It’s the day after my birthday. It’s wonderful having your birthday fall on a Saturday, as there are always a lot of events happening on Saturdays. I also love that you get a Sunday to rest after your birthday.
This morning, I stayed in bed longer than usual and it felt great. I am working on my business for a few hours today but then I am going to relax – maybe watch a movie and do some stuff around the house – but all this without pressure or a rigid schedule.
I’m declaring today, Be Real Sunday. This means I’m not putting on make-up or blow-drying my hair. I’m wearing jeans and a hoodie. It’s the perfect complement to yesterday when I got dressed up, went to a nice restaurant for dinner and then to the symphony. There’s a different energy associated with going out and I love that energy. I also love the energy of no plans and taking it easy. I think we need to integrate this more into our lives – the high energy of work and going out (it’s like performing) with the mellow energy of rest, recuperation, and rejuvenation.
Performers can’t always be performing. They also have to spend time creating and creating requires making time for rest. It’s the same with fitness – we have to give our bodies some time to recover from a tough workout before we push it to the limit again. The holds true in our business and careers. There are times where you are ramping up and putting in extra hours to complete a launch or project and once it’s complete, it’s important to rest and recover. This is key to a sustainable business. You can’t continue to grow your business if you are constantly in burnout mode.
Here are some tips to help you integrate more downtime into your life:
- Schedule some downtime each day. This could look like going to a yoga class at lunch, going for a walk after work, meditating and/or writing in the morning, or reading before bed. Decide which activities refuel