Or, “Taking Time Off When You Work for Yourself” . . .

First things first: there are two types of people. There are the “I could never get myself to actually do work at home, I’d just hang out on the couch and scroll” people, and then there are “I can’t ever get myself to clock out when I work from home” people. I definitely fall more into the second category, so that’s who this post will be most useful for. 🙂

Last week you may have noticed I didn’t write a Wednesday blog. I was sick, dehydrated, and simultaneously worrying about three big end-of-May deadlines. And oh yeah, we’d been out of town, so all my normal routines and tasks were in disarray. I was literally on the couch trying not to fall asleep thinking, “well . . . it’s 6pm . . . I could write a blog post now . . . Or maybe tomorrow, and it’ll just be a day late?”

Seriously. I really should have given myself some grace and chosen the “pajamas and scroll” option. 😉

But that’s the trouble, right? We pile up these expectation on ourselves, especially as authors or other folks who work from home. There’s a tendency to try to justify your career choice by over-scheduling yourself–it’s something I’ve written about before. I see it on social media, too: “sorry I’ve been MIA” posts where friends lament about wanting to ease off social media because it drains their energy or they have too much going on, but at the same time feeling guilty because they’re not interacting with others. Skip one post, spend the next several apologizing. Sound familiar?

And let’s be honest–getting yourself out there as an author or entrepreneur is a hustle. There are a ton of things to be done. Sometimes I think of it like throwing spaghetti at the wall, trying out all kinds of posts or platforms to see what brings exposure or reviews or income. It can make for a pretty full schedule.

Consider this post your permission slip to clear the calendar.

Because for all the schedules and have tos and shoulds, there’s the simple fact that you won’t get anything done at all if you’re too tired. And often, stepping back for a moment–or a day!–means that you come back to work refreshed and more clear-headed than before.

We all know this, right? You’ve definitely heard “less is more” before. (Or in this case, maybe it should be “less leads to more later”? 😉 ) So why does it feel so hard to trust that if I take time off now, I’m actually doing my future self a favor?

My theory is that it comes down to fear. We’re afraid to believe that less now means more later; it feels counterintuitive, even a bit like gambling. I don’t know about you, but this summer, I’m trying to come from a place of confidence rather than fear. That means trusting that, even if I have to take something off the schedule, I am making the best choice . . . and knowing that no matter what happens, I can figure something out in the end.

So, last week I accidentally took a day off because I got overwhelmed. Maybe in the future I will try taking more time off on purpose–and I hope you do, too. I have a feeling that the experience will be much more rewarding. 😉

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