TL;DR: Maximize your success by optimizing post-work habits
Unproductive evening habits can sabotage your aspirations. Replace screen time, overthinking, and passive consumption with intentional activities that refresh your mind and body. Successful people prioritize movement, meaningful relationships, hobbies, and clear boundaries between work and personal life to enhance creativity and resilience.
• Replace scrolling with journaling or reading
• Take evening walks to boost energy and productivity
• Avoid overcommitment; focus on quality connections
Start small today and transform your downtime into a launchpad for growth!
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After work, most people look forward to unwinding. What you do in those critical hours, however, can either set you up for long-term success or subtly sabotage your aspirations. As someone who has immersed herself in the entrepreneurial trenches, I’ve seen firsthand how these habits can shape careers, relationships, and personal growth. Interestingly, psychology provides compelling insights into why certain post-work habits hinder your success while others propel you forward.
Let’s dive into seven actions unsuccessful people commonly embrace after work, which the successful deliberately avoid. Spoiler alert: These aren’t just arbitrary lifestyle choices. They’re behaviors rooted in psychological science, and swapping them for more impactful alternatives can have profound effects on your professional and personal life. Ready to take a closer look?
What Do Unsuccessful People Do After Work? Let’s Break It Down
1. Gluing Themselves to Screens: The Trap of Passive Consumption
Do you spend hours after work scrolling through Instagram, watching Netflix, or doom-scrolling news? This form of passive downtime might feel like “relaxation,” but scientifically, it prevents your brain from truly unwinding. Studies, like one conducted by UC Irvine, suggest that constant screen exposure interrupts natural mental recovery, leaving you less creative and more irritable the next day.
What successful people do differently: They break the digital cycle. Instead of scrolling, they indulge in meaningful activities like reading, cooking, journaling, or actual face-to-face interaction. These are behaviors that restore mental energy and foster creativity.
2. Skipping Movement: The Energy Paradox
“I’m too tired to exercise” is one of the most common excuses. Ironically, skipping physical movement after a sedentary day perpetuates fatigue. A Stanford study revealed that walking alone can boost creative thinking by up to 60%!
What successful people do differently: They prioritize movement even when they’re tired. A simple walk, yoga, or 20-minute workout doesn’t just revive the body; it strengthens resilience and clears mental fog, setting you up for a more productive evening or restorative sleep.
3. Overthinking Work Problems: The Mental Trap You Can’t Escape
Ruminating on mistakes or work problems isn’t “dedication.” It’s a clear path to anxiety. A study by Columbia Psychiatry shows that constant overthinking activates the same neural pathways associated with depression and anxiety disorders.
What successful people do differently: They set boundaries around when they think about work. Many of the most productive leaders journal or write down work-related worries and set them aside. The goal is to break the cycle of rumination and give the mind some breathing room.
4. Saying Yes to Everything: The Overcommitment Spiral
Social overbooking doesn’t just eat into your recovery time; it also leads to burnout. Research from the Journal of Decision Fatigue shows that the more decisions you force yourself to make in social settings, the less energy you have left for important ones the next day.
What successful people do differently: They enforce a strict “hell yes or no” policy for commitments. Investing in quality over quantity when it comes to post-work plans can revive energy instead of depleting it.
5. Neglecting Personal Relationships
After work, unsuccessful individuals often indulge in passive or strained family time, leading to deteriorated relationships. On the contrary, decades-long research from the Harvard Grant Study proves that meaningful relationships are a key determinant of long-term success and happiness.
What successful people do differently: They approach personal relationships with intent. Setting phones down, engaging in deep conversations, or even sharing small moments can strengthen bonds and create significant emotional recharge.
6. Working More: The Productivity Illusion
Logging back into your email or finishing “one last thing” feels productive in the moment, but it sabotages recovery. A study by PubMed found that lack of clear work-life boundaries correlates with faster burnout and declining long-term performance.
What successful people do differently: They use those hours to disconnect completely because quality rest makes them exponentially more productive the following day.
7. Passive Consumption Over Active Creation
Whether it’s scrolling or streaming shows, consuming content without creating anything leaves people unfulfilled. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s work on Flow highlights the joy and fulfillment that comes from active engagement, like building skills, writing, or doing hobbies.
