Beyond the 60-Hour Week: Creating Sustainable Work Rhythms

When was the last time you left work on time without feeling guilty? Or took a vacation without checking email? If you can't remember, you're not alone. In this episode of Public Health Curated, we challenge the 60-hour work week culture in public health and explore how to create rhythms that sustain both you and your impact.

Key Takeaways

• Your sustainable rhythm isn't just self-care—it's a revolutionary act in a system designed for burnout
• After about 50 hours a week, productivity actually decreases, making those extra hours counterproductive
• Energy-based work design helps align your tasks with your natural energy patterns
• Strategic boundaries don't limit your impact—they focus and multiply it

Episode Highlights

The Martyrdom Myth in Public Health

Growing up as a first-generation Polish-American, I watched my immigrant parents work incredibly long hours, rarely taking time for themselves. That work ethic—that sense that rest was something you earned only after everything else was done—became part of my DNA.

As I moved through my career, I always had multiple projects running simultaneously. It wasn't just about the work being important—though it absolutely was. It was this deeper belief that my value was tied to my productivity, to how much I could accomplish.

The hardest part wasn't even the long hours—it was the impossibility of deciding what wasn't important enough to do. Every project felt essential, every community need felt urgent. And in public health, that's especially challenging because the work we do matters so deeply. How do you decide which of those needs can wait?

The Wake-Up Call

Despite working more hours than ever, I realized my effectiveness had actually plummeted. I was making careless mistakes, forgetting important details, and worst of all—I wasn't really present for my team or the communities we served.

That's when I realized something had to change. Not just for me, but for my entire team and ultimately, for the communities counting on us. Because the truth is, sustainable impact requires sustainable practices.

Dismantling the Martyrdom Myth

Let's start by dismantling what I call the "Martyrdom Myth"—the false belief that more hours equals more impact. We've all heard it: "She's so dedicated, she never leaves the office!" But here's the research-backed truth: after about 50 hours a week, your productivity actually decreases. Those extra hours aren't just ineffective—they're actively harmful to your work quality.

Think about it—when you're exhausted, what's the first thing to go? For me, it's creativity and critical thinking—exactly what we need most in public health! Decision-making suffers, innovation plummets, and that vital connection to community gets replaced by going through the motions.

Energy-Based Work Design

Instead of organizing your work around time, what if you designed it around energy? This key principle starts with a simple but powerful question: When are you at your best?

For me, I'm most creative in the morning, best at analysis mid-day, and connect with people most authentically in late afternoon. So I restructured my schedule accordingly—creative work from 8-10am, meetings in the afternoon, and protected my mid-day for detailed tasks.

This approach doesn't necessarily mean working fewer hours (though that might be the case). It means working with your natural rhythms rather than against them, which dramatically increases both your effectiveness and sustainability.

Boundaries as Impact Multipliers

I love reframing boundaries this way because it shifts them from seeming selfish to strategic. Your boundaries aren't limiting your impact—they're focusing it!

Here are three types of boundaries every public health professional needs:

• Time boundaries: When you will and won't be available
• Scope boundaries: What is and isn't your responsibility
• Energy boundaries: What kinds of work you'll do when

I worked with a community health worker who transformed her effectiveness with simple boundary scripts. Instead of saying "Call me anytime"—which left her constantly interrupted—she used: "I'm fully available to you Tuesdays and Thursdays between 1-3pm, and for emergencies, here's our hotline." The amazing thing? Her clients actually reported feeling better supported because they knew exactly when they could count on her focused attention.

Your Action Steps

1. Energy Mapping Exercise

Draw a horizontal line representing your typical workday. Now, think about when you naturally have the most energy for different types of tasks:

• When are you most creative and innovative?
• When do you best handle detailed, analytical work?
• When do you connect most authentically with others?

Look at your map. How much of your current schedule works with these energy patterns rather than against them?

2. Boundary-Setting Language

Try these phrases that work especially well in public health contexts:

• Instead of "I can't do that," try "I'm committed to delivering quality work on X, which means I need to decline Y."
• Instead of "I have to go," try "I'm protecting time for focused work so I can better serve our community."
• Instead of "That's not my job," try "That's outside my area of expertise, but I can connect you with someone who specializes in that."

3. Implement One Boundary

Choose just one boundary from today's episode and make it non-negotiable this week. Maybe it's protecting your mornings for creative work. Maybe it's adopting one of our boundary scripts.

Join the Conversation

What sustainable practices have you implemented in your public health work? What boundaries have been most challenging to set? Share your experiences in the comments below using #SustainableImpact, and let's learn from each other as we grow this movement together.