How to be an Anti-Work Overachiever
Work Won't Save You Workshop
For most of my life, I only knew how to exist as an overachiever. Gold stars, perfect performance reviews, promotions; my worth was measured in milestones. Slowing down wasn’t just unthinkable; it felt like failure.
Then one day, I woke up and realized: work is a scam. Hustle culture is a con. Overperformance is a trap. The workplace will never love you back.
It can be a scary realization. But allowing me to guide you through the process is a white-glove service I am so candidly jealous of. I wish I had someone like me when I was going through this unraveling of my toxic work patterns.
I have some affirmations in the caption of this Instagram post from last week! These affirmations are a way to release the overworking programming we experience 24/7.
Some people hear “anti-work” and picture quitting, logging off, and retreating to a cabin in the woods. (Trust me, I love that fantasy and I’m actively working on it.)
But my reality?
I truly still want success, financial security, and autonomy. I still want to be excellent at what I do. I just refuse to kill myself for it. Because, ironically? I actually love to work.
So I had to figure out how to be an overachiever without being a Corporate Pick-Me.
So try this instead:
1. Redefine What Winning Looks Like
Overachievers love to win, but most of us are competing in a game designed to drain us. The corporate ladder? A rigged game. Performance reviews? A system built to keep you striving for an ever-moving goalpost.
I had to redefine my metrics for success. Instead of “How much did I accomplish?” I ask:
How much did I get paid for how little effort?
How much freedom did I create for myself?
How much did I build toward something that belongs to me, not an employer?
Why am I working?
The new game isn’t about working harder, it’s about working less while extracting more.
2. Master the Art of Strategic Underperformance
There is an art to looking busy while doing the bare minimum, and I have mastered it. It’s not laziness, it’s efficiency. Overachievers are used to going above and beyond. The problem? That “extra effort” rarely pays off the way we think it will.
So, I started asking myself: What is the least amount of work I can do to still be perceived as high-performing? The answer?
Don’t volunteer for extra work.
Use AI and automation to shave hours off tasks.
Perfect the power of saying no without actually saying no.
Know exactly what tasks actually get you noticed (hint: it’s not responding to emails at midnight).
Relax! I can feel the panic as you’re reading this.
You don’t have to do this forever. Just try one of these this week! If you identify as an overachiever, your 50% of effort is probably someone else’s 100%.
The whole point of this exercise is to “detox” from the high of busyness to make room for….a different more sustainable way of life.
3. Detach Self-Worth From Work
This was the hardest one.
Overachievers are programmed to believe that productivity = value. That if we’re not doing enough, we’re not enough. But here’s the truth: no amount of achievement will ever fill the void that capitalism exploits. You are already enough.
The shift from “I must work hard to prove myself” to “I must work strategically to free myself” is the key to being an anti-work overachiever.
I still want success. I still want to be the best. But now? I want to be the best at working the system in my favor.
Welcome to the new high performance, one that actually serves you.
WORK WON’T SAVE YOU, A 4-POST WORKSHOP ON RELEASING JOB ATTACHMENT & EMBRACING TRUE FREEDOM
Most of us were taught to tie our identity, security, and self-worth to work. That’s why the thought of leaving a job, slowing down, or setting boundaries feels terrifying, like losing everything.
But work was never meant to love you back. The fear of work abandonment keeps you stuck in jobs you hate, tolerating toxic bosses, and overworking for scraps.
Over the next month, I’m running a 4-post workshop on the paid side of my Substack to help you break free from this cycle. You’ll learn:
✅ How to release the fear of losing your job or stepping back
✅ Why corporate scarcity keeps you overworking and how to escape it
✅ How to detach your self-worth from work and reclaim your time
✅ A framework to redefine success and build autonomy on your terms
Your job needs you more than you need it. The goal isn’t to eliminate work, it’s to make sure it never owns you again.
The first post drops next week!
Join the paid side of my Substack to access the full workshop. Let’s break free of the toxicity together.
If you haven’t yet, join the paid side by clicking the Subscribe Now button below! You will be amongst 350+ members who are working together towards the solution of the overworking problem!