What successful people do differently: They make time for hobbies, journaling, or even learning something new. This creates flow states that are deeply rejuvenating and rewarding.
How Do You Correct These Habits Starting Today?
- Replace doom-scrolling with 15 minutes of journaling or reading.
- Take a 20-minute evening walk, no matter how tired you feel.
- Set a clear boundary: No work emails after 7 PM.
- Plan one intentional conversation with a family member or friend daily.
- Pick a skill, hobby, or side project to dedicate 30 minutes toward every evening.
Small, intentional choices can transform your post-work hours into a source of renewal and momentum. Success isn’t about working longer hours; it’s about working smarter and renewing intentionally. Change your after-work routine, and you’ll notice the compounding benefits in weeks, not years.
Ready to start? You’re not alone. Thousands of successful entrepreneurs have fine-tuned these practices, and now it’s your turn.
FAQ on "7 Things Unsuccessful People Do After Work That Successful People Avoid"
What common after-work habits prevent mental recovery?
Unsuccessful individuals often engage in passive consumption, such as binge-watching shows or mindlessly scrolling social media. While these activities may feel relaxing, research from UC Irvine demonstrates that they prevent genuine mental recovery by overloading the brain with constant stimuli. On the other hand, successful people intentionally engage in restorative activities like journaling, reading, or enjoying face-to-face interactions, which foster creativity and relaxation.
How does skipping exercise after work affect your overall productivity?
Ditching physical activity post-work leads to sustained fatigue, contrary to the belief that resting on the couch recharges you. A Stanford study found walking improves creative thinking by 60%, while regular movement enhances mental clarity. Successful people prioritize even light exercise, such as a short walk or yoga, to energize their bodies and minds.
Why is overthinking work problems after hours a mistake?
Ruminating on work issues keeps your mind in a high-stress state, impeding relaxation and mental reset. According to research from Columbia Psychiatry, chronic overthinking aligns with anxiety and depression patterns. Successful individuals manage this by setting boundaries, using journaling to offload thoughts, and focusing on unwinding instead.
How does saying “yes” to too many social commitments cause burnout?
Overcommitting socially drains mental and emotional reserves, leading to decision fatigue and eventual burnout. The Journal of Decision Fatigue highlights that each decision you make reduces your overall mental capability. Successful people employ a “hell yes or no” philosophy, choosing only fulfilling social activities to maintain energy reserves.
Why are personal relationships vital for long-term success?
Strong relationships are a key predictor of long-term happiness and professional success, as demonstrated by the Harvard Grant Study. Instead of neglecting family and friends, successful individuals actively engage in meaningful conversation and shared experiences, which create emotional recharge.
Does finishing extra work after hours improve productivity?
Contrary to popular belief, logging back into your email or tackling extra tasks post-work diminishes your ability to fully recharge. Research from PubMed shows that blurred work-life boundaries can accelerate burnout and reduce performance over time. High achievers opt for full detachment after work, using the time to recover and prepare for the next day.
How does passive consumption harm your personal growth?
Activities like endless scrolling or binge-watching TV shows may seem harmless but often lead to unfulfilling downtime. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow Theory reveals that active engagement, be it in hobbies or creating something, is far more rewarding and rejuvenating for the mind.
How can ruminating less after work improve mental health?
Setting clear boundaries for work-related thoughts leads to lower stress levels and better mental clarity. A simple practice, such as writing down your concerns during the day and putting them aside, can break the cycle of overthinking, as noted by the Columbia Psychiatry Study. This is a consistent trait among successful people, who value mental well-being over constant productivity.
What daily actions can replace doom-scrolling?
Replacing screen time with a creative or mindful practice can significantly enhance well-being. For instance, successful individuals take up hobbies like cooking, writing, or gardening to recharge. By avoiding passive consumption, they foster deeper satisfaction and long-term personal growth.
How do small intentional choices accelerate success?
The key to transforming after-work habits is starting with small, manageable changes. Whether it's taking a 15-minute walk, reading a chapter of a book, or having an intentional conversation with a loved one, these practices have a compounding effect on your energy and creativity. Over time, these intentional behaviors align you with high achievers who understand rest is as impactful as effort.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the “gamepreneurship” methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the point of view of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.