During my freshman year of college, I essentially chain-read everything self-help and productivity. I consumed everything from top experts about menta

Clubhouse, Grind Culture, and the One New Trick You Didn’t Need to Know

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2021-08-05 15:30:05

During my freshman year of college, I essentially chain-read everything self-help and productivity. I consumed everything from top experts about mental acuity, time management, productivity, and relationships, from books to podcasts. I wanted to learn the secrets to these skills now. I did learn a lot, I did grow a lot, and I’m better for it, and I’m grateful for it. However, I eventually realized that I had reached a plateau for the insight I was gaining.

That’s because I had reached the “point of content addiction” — an exhausting cycle where you believe one more book, podcast, or article will get you the extra understanding you need to solve your problems.

And this effect is overflowing into digital social spaces — the most notable being grind and hustle culture on platforms like Clubhouse. In the wrong circles, which are easy to stumble upon, these platforms are digital audio-scapes of one-upmanship. Discussion provides users with an outlet to flex their “toil” stories and provide “secrets” to “life-hack” our way to the top.

As a full-time student and young founder of a small AI startup, I felt I needed to double down on this lifestyle. I got so motivated that I woke up at 3:30 every morning just to get my rowing workouts, homework, and self-help reading all done before my morning classes. And if I were to share that on a Clubhouse discussion, that would be pretty mundane. Take The Guardian journalist Brigid Delaney’s experience, for example. During her time on the platform, “Speakers shared the secrets to success – which included getting up before 4am and doing all sort of Silicon Valley-esque biohacks like fasting and ice baths.”