You can only go full throttle for so long.

Lots of people out there have a tendency to completely throw themselves into their professions. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that; maybe you genuinely enjoy your work, or maybe you just need the money. Whatever your reason is for going full throttle, you have to remember that you can’t work like that forever. No human can.

Some individuals take to overworking themselves because they feel like they need to contribute to their work to stay relevant in it. While a genuine concern, overworking will only hurt you down the line. If you don’t give yourself time to properly rest and recuperate during your off hours, your productivity is going to suffer where it actually matters. When you’re tired and grouchy, you’ll be more likely to make simple mistakes and overlook things, not to mention snap at your coworkers.

The reason people place greater importance on good work-life balance these days is because all too many of us have either seen or experienced what happens when you work yourself into the ground. In the end, you’re just going to hurt yourself, which is bad enough on its own, but just to add insult to injury, your overworking will be rendered moot by your own dropping productivity. So remember to properly rest and disconnect from your work at the end of the day, every day.

On a related note, if you’re in a managerial position, it’s your responsibility to ensure your employees don’t overwork themselves. Don’t pile pointless busywork onto them, and when the clock strikes 5:00 PM, you should endeavor to leave them alone unless it’s an absolute emergency. Tired employees means less work is getting done, and if that’s not enough to deter you in itself, remember that that lessened productivity reflects poorly on you as well.