Life Happens in Bursts

Why do hobbies leave us feeling refreshed, while work leaves us drained?

Sure, hobbies bring joy simply for their own sake, provide an escape, a hedge against the stresses of a tough job or challenging relationships. It doesn’t even have to be about money for it be good for you.

The answer lies in understanding how humans are wired, not for constant effort, but for bursts of intense energy followed by rest. And yet, modern jobs demand the opposite: stamina over creativity, marathon effort over natural rhythms if you never experience this rhythm, you might assume all work and life is supposed to be stamina-based. It leaves you perpetually in exhaustion and perplexed

At your job, you’re paid for stamina. Even if no work is currently pending, you get paid to exist in a perpetual state of readiness. Meetings, emails, “circling back”, it’s a marathon where even downtime feels like a tether. The corporate world asks you to distribute your energy evenly across an eight-hour day. There’s no room for bursts in this system; it demands stamina instead.

A hobby, by contrast, operates on its own terms. You sit down, you focus, and then, suddenly, it happens, a burst of energy, clarity, or flow. But it doesn’t last long and you naturally stop. And that’s where the realization hits: the contrast isn’t just about work vs. hobbies. It’s about how the systems we’ve built ignore our natural rhythms. Hobbies reminds you that life happens in bursts.

You can see it in famous writers routines. It’s mostly the same for everyone. They spend a few hours a day on focused creativity and the rest of the time is spent doing other things. It explains why they have a reputation for being lazy. It’s a reminder of how work is supposed to feel. The modern world’s obsession with constant output might be missing the point entirely.

The good news is a hobby that involves creative work doesn’t need an entire day to accomplish. By working intensely in these shorter bursts, creatives avoid burnout and ensure the quality of their work remains high

@ashluhley

What 5-9 AM before my 9-5 PM looks like as an artist with a full-time job 😴 🤠 #fyp #artist #morningroutine

Here’s a long list of famous artists and writers who had jobs while accomplishing creative or research on the side.

Life Happens in Bursts

This is the topic of an interesting book I read recently.

Humans are programmed for bursts. It’s one of those universal laws. Even when we are at work, in a stamina type job, that requires 8 or more hours to accomplish. We still operate in bursts within this framework. Actions, such as responding to emails, making phone calls, or engaging in various tasks, tend to occur in short, intense bursts of activity followed by longer periods of inactivity. Even Social behaviors, like texting or calling, also happen in bursts, an active period of conversation followed by silence.

Humans are biologically wired for bursts. Our energy levels fluctuate throughout the day, with peaks (often during focused, high-energy moments) and valleys (rest or downtime). Our behavior isn’t random but follows a natural ebb and flow. This aligns with everything else in nature.

• In the wild, animals operate in bursts. Predators conserve energy, waiting patiently for the right moment to strike. Prey animals engage in sudden bursts of speed to evade capture.

• Forest growth, animal migrations, and weather systems all operate in cycles of calm punctuated by bursts of intense activity.

• The universe itself operates in bursts. Stars form in sudden, energetic bursts of activity within molecular clouds. Supernovas, black hole accretion, and gamma-ray bursts all exemplify explosive, high-intensity phenomena followed by periods of relative quiet.

• Human history follows a bursty rhythm. Periods of intense innovation and change, like the Renaissance, Industrial Revolution, or Digital Age, are often separated by longer stretches of incremental development. Progress often seems to happen in explosive clusters rather than steady, linear advancement. Resting ensures you have the physical and mental reserves to pounce.

It’s even hinted at in ancient writings.

Barabási's findings suggest that people are biologically wired to have periods of high energy and focus, followed by downtime. Creative workers may unconsciously tap into these bursts during their optimal working hours, producing their best ideas or work in a condensed timeframe. But the modern scheduled lifestyle means you have to be “on” the entire work day. Society has convinced us to spread our available energy throughout the workday.

Our society pathologizes intermittent effort as lack of focus. It starts at school, which is supposed to prime us for the workplace where we spread our focus thin all day and leave tired.

Corporate culture might demand constant output, but nature doesn’t. Bursts of energy followed by rest are how we’re wired. By planning your day around this rhythm, you’ll accomplish more, burn out less, and even find moments of calm within the chaos.

In This Newsletter

1) Practical Tips for Scheduling Your Life Around Bursts: Many jobs aren’t set up for bursts, they demand you stay “on” all day, distributing your energy evenly across meetings, emails, and busywork. But if you lean into bursts instead of fighting them, you can work more effectively and feel less drained. You can feel better at 5pm than you did at 9am. Simple micro-routines can be helpful.

2) Time Debt: The modern obsession with constant effort creates a trap: time debt. It’s the productivity equivalent of financial debt, spreading your focus too thin or forcing prolonged effort leads to diminishing returns.

3) Leonardo Da Vinci: da Vinci’s life offers a masterclass in understanding how creativity happens in bursts.

Practical Tips for Scheduling Your Life Around Bursts

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