, and my friends/family often joked about my unemployment and “bad” habits, only worsening my guilt. I knew my body needed this rest, however, because, for the first time in almost four years, I was healthy. Throughout college I was constantly sick; Every midterm, final, or big test, I was the girl coughing and sniffling in the quiet lecture hall. This can easily be due to stress and the huge amounts of people I was surrounded by, but part of it is due to my exhaustion. Even when getting plenty of sleep, my brain was exhausted from constantly being worried about grades, plans, and commitments. Graduating gave me that breath of fresh air.
It hasn’t been all rainbows and sunshine though, after a few months I got a little stir crazy. With most of my friends being full-time students, and my family living hours away, I felt isolated and without purpose. I had to fill my time but didn’t know how. This is when I decided to start my YouTube channel. I have been recording everything since I was a little kid with an iPod Touch. I even had a YouTube channel in middle school.
I had to take some time and realize why I was so excited to graduate--it wasn’t for sleeping all day--it was for freedom. There were so many things I wanted to do with my life like traveling, writing, art, cooking, and making YouTube videos, that I pushed aside because I was “too busy.” Now, at the complete opposite of busy, I was job hunting, applying for graduate schools, figuring out my finances, and scholarship hunting. I was having no fun greater than finishing all 21 seasons of Grey's Anatomy.
Once I realized that my life didn’t have to be one way, I became so much happier. I reread that paper I wrote about sick leave and realized how lucky I am to be living in a beautiful city for my gap semester, having absolutely nothing to do. This inspired me to pick up my old guitar, camera, and paintbrush and start all of the hobbies I never “had the time” to fulfill. I feel excited to get out of bed again, like Allana said in her article, she goes to bed excited to work out in the morning, and that’s how I feel now with my new hobbies. Allowing myself to rest has granted me energy and passion again.
I remembered why I wanted to go to graduate school and now instead of dreading the end of my break, I am beyond excited to learn again, even if that means I’ll drown in student loans. If you're considering a gap year, think about what is more important to you: diving into your career as quickly as possible to start that next chapter, or exploring yourself before making life-altering decisions, because for me, it was the latter. I thought time off would make me lose my motivation and want to change my whole career, but like the old saying, “distance makes the heart grow fonder”; I miss school and that’s how I know I’m doing the right thing by continuing on this path. I also worried I was wasting my time off by not bulking my resume with volunteer hours and jobs, but I am so glad I did. I have my entire life to work a 9-5.
Key Take Aways
Rest is not the reward — it’s the requirement. We’ve been taught that success means burnout, and that ambition means saying yes to everything but yourself. But in reality, I’ve never been more motivated than when I finally gave myself permission to slow down. The American obsession with hustle, packed calendars, and toxic productivity doesn’t make us better — it makes us tired, sick, and disconnected. I’m still productive. I’m still passionate. I just get to be those things without losing myself in the process. We deserve a culture, and a legal system, that protects rest — not one that shames it. If taking time off made me feel alive again, imagine what a world built around balance could do for all of us.
