I'm trying to repeatedly execute a curl command with a python script, is there a better way to do such a task?
Below findings can help you in  linux environment.
You can do that with the help of a cron jab. 
Steps to setup a cron job:

Open crontab by the command "crontab -e" on the shell
Paste the following in the file and correct the path
0 * * * * /home/sshashank/script.py
Make sure you have given proper permissions to the folders where python script is going to run, folder where it is going to access(files/logs). 
Please provide absolute path and not relative path.
How: Python Script to execute Terminal Command every hour?