Picture a person who seems to embody productivity. Maybe you thought of someone cooking dinner while on the phone, answering emails while walking on the treadmill, or doing math homework and listening in on a Zoom meeting at the same time. We often view this kind of multitasking as the ultimate efficiency because we live in a culture that glorifies busyness — where our worth is frequently measured by how much we can get done in a day.
We equate constant motion with success, even when it leaves us drained and unfocused. Being at an Ivy League institution only compounds this stress. Surrounded by multifaceted and successful students who seem to perfectly juggle coursework, extracurricular activities, and a social life, it feels like we must do the same to keep up.
Even though Brown might not be considered a pressure cooker in the same way similarly ranked universities are, the pressure is there nonetheless. Faced with far more tasks than we can complete in a single day, we may rush to find shortcuts and work on assignments simultaneously, sacrificing quality in the process. In a culture obsessed with productivity and “doing it all,” students would benefit from rethinking this approach.
As an incoming first-year student, I faced a barrage of advice coming from parents, teachers, and upperclassmen at Brown: “Get involved in everything you can,” “join every club,” “say yes to every social event or invitation.” This advice, though well-intentioned, incentivizes the pursuit of quantity over quality, promoting a greater number of commitments instead of a few meaningful ones.
Much of this pressure may stem from “hustle culture.” This mindset is exacerbated by social media, where influencers post unrealistic “day-in-the-life” videos showing early wake-ups — often at 4 a.m. — intense exercise routines, and long work hours. The promotion of this mentality starts young, even in children’s books like *Harry Potter*, where Hermione Granger uses a “Time Turner” to go back in time every day and attend twice as many classes as she otherwise would.
These cultural tailwinds heighten students’ fears — whether about the increasingly uncertain job market, gaining acceptance into competitive graduate programs, or withstanding pressures from family members that the only path to success is doing as much as possible.
We spread ourselves thin, trying to find internships, do well in our classes, or pull all-nighters studying — all to our detriment. Perhaps more importantly, trying to do everything makes us less interested and passionate about what we’re involved in.
While Hermione Granger’s Time Turner is an obviously unrealistic example, the pressure to do more manifests itself in many facets of life on College Hill. One telling example is the rise in the number of students double-concentrating, from just under 20% in 2015 to 32% in 2024. According to *The Herald*’s 2025 First-Year Poll, over 40% of freshmen said they intend to double-concentrate, which often means taking over 20 required classes.
Concentrating in two separate fields is widely praised — and rightly so. It’s important for students to be well-rounded and have interests spanning multiple disciplines. But double-concentrating has its pitfalls. It means that the vast majority of classes are predetermined, a principle that runs counter to the logic behind Brown’s Open Curriculum, which enables students to explore different interests without the pressure of fulfilling core requirements.
In fact, by limiting students to two concentrations, Brown has already recognized the downsides of pursuing too many areas of interest. It’s likely the majority of students seeking to double-concentrate are truly interested in both fields. And even if they are not, it’s understandable why many try to hedge their bets.
The job market awaiting college graduates looks more uncertain than ever, so it makes sense that students want to pad their resumes with the most expansive list of experiences possible. But perhaps employers might value someone exhibiting depth of focus and expertise in one area, rather than dabbling in everything.
Still, evidence points to the conclusion that students who double major do not necessarily fare significantly better in the job market than those who graduate with a single degree. We should instead focus our activities and academics in a few substantive areas.
The benefits of doing one thing at a time, or “single-tasking,” are numerous: greater efficiency, fewer mistakes, and a deeper connection to our work and passions. As students at Brown, all of us have already proven that we are capable of doing many different things. Now we must prove something arguably harder—that we can do a few things well.
In the face of hustle culture, the answer is not to cram more into our already overpacked lives, but rather to do less while caring about each thing more.
https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025/11/mooney-29-why-doing-less-can-help-us-accomplish-more
