Hugh Jackman’s golden rule for avoiding burnout

The Australian actor advises never to give your all at work to maintain a relaxed and non-stressed attitude and avoid burnout

Always give it your all, but never at top speed. That’s actor Hugh Jackman’s “85% rule” to always be efficient, productive, without burning out.

He shared his personal philosophy in detail about how to handle one’s career and details of personal life in a podcast, “The Tim Ferriss Show“.

The 85% rule

He illustrates this in the podcast using professional athletes: instead of going full-on to 100%, when athletes do 85%, they do better because they’re under less stress to perfection.

A lot of actors, including Jackman, have to physically change for certain roles, putting their bodies through arduous practice sessions. He says that he is always composed, though, knowing he is not going to need all that energy at once.

While perhaps not everyone engages in physical training, overexertion can pertain to our daily activities, too. We can push ourselves to give 100% over short periods or surpass our limits to meet a specific goal, but it’s unrealistic to expect this daily.

Jackman cites that the negative side effects of working at or near maximum capacity constantly include anxiety, stress, and that ever-present feeling of being “under pressure.”.

Indeed, pursuit of peak performance at all times can actually decrease productivity. An imbalance in work and rest will make us less responsive and productive in our undertakings.

Whether it be pitching an idea, presenting a project, meeting a client, preparing a financial report, whatever that thing is, the results that you get when you’re at 100% energy are usually not optimal,” he says. In contrast, staying at 85% keeps stress and fatigue at bay and gives more consistent long-term productivity.

This perception of not always giving our all is key to a healthier approach to work and the emotions, tension, and stress related to it.

Applying the 85% rule in daily life

The application of the so-called “85% rule” seems to be leading at first glance; after some tuning, it can improve work-life quality. The introduction of regular five-minute breaks after an hour of work increases focus and reduces fatigue risks. Planning the weekly workload, with breaks incorporated, and working on one project at a time prevents overload. Jackman also suggests setting realistic expectations, tackling tasks without the pressure of perfection but with an eye to continuous improvement. Time for mental and physical relaxation allows us to conserve energy and stay clear-headed.

A cultural comparison: how much does work really matter?

How important is work to our lives? A landmark survey, titled “What the World Thinks About Work“, conducted by King’s College London and released recently, reflects diverse views.

The most interesting outcome of the King’s College survey is in the dramatic cultural differences in attitudes toward work. While the British and Italians each have a different attitude toward the place of work in life, other countries-most especially in Scandinavia-have chosen another path and emphasize leisure and quality of life more. In both Sweden and Norway, routines such as the “fika” or a daily coffee break and a shorter workweek serve to reinforce exactly how private life can be put first without sacrificing output. Contrasting is Japan and other Asian countries, which have still kept a work-sacrifice culture, although these countries have now begun to put in place measures that would avert burnout.

It underlines comparisons where work-life balance is viewed differently across cultures and how a shift in perspective could lead to overall well-being.

Other factors in the survey included a look at opinions of whether not working encourages laziness or if working is part of creating a better quality of life for one’s future.

Results indicate that work still tends often to be considered a demanding activity, which should occupy major parts of our lives if it is to be worthwhile.

In fact, most of the world’s population was brought up believing that demanding work schedules with the priority of work at the top of the list and sacrificing family or personal passion time was the right way to feed into the burnout cycle.

Burnout studies and how to address it

Recent studies on burnout in 2024 mark some of the trends and ways of how this problem should be resolved:

It was concluded that there is a remarkable gap between executives and employees: 96% of the CEOs said they support mental health quite well, while only 69% of workers felt this was true. This points to the need for active listening and greater transparency.

Women report a higher percentage of burnout, 42%, than men, at 30%. This rate is notably higher in women holding leadership positions. Also, ethnic minorities and people in healthcare, service, and legal sectors experience disproportionately high levels of burnout.

In fact, according to research from the Boston Consulting Group, feelings of workplace inclusion halve the risk of burnout. Similarly, hybrid work models balance in-office and remote work with better well-being and lower risk of burnout. Also, a reduced workweek of below 40 hours has been shown to increase engagement and lower stress.

Source: The Tim Ferriss Show