#48: The 5 Essential Activities Neglected in the Hustle

We've all been there.

The deadlines are looming. The task list is growing exponentially. Your Slack is blowing up with notifications. And somehow, there's another bloody meeting that "could have been an email" on your calendar.

In these moments, it's easy to fall into the trap of working on whatever's screaming loudest for your attention. But as Stephen Covey, author of “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, observed, "Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important."

The hustle culture that permeates our society glorifies the grind. We wear our 16-hour days and weekend work sessions like badges of honor. After all, if you're not exhausted, are you even trying?

But after 17 years in several roles, I've learned something crucial: the activities we sacrifice first when things get hectic are often the very ones that would propel us further in the long run.

The irony is painful. In our desperate sprint to succeed, we neglect the very practices that create sustainable success.

So today, I want to highlight five essential activities that typically get pushed aside when the pressure's on. These aren't nice-to-haves. They're the foundation of long-term growth, mental clarity, and genuine fulfillment.

Let's be honest with ourselves. If you keep putting these off until "things calm down," you'll be waiting forever. The time to reclaim them is now, especially when you think you can't afford to.

1. Watching The Birds

When was the last time you had an hour of uninterrupted thinking?

If you're struggling to remember, you're not alone. In the madness of daily operations, the first casualty is often the space for deep, strategic thought. We fill our days with shallow work – answering emails, attending meetings, and handling minor administrative tasks – while neglecting the deep thought and contemplation that unlock our best ideas.

The constant ping of notifications is more than just annoying. It's dangerous to your cognitive abilities. Each interruption leaves what psychologists call "attention residue," fragmenting your focus and reducing your mental horsepower. After just an hour of fragmented attention, your decision-making quality plummets.

And Blaise Pascal, a physicist, inventor, and philosopher, had it right centuries ago when he quipped that "all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." While that's a bit dramatic, the insight holds true. Without calm reflection, we become reactive rather than strategic, making impulsive decisions rather than considered ones.

The science backs this up. Our brains have two networks – a focused task mode and a mind-wandering default mode – and both are essential for optimal performance. The default mode is where connections form, insights emerge, and creativity flourishes. But it only activates during periods of relative calm and mental spaciousness.

So what's the answer? Schedule thinking time like you would any other critical business function. Block out periods for thought and contemplation. Maybe you sit somewhere peaceful and just stare into space. Perhaps you’re more active and go for a walk somewhere quiet. 

It may not feel like “work”, but it’s arguably one of the most valuable forms of work you can do.

2. Relationship Cultivation

It's easy to cancel that coffee with a mentor when your inbox explodes. Or to skip the catch-up with an industry associate when deadlines are looming. 

But here's the uncomfortable truth: relationships compound just like money does.

Naval Ravikant puts it perfectly: "All returns in life, whether in wealth, relationships, or knowledge, come from compound interest." When you consistently invest small amounts of trust, attention, and genuine connection, the returns multiply exponentially over time.

This is a practical business strategy. "When you have been doing business with somebody [for years], it just gets better... you can do bigger and bigger things together," Naval explains. Those deep relationships reduce friction, accelerate deals, and unlock opportunities that simply aren't available to the lone wolf operator.

Think about the last big break you got in your career. Chances are, it came through a relationship. Maybe someone recommended you for a role. Or a former colleague brought you into a lucrative project. Or a mentor opened a door you didn't even know existed.

In iGaming especially, your network often determines your net worth. The best deals happen between people who know and trust each other.

But beyond the business benefits, relationships provide something even more valuable: resilience. The longest-running study on human happiness, the Harvard Study of Adult Development, found a "strong correlation between deep relationships and well-being." When shit hits the fan (and in this industry, it will), having a support system makes the difference between bouncing back and burning out.

Every time you're tempted to cancel on someone to handle "more urgent" matters, remember: in the long game of success, your relationships may be your most valuable currency.

3. Self-Care and Renewal

I've watched countless talented people in our industry crash and burn. They push their bodies to the breaking point, fueled by energy drinks and ambition, wearing their exhaustion like a badge of honor.

When deadlines loom, self-care is typically the first thing we sacrifice. We skip meals, cut sleep short, and cancel gym sessions, all to squeeze an extra hour of productivity from our day.

But this is a fool's bargain. Think of yourself as a professional athlete in the sport of iGaming. Knowledge workers function like athletes, train and sprint, then rest and reassess.

The research is unambiguous: your brain simply doesn't work well when you neglect basic physical maintenance. 

I learned this lesson the hard way, until my body screamed “STOP” to me. Now I treat self-care as a non-negotiable part of my business strategy: adequate sleep, daily movement, proper nutrition, and regular breaks. 

Even basic practices make a difference. A 20-minute walk can reset your mental state. A solid night's sleep improves cognitive function dramatically. A decent meal beats vending machine snacks for sustained energy.

4. Learning and Specific Knowledge Development

It's a cruel paradox of success: the better you get at execution, the less time you spend developing new skills. Soon, you're the expert at yesterday's game while the industry moves forward without you.

This is especially true in rapidly evolving sectors like iGaming, where regulation, technology, and consumer preferences shift constantly. Skill stagnation becomes a silent killer. While you're busy cranking out campaigns or managing operations, your competitive edge is slowly dulling.

The most valuable knowledge is the kind that can't be outsourced or automated – the unique combination of skills that creates your personal leverage point. This requires deliberate cultivation and sits at the intersection of what you're genuinely interested in and what the market values.

When you focus on developing skills that feel like play to you, you'll outwork and outlearn everyone who's grinding through subjects they hate. 

5. Play and Creative Exploration

When was the last time you lost track of time doing something purely for enjoyment?

If your answer involves a spreadsheet, we need to talk.

During intense work periods, leisure is often the first thing we sacrifice. Hobbies get shelved, free evenings vanish, and we promise ourselves we'll have fun "when things calm down." (Spoiler alert: they never do.)

Yet counterintuitively, making time for play might be exactly what your business needs.

Play isn't just relaxation; it's a cognitive reset that sparks creativity. When you engage in activities that "spark joy" and create "a feeling of delight," as psychologists put it, you give your conscious mind a rest while your subconscious continues processing problems.

Ever notice how your best ideas strike in the shower, during a run, or while cooking? That's your diffuse thinking mode at work – the mental state where connections form between seemingly unrelated concepts.

Whether it's playing an instrument, reading fiction, engaging in sports, or tinkering with side projects, these activities keep your thinking flexible and prevent the tunnel vision that comes from constant grinding.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and philosopher, observed, "it is a happy talent to know how to play." It might just be the talent that keeps you innovative when everyone else is burning out.

Conclusion

The truth about success isn't sexy. It's not about heroic all-nighters or sacrificing everything at the altar of hustle.

The real path to sustainable growth, in business and life, is found in the compound interest of these five neglected activities. Each one might seem dispensable today, but together they create the foundation that supports extraordinary achievement over time.

The greatest competitive advantage in today's frantic market is working smarter by protecting what matters most: your strategic thinking, your relationships, your health, your growth, and yes, your joy.

So ask yourself: which of these five areas have you been neglecting? That's where your next breakthrough is hiding. Reclaim it now, before the urgent drowns out the important yet again.