I try not to partake in the hustle culture sphere, but my understanding is that in that world you're considered a bit of a wuss if you're not planning every moment between your 5:30am gym session until you pass out, phone in hand, past midnight. Using sheer force of will to optimize, fit in, and conquer.
I work remotely and have for a long time. Our goal at BugSplat is to build a great business - one that's profitable, makes our customers' lives better, improves the quality of software for millions of their end users, and is, importantly, somewhere we'd actually want to show up to work at.
That last part matters more than people admit. The secret that gets lost in the "grind" posts is that things are more sustainable when they're not absolutely painful.
My thinking is this: if you look forward to a task, or at least don't dread it, you don't need to burn as much of your finite reserves of willpower to get it done. That energy gets freed up, your capacity to do everything else increases, and you're more likely to stay committed to a goal for the time it actually takes to achieve it. Anything that keeps you in the game is the move - not some hack that gets you a 10% temporary boost in email productivity but makes you more miserable.
So why don't we think, when trying to optimize our processes or pursue a new goal, ask ourselves: How can I make this a pleasant part of my life?
It might seem antithetical, but if you want to take a 30-minute break every Monday morning to walk to your favorite bakery and enjoy a muffin, phone on silent, well that might be the best productivity improvement you've got. If it gets you excited for Mondays and makes you eager to get back in the saddle each week, it could be a great productivity "hack."
And that's what a lot of goal-oriented people I interact with overlook: that life is lived in the valleys, the downslopes, and the long ascents toward great heights. That the mountain top of your goals has a glorious pinnacle, yes, but they're by their nature small - and places you shouldn't optimize to try to live.
You see this in the hollowness some express after summiting the zenith of their life goals. Olympians, entrepreneurs, artists, doctors. You name it.
That's not a reason to not work towards great things, but the modus operandi should be to pick goals you enjoy working toward and find ways to make the process as enjoyable as possible given the constraints you're working with. Prioritizing that isn't being soft or weak - it's understanding that your life is that process, and any task taken up with joy is lighter and easier to carry for the long haul.
You see the consequences of fetishizing this kind of pain all around you. And here I'm specifically talking about those for whom the "grind" is a badge, not a necessity - obviously not the single mother working two jobs. These are people who wear their self-serious routines proudly, asking all to admire them. "Look at this great weight I've chosen to carry everywhere," they say as they corner you at a party, talking about how they haven't seen their families this week, bragging through complaining.
It's a lesson I don't see in the hustle culture blogs: If I want to do this, how can I make it more pleasant along the way?
Like I said, I work from home most days, and our team operates with a very large amount of autonomy as we work towards our individual and group goals. That affords a lot of flexibility, but it also requires thoughtfulness about routines in order to stay the productive course.
A small example: I love showers. I was probably the only one who really dug that omnipresent commercial during the 2026 Winter Games asking "Where does your shower take you?" Showers are where I'm calmest, think the deepest, and feel the most reset when I step out. So I started moving them around in my day to create a little more joy. Even on busy days I usually take a steamy midday shower - a chance to process the morning and space to think about what I want to do with the rest of the day. It's a companion piece to my morning walk - a bookmark, a turning of the page, something that helps me move through the day with a little more intention.
Mostly it's just lovely.
And shouldn't that be more of the point? Who's richer than someone who achieved something and had fun doing it along the way? That's what I'm interested in winning for myself.