Why 'Just Push Through' Is Sabotaging Your Career

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You'll want these handy as we go through today's edition.

Three years into my HR career, I sat in my car outside the office at 7:43am. Hands on the steering wheel. Staring at the building entrance. I couldn't make myself open the door.

A well-meaning mentor had looked me in the eyes a few weeks earlier. "You just need to push through, Steven. Everyone feels like this sometimes. It's a phase."

So I pushed.

I dragged myself into meetings where I nodded along but couldn't remember what anyone said five minutes later. I typed emails at 11pm, deleted half of them, typed them again. I told myself the heaviness in my chest every Sunday evening was normal. I believed that if I just kept going, I'd break through.

Then came the spreadsheet I’ll never forget.

Salary projections for a leadership meeting. Numbers I'd run a hundred times before. But I got the formula wrong. One cell. The kind of error I would have caught in seconds on a normal day.

My manager called me into her office. I sat there, face burning, while she asked how this happened.

I couldn't tell her the truth. That I'd been pushing through empty for so long I couldn't think straight anymore. That my dedication had become the very thing sabotaging my work.

That moment changed everything for me. I realised the career strategies that truly matter aren't about working harder. They're about protecting your ability to think clearly in the first place.

Here's what I didn't understand back then.

When I finished a draining project and walked to the coffee machine, I wasn't recharging. Three colleagues chatting about the weekend? My stomach would tighten. I'd make small talk while calculating how quickly I could escape. I'd return to my desk more depleted than when I left.

Meanwhile, my extroverted colleagues would come back from the same conversation energised and ready to tackle the next thing.

We weren't lazy. We weren't weak. We were just refuelling differently. And the "push through" advice was built for people who recharge the opposite way. It's not a personal failing. Research shows overwork is baked into how most teams operate.

I've seen what happens when we ignore this. A few years back, I watched a colleague burn out in slow motion. She arrived before anyone else. Stayed later than the cleaners. Her work was flawless for months.

Then the cracks appeared. The sharp insights in meetings disappeared. Her emails got shorter, colder. She snapped at someone over something small. Apologised. Snapped again.

By the time she resigned, she'd convinced herself she wasn't cut out for the role. She was wrong. She just couldn't see it anymore.

When you grind at zero, your strategic brain goes offline. You stop noticing opportunities because you're too busy surviving what's in front of you. Your relationships thin out because every conversation feels like another withdrawal from an empty account. And slowly, the curious, thoughtful professional you are gets buried under survival mode.

So what's the alternative? Clock out mentally at 4pm? Become the colleague everyone resents?

Not quite. The answer isn't doing less. It's doing things differently.

The self-management skills that matter are the ones that protect your capacity to think clearly.

Last Tuesday, a colleague asked if I could squeeze in an extra call. Same week, same project, just one more hour. Old me would have said yes immediately. New me pulled up my calendar and saw the two-hour block I'd protected for recovery. "I can do Thursday instead," I said. The world didn't end. The call happened Thursday, and I showed up sharp instead of scattered. Research from BCG found that when teams made time off predictable and non-negotiable, they actually became more productive.

I used to schedule tough conversations whenever they fit the other person's calendar. Now I know my brain works best between 6 and 11am. That's when I have the difficult talks, draft the important documents, make the calls that matter. After lunch? Admin. Email. The stuff that doesn't need my best thinking.

One slow afternoon used to send me spiralling. I'd sit there thinking about all the tasks still undone, convinced I was falling behind. Then I started asking a different question. What did I accomplish this month? Suddenly a slow Tuesday looked different. It was the recovery that made Wednesday's breakthrough possible.

Before I agree to anything now, I ask myself one question. Is this worth the recovery time it will cost? Sometimes yes. Often no. That filter has saved me from dozens of draining commitments.

Pick one day this week. Just one.

Today: Notice when you feel sharp. Actually sharp, not just caffeinated. For most people it's morning. For some it's late afternoon. Write down the hours.

Tomorrow: Block those hours like they're a meeting with your most important client. Put your phone in a drawer. Close your email. Work on one thing that actually matters.

End of week: Compare what you produced in those protected hours versus your normal scattered approach. Notice not just the output, but how you felt afterwards.

If it works, expand it. One protected day becomes two. Two becomes your new default.

How to Recover From Burnout Without Starting Over.

Practical steps to rebuild your energy while staying in your role.

If you've been grinding at zero and calling it dedication, I want you to hear this.

You're not being disciplined. You're being depleted.

The best career moves I've made weren't the ones where I pushed through. They were the ones where I had enough left in the tank to think clearly. Most career strategies focus on what to do. This one focuses on how you show up when you do it.

You deserve a career that doesn't drain you dry. Start with this week's experiment and see what changes.

In your corner,
— Steven

P.S. Know someone who keeps saying "I'll rest when this is over"? Forward this to them.

P.P.S. Tired of staying silent in meetings? Download the free Meeting Playbook that's helped thousands of introverts speak early and lead confidently, without draining their energy.