Hustle and Float

February 1, 2019
Author and digital anthropologist Harfoush explores the increasing tension between productivity and creativity. Hustle & Float, aimed at creative professionals, features four sections. The first three focus on behaviors and beliefs, and the final focuses on the future and how technology disruptions will shape views about work. Harfoush interviewed more than 100 professionals, from executives to small business owners, concluding that we live in a culture that idolizes creativity but worships productivity, aka the hustle. She tackles topics like employee burnout and career fulfillment in a world where the workforce has shifted from a manufacturing economy with standardized tasks to a knowledge-based one with an emphasis on personal productivity, with overworking as a part of our identities. Instead of offering work-life balance clich�s, Harfoush dissects deep issues and puts the onus on the reader to work on the float, the balance between focused exertion and intentional recovery. Offering a blend of tools and actions that can lead to a better way to work, she has created a forward-thinking book that will appeal to creative professionals.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)