In a throwback clip from BBC2’s The Bollywood Story, actor Anil Kapoor took us through a regular day in his life. The Mr. India actor shared that he used to begin his day with his family and talked about balancing personal life with his career, as well as the long hours he put into his work.“I do manage to find time for my family – one hour in the morning. But yeah, that’s the way it is over here. When I started my career, before I could take off, I got married. Then I had children, and everybody felt that was not the right thing I was doing. Because when you get married, the press finds you very boring. There’s nothing to write about. But if you can do good work, that is the best thing you can do,” he shared in the documentary.Kapoor used to make his way to film sets early and, after wrapping up work, attend media events, campaigns, and store openings for “image building purposes”. For the other party, it was all about “publicity and crowd”.DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to.Talking about why he put in long hours at work, Kapoor further elaborated: “Compared to the other actors, I’m doing minimum films. Minimum means I’m doing about 12 films. They say I’m very choosy because I’m doing only 12 films, while other actors are doing 40 or 50. I just started my career; it’s been five years, and people feel I’ve already established myself. But I do not. So I’m working almost around the clock. I am still working for 16-18 hours every day.” Jackie Shroff, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Anil Kapoor on the sets of Parinda (1989). (Source: X/@FilmHistoryPic)Regardless of the motivation, Gurleen Baruah, organisational psychologist at That Culture Thing, says that very long work hours can slowly exhaust the system. “When the brain doesn’t get time to reset, focus drops and mistakes increase. Decision-making becomes rushed or rigid because the mind is tired, not sharp,” she tells indianexpress.com.Emotionally, Baruah says people become more irritable, numb, or reactive because there’s no space to process stress. Over time, this can affect relationships at work and at home. “What starts as ‘working more to get things done’ often becomes counter-productive. Burnout, poor judgement, and emotional fatigue follow, and performance actually goes down, not up,” she explains, adding: “Humans are not machines, and even machines need charging.”Story continues below this adHow to strike the right balance?Rima Bhandekar, senior psychologist at Mpower Helpline, Aditya Birla Education Trust, adds that taking meaningful breaks, engaging in activities beyond work, and nurturing personal fulfilment are highly recommended. Making time for self-care, exercise, hobbies, and quality moments with loved ones can significantly contribute to emotional wellbeing and overall life satisfaction.ALSO READ | Between work-life balance and salary, Gen Z is choosing to be ‘okay with less pay’The goal should be to mindfully embrace the rhythm of work and rest, leading to sustainable progress without compromising their health. “Sometimes, individuals find it difficult to come out of the rut of excessive focus on work, and may not know where to start. At such times, you can take help from an expert who will help you identify which part of life you need to swing and how to maintain momentum,” she concludes.DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to.