Challenge Hustle Culture and Take Your Vacation

Hustle Culture is Not Sustainable

Hustle, hustle, hustle. Work long hours. Strive. Sleep less. Burn the midnight oil. Be proud of it. And brag on social media you are up at 3 am still working. I call this B.S.

Hustle culture ends in complete exhaustion, stress, ruined relationships, failed marriages, dysfunctional families, unhappy employees, burnout, poor health, failed businesses. I used to subscribe to Hustle Culture. Until one day, I decided to change my life. You can read my full story here.

I believe that Hustle Culture is not sustainable. I believe that you can take back your life and not get consumed in work alone. I believe you can take time in the morning for your wellbeing. You can take breaks during the day to pause, reflect, and clear the mind. I believe you can do more with less. You can be more present with our families. I believe you can achieve more when you feel good, when your physical and mental health is optimal, when you feel rested. And believe you can allow yourself to take a vacation. I’m pleased to see that I’m not alone in this thinking.

My friend, Christopher Lochhead, #1 Apple podcaster and #1 Amazon writer, wrote the blog post: F*** Hustle. Christopher has written 2 Amazon best sellers and produces two top podcasts. Not by hustling.

During my 10-year career as the Marketing Director for a ski resort in Lake Tahoe, I had my challenges with taking vacations. One day, I told my boss that I wanted to take 3 weeks off. The shocked look on his face told me my idea wasn’t welcome in the company. Being from Bulgaria and married to an Australian, going home means going to the other side of the world. We can’t take a week off and go see our family. You are dealing with jet lag by the time you have to turn around. Despite the look of disapproval on my boss’s face, I took a 3-week vacation and went to see my family. No regrets. I came back energized and ready to work. And I won a marketing award for my creative marketing campaign.

Why Americans Don’t Take Their Vacation Days

Only 6 in 10 Americans take their vacations according to Gallup. In Europe, where I’m from, by law, every country in the European Union has at least four work weeks of paid vacation. According to USA Today: “In the US, one in four Americans does not have a single paid day off”. The people who have vacation time, choose not to take it. The Washington Post reports that “more than half of U.S. workers ― 54 percent — reported feeling guilty about taking vacation time“. In 2018, Americans left 768 million vacation days unused, according to a study by the U.S. Travel Association.

“In the end, kids won’t remember that fancy toy or game you bought them, they will remember the time you spent with them.” – Kevin Heath

Stop Feeling Guilty

Research shows that taking time off can be good for your health and even for your productivity. According to a Gallup study, people who “always make time for regular trips” had a 68.4 score on the Gallup-Heathway’s Well-Being Index, in comparison to a 51.4 Well-Being score for less frequent travelers.

“Do not wait until you are dying to go on vacation. I think if I had to give you one piece of advice that would be it. We put things off. We do not mean to, but we do. We carry around the assumption that there is plenty of time to do whatever needs to be done.” – Marty Cauley

Take Your Vacation

If you can’t afford to take a vacation, take a staycation. Take time to exercise, sleep, read, meditate, start a new hobby, whatever it is that you like to do and never have time for it. Your life depends on it.

“Taking time away from the stresses of work and daily life can improve our health, motivation, relationships, job performance, and perspective and give us the break we need to return to our lives and jobs refreshed and better equipped to handle whatever comes.”- says Shanon Torberg, PsyD.

“Some of your best ideas come when you’re on vacation.” – Gautam Singhania

If you want to do more with less, take a vacation. And by that, I mean a real vacation. Unplug from your phone. Do something fun. Connect with your family. Experience something new. You’ll go back to the office with more energy, more creativity, better ideas and more excitement to do good work.

Life is better in flip flops.

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