When I was in high school, I remember wishing that time would stop, not just so I could take a break, but so I could catch up. There was never enough time in the day, and I constantly felt behind. Then the pandemic hit. And for a brief, strange moment, the world paused. I had all the time I used to wish for. While that chapter came with undeniable hardship and uncertainty, I can’t help but miss the quiet now and then. It felt like, for once, the world had finally hit the brakes.
Fast forward a few years, and life feels like I’m on a treadmill again. Except now it’s going 10 miles per hour, not the five I was running in high school. I’m back to wishing for a break, only this time I feel guilty for even thinking about it. Guilty for needing rest. Guilty for being tired. Guilty for not doing more.
Growing up in capitalist America, we’re conditioned to live to work. Productivity is glorified. Hustle is expected. Success feels like a requirement. That mindset followed me to college, where overachieving is the norm. Everyone’s juggling co-ops, classes and extracurriculars, all in pursuit of the next achievement, as if burnout is just an inevitable part of the student experience.
Maybe I’m nearing my edge, but I’ve been seriously wondering if we are even meant to work this much. Have we stretched the limits of what our human brains can handle?
We cram our days with lectures, assignments, meetings and obligations, and somehow still feel like we’re falling behind. And in the rare moments we do get to ourselves, we can’t even fully enjoy them. There’s a term for it: bedtime procrastination. It’s when people stay up late, knowing it will hurt them the next day, just to reclaim some personal time they couldn’t find during daylight hours. That hit me. Because I do it too.
On top of that, there’s the information overload. The constant stream of media, messages and notifications pulls us in every direction. We don’t just consume content anymore; we are drowning in it. With tools like AI and smartphones at our fingertips, we’ve started outsourcing a lot of our thinking. It makes life more efficient, sure. But it also means we spend less time actually engaging with our thoughts. Less time being intentional. Less time here.
It makes me question the way we measure productivity. The way we equate being busy with being valuable. The way we have normalized constant mental exhaustion. Because the truth is, our brains were not built for this kind of nonstop stimulation. And honestly? I don’t want to live a life that only feels meaningful when I’m checking something off a to-do list.
Lately, I’ve been trying to remember what it felt like when time slowed down. I’m trying to bring back that stillness. That clarity. I’m learning that life is not supposed to feel like a race I’m always losing. And maybe the most powerful thing we can do, especially in a world that will not stop moving, is to simply pause.
So this is your reminder to take a breath. Step back, even just for a moment. Let yourself be present. Let yourself be. Life is not waiting for you to do more. And your brain? It is quietly begging for a break. Give it one.