Nobody really "works" 80 hours or more per week.
(At least not at 100% productivity).
But back in my early startup days, I tried wearing that like a badge of honour.
An overflowing calendar
Late nights, weekend hustles.
Endless productivity hacks and apps.
At the time, I thought it made me unstoppable.
Now I know it just made me worse at decision-making, constantly on edge, and a ticking timebomb.
As they say:
If you don't make time for your health, Your health makes time for you
One of those moments happened in early 2016.
I got 3 bouts of tonsillitis within 3 months.
I didn't need to be a GP to figure out that my body was crying for rest.
What I thought was “grinding” was actually just me running on fumes, doing shallow work, and most importantly, avoiding the rest that I needed.
Years later I read this excerpt from Naval Ravikant:
“The way people tend to work most effectively, especially in knowledge work, is to sprint as hard as they can while they feel inspired to work, and then rest. They take long breaks. It’s more like a lion hunting and less like a marathoner running. You sprint and then you rest. You reassess and then you try again. You end up building a marathon of sprints.” - Source: Work As Hard As You Can - Naval Ravikant
That one changed me.
It gave me permission to redesign how I approach work, energy, and creativity.
Not just to protect my health.
But to protect the quality of my thinking, ideas and relationships.
Here's how I work now:
I operate in focused 6-8 week sprints.
Launching programs and new projects.
Client collaborations and engagements.
Running cohorts or community programs.
Co-working, content creation & a live cohort
Then I take 2-4 week periods with intentional rest.
AirBnB getaways.
Beach days.
Long walks.
In-person talks.
Less FaceTime.
More MeTime.
Doing less.
Feeling more.
No to calendar anxiety.
Yes to spontaneity.
A few moments from a recent stay in Byron Bay
Rest isn’t lazy.
It’s leverage.
I’m not sharing this to sell you a lifestyle.
I’m sharing it because someone reading this might need permission.
To slow down.
To zoom out.
To remember that rest is part of the work.
Sometimes, doing nothing is the most productive thing you can do.
So sure - work hard.
But rest harder.
You’ll lead better and last longer.
You don’t need to be on all the time
You just need to know when to sprint
And when to breathe.
As always, I hope these words serve you today. 👱🏾♂️ Mamba
PS: In case you missed it, the July edition of the MambaFM playlist is now live on Spotify: