A Brief History of Systems and Processes: Part 1 — You Can’t Hustle Your Way Through Forever

“You’re young right now—you can afford to hustle like this, working 15 hours a day. But let me tell you something—it’s not sustainable.”

I said this to one of my team members during a recent conversation. They were in the middle of a demanding project, juggling multiple tasks and putting in long hours to deliver results. I could see the fire and ambition driving them forward, but I could also see something else: exhaustion.

I paused and added, “Yes, you can work 15 hours a day—but not on the same problem. Hustling endlessly on the same challenges, without stepping back to look at the bigger picture, will only take you so far. You might achieve short-term wins, but over time, it will stop working. And as the demands in your life—personally and professionally—grow, this approach won’t let you focus on bigger opportunities. You’ll burn out before you level up.”

The Struggle That Sparked Change

This wasn’t just advice—it was the reflection of my own journey.

I remember when I was in their position, running on sheer energy and determination. I took pride in putting in the long hours and going above and beyond. And for a while, it worked. I hit my targets, met expectations, and felt a sense of accomplishment.

But as time went on, I began to notice something unsettling:

• Every milestone felt harder than the last.
• Every success required the same—or more—effort.
• No matter how much I achieved, I always felt like I was starting over with every new challenge.

It was like running a marathon where the finish line kept moving. I wasn’t building momentum—I was just expending energy.

Why Hard Work Alone Isn’t Enough

Despite all my effort, something still felt off.

I began asking myself tough questions:

• Why do I feel like I’m solving the same problems over and over again?
• Why does every success feel like a one-off victory, instead of a stepping stone?
• Am I growing, or am I just staying busy?

The answer was glaringly clear: I wasn’t working in a way that would allow me to grow.

At the time, I didn’t know how to fix it. All I knew was that hustling harder wasn’t the answer. As responsibilities grew and life became more complex, the way I was working felt increasingly unsustainable.

The Growing Demands of Life

I told my team member: “Right now, you’re in your twenties. You can afford to hustle like this. But as you grow in life, both personally and professionally, you’ll need to make your efforts count for more. You’ll need to focus on bigger challenges, not just repeat the same ones day after day. If you don’t shift your approach, you’ll stay busy, but you won’t grow. And the demands in your life will only keep increasing.”

I could see that this resonated. It wasn’t just about the work they were doing now—it was about what that work was building for the future.

Setting the Stage

This is where my journey into systems and processes began—with frustration, exhaustion, and a need for something better.

This is the first part of a larger story—A Brief History of Systems and Processes. In the next part, I’ll share how I began to break this pattern and what I learned along the way.

For now, I’ll leave you with the same question that began to change everything for me:

Are you hustling just to keep up, or are you working in a way that allows you to grow?