When’s the last time you actually took the time to rest? Rest is so important and I will be the FIRST to admit that I am not good at it. I think now more than ever our culture is so “go, go, go” that we forget to stop and breathe, and rest. We forget that rest is GOOD for us and needed. We forget that rest actually helps us be successful.
I think specifically entrepreneurs have a hard time with the concept of rest. I know from my own business that there is ALWAYS something to do, or that could be done and I feel behind 99% of the time. But that’s the thing. We will likely never feel AHEAD. And the more we stress ourselves out over trying to get all the things done all the time, the quicker we will burn out.
Personally, I’ve realized the need for rest after the last month of my life. It started off with a vacation in Aruba, which you think, yay, REST, but honestly that vacation led me to working crazy hours before and after the trip, stressing about work I was missing and even working 2-3 hours a day on vacation. It didn’t truly feel like a vacation. Then I played catch up for 2 weeks, and then the last Monday of the month my dog unexpectedly passed away from an unknown cancerous tumor that ruptured, in which I proceeded to take the week off because the grief was too much to handle, followed by a wedding I was in that next weekend out of town. I came back to an insane work-load from the unexpected days off and just finally said to myself I cannot keep doing this. The anxiety and stress is going to kill me. Then, ironically, our church started a series on REST and SABBATH and I know this is the message I needed to hear and I need to practice in my life.
Here are some ways I am incorporating rest into my life, why it’s helpful and how you can too.
Uninterrupted time alone
This is the hardest thing for me to do. I find that I ALWAYS have my phone on me, or my Apple watch and I’m constantly bombarded by technology. I rarely take time to sit alone in my own thoughts, journal or pray. When I do my morning PD time, it’s typically very short and oftentimes, if I’m being honest, I do it to check the box for the day. I want to give myself a couple hours once a week to remove all technology -- yes this means no phone, watch, computer, TV. Just sitting outside somewhere, or even in my bed with a notebook and a pen, and just my thoughts. I think sometimes sitting in “the uncomfortable” with our own thoughts can feel like the hardest thing to do, but can bring us SO much clarity when we do so.
Saying NO, or not taking on more than you can handle
Guilty again. I suffer from this condition called FOMO. Ever heard of it? ;) Seriously though I have a fear of missing out. I say YES to so many things I need to say no to because I don’t want to miss out on them, or I feel bad saying no to the person. When in reality, this is only causing me more stress. I’ve gotten better, but there’s still room for improvement here on only saying YES to the things that are a “HELL YES” and prioritizing those things.
Saying NO is hard for me in my personal life, but even harder in my business. I think for so long I was in growth mode and saying YES to everything and all work because I felt like I had to, or needed to for the experience and the money, but I’ve come to realize that I need to first ask myself if this work would be a good fit for me before simply saying yes. Now that I am fully-booked, I do have more control over my schedule and my client list, but I still feel bad telling people no. BUT WHY? I shouldn’t, and I HAVE to. Because taking on too much doesn’t allow me to service my clients in the best way I can. It also leads me to feeling overwhelmed and burnt out vs. truly being able to serve my clients well with the immediate tasks on hand and then strategizing other ideas to help them grow their businesses.
Doing one thing for ME each week
Rest doesn’t ALWAYS have to mean doing nothing. Rest can be something that helps you relax and brings you joy too. Each week, I plan to do something for me. It could be as simple as heading to the park with my pup and taking him on a walk just to get outside, or even relaxing at the pool for 60 minutes on day in the sun. Or, it could be something bigger like getting my nails done, or my hair done, or even taking the entire day off just to shop, go out to lunch and binge watch my Netflix obsession. But the key here is to release the GUILT for doing these things in knowing that it fills your cup up and allows you to be more energized for your work.
So while rest is HARD and it’s not always the easiest thing to prioritize, it HAS to be if we want to create sustainable, long-term, successful businesses. So tell me how you’re going to incorporate more rest into your life -- or maybe you do a great job of this already and have some tips to share with the rest of us?
Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.
After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.
Katelyn is also a soon-to-be wife, stepmom, dog mama of two furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.
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