Ctrl+Alt+Delete Burnout: Breaking the cycle of hyper-productivity
By Allison Tung
Who doesn’t like to get things done? We live in a contemporary world where speed is celebrated, calendars are packed and our devices claim to help us conquer our to-do lists faster than ever before. Especially in Hong Kong, which consistently ranks as one of the most overworked cities globally, with the average citizen working over 44 to 49 hours per week. From AI email writers to productivity apps, we are surrounded by technology made to save us time. However, if you look around our hallways, our students aren’t relaxed at all. Instead, our students are more stressed, distracted and more overwhelmed than ever.
We are all caught in a strange paradox: Our obsession with finishing everything quickly is actually slowing us down.
We pride ourselves on multitasking at school. For example, replying to a group chat while listening to your teacher, or scrolling though research tabs while writing an I&S paper.
However, according to research out of the University of Utah, only about 2.5% of the population are "supertaskers" who can actually manage multiple inputs without a drop in performance. When you jump between tasks, it forces neural circuits to repeatedly disengage and reengage again. This causes mental exhaustion and over time, this can contribute to decreased concentration, reduced problem solving abilities, and impaired short term memory. We end up spending more time trying to refocus each time, turning a simple one hour assignment into a three hour one.
With countless productivity apps available with just a quick flick of your finger, it’s hard not to fall into the trap of them. Instead of focusing on our actual tasks, we spend excessive time managing these apps, leading to what can be termed as “app fatigue”. Most apps just add more cognitive load instead of actually resolving the issue, which is why just setting up and planning feels like an achievement. Psychologists describe this as brain swapping the feeling of progress for actual progress. When you organize your tasks or color code your calendar, your brain’s prefrontal cortex is engaged, giving you a neurological reward. The nervous system registers a task completed even though no work was done.
The ultimate flaw in this mindset, however, is that human brains do not operate like computer processors. While machines excel at producing constant results without stop, human cognition relies on rest. Research indicates that sustained conscious effort drains cognitive performance after just 90 minutes. Taking a break in your work is an essential strategy to prevent burnout, reduce stress, and boost overall productivity. Studies from the National Institute of Health shows that a brief pause can improve mental focus, consolidate memories, and maintain high cognitive performance.
To break this cycle, we need to shift our mindset to “slow productivity.” A mindset championed by author Cal Newport, the approach argues that knowledge workers shouldn't measure success by how fast they complete tasks, but by the ultimate quality of their long-term output. It prioritizes high quality work and sustainable effort over endless busywork and burnout. This method adheres to three core principles: Do fewer things, work at a natural pace, and obsess over quality. Of course, slow productivity wouldn’t work for last minute projects, but we must admit that last minute cramming rarely produces our best work anyways. However, it will act as a sustainable roadmap that won’t keep you falling behind in the future.
By intentionally capping our commitments, working at a natural pace, and focusing on creating best quality work, we can eliminate the mental load on endless “productivity.” Paradoxically, letting go of the need to complete your work quickly might just be the key to moving forward.