Most people equate working harder to being more productive, successful, and wealthy.

Of course, that isn’t new — it’s been going on for a long time.

Even in the 19th century, bosses tried to push for 10-hour workdays, eventually submitting to the eight-hour standard for employees. Naturally, most business owners were reluctant, expecting a decrease in production and overall revenue.

But, they were wrong.

After switching from 10-hour workdays to eight-hour workdays, production increased and expensive accidents and mistakes decreased.

Evidently, more hours worked doesn’t necessarily equate to running a more successful business. In fact, hustling often does just the opposite: it burns out its victim and leaves you unproductive, miserable, and — dare I say? — unsuccessful.

In more detail, here’s why the hustle is overrated, especially for real estate agents and investors.

1. You’ll might actually be Less Productive

If you work for 10 hours instead of eight hours, it’s only logical that you would get more done, right?

Wrong.

Humans are far more complex than a robot performing functions for a certain number of hours. Our willpower ebbs and flows and the more we do within a day, the less mental discipline we usually have (this, of course, depends on the type of work we’re doing and whether we enjoy it or not).

Because of that human complexity and the natural need for rest, only 1% to 3% of people can sleep five or six hours a night without suffering a noteworthy drop-off in performance.

According to Zach Tetley, Co-Founder of Nexus Homebuyers - a real estate investing company that helps homeowners sell a house fast in Knoxville, Tennessee - “When we first started our company, we were working 70-plus hour weeks, but we were less productive. Deals were falling through the cracks, we were extremely stressed, and we were so busy working in our business that we weren’t able to grow. Once we systematized our day-to-day business processes, we started working less hours and being much more efficient.”

Similarly, an employee that works 60 hours a week for two months will usually produce less than an employee that works 40 hours a week for the same two months.

The reason is simple: the more we do in a day, the less energy we have to do more. Often times, you’ll be more productive if you do fewer things.

2. You’ll Ruin the Whole Point of Starting your Own Business

Why did you start your real estate business?

Most likely, you started it because you want personal independence, financial freedom, and more time to pursue your passions.

In the words of Trevor Mauch — who’s the CEO of Carrot, a company that designs conversion-optimized websites for real estate agents and investors — "Most people get into real estate because they don't want to worry about money, they want the freedom to work when they want, where they want, and how they want. More than anything, they want to save time for the things in life that really matter."

And overworking yourself is not the way to accomplish your goals of personal and financial freedom.

Here’s just a few symptoms of burnout, for instance.

• Chronic fatigue

Insomnia

Forgetfulness/impaired concentration and attention

Physical symptoms

Increased illness

Loss of appetite

Anxiety

Depression

Anger

I’m no psychiatrist, but that doesn’t seem like the kind of life you were hoping for when you started your real estate business.

Instead, pace yourself, focus on the business levers that really make a difference, and enjoy the ride. After all, if you’re always chasing the next thing, you’ll never live with the freedom that you desired in the first place.

3. There’s no Better Way to Kill your Business than Overworking Yourself

It’s no secret that businesses fail at a far greater rate than they succeed. Regardless of if the failure rate is 50% or 80%, the reality is the same — startups fail like crazy.

And there are lots of different reasons for that. Sometimes, the ROI doesn’t make sense. Other times, the market isn’t interested in the business's product. Other times still, a business can’t keep up with the initial demand of the market. But in real estate, the case is often different. Many times, a real estate business fails because the person who started it can’t sustain what they’re doing.

They’ve worked themselves to a point where they aren’t even enjoying their job and they start looking for a way out.

Then, their business fails because they either (1) don’t have the energy to sustain it or (2) burnout and quit altogether.

Nothing's quite as bad for a business as the burnout of its leader. And nothing will burn a leader out quite as quickly as an overbusy schedule.

If you feel yourself approaching burnout, slow down for a bit. It won’t kill your business to take a few days off and rest so that you can recoup and get back at it in a few days. But it might kill your business if you overwork yourself and ignore the symptoms of impending burnout.

You started your real estate business so that you could spend more time for the things that matter in life. And, naturally, building your business is going to be hard work. Still, the hustle is overrated. If you burnout, then you definitely won’t be able to achieve the financial and personal freedom you dream of. You’ll also be less productive and maybe even kill the business that was supposed to make your life better.

So, as a reminder, the journey is long — take your time. You’ll get where you want to go if you keep at it, but you won’t if you destroy yourself along the way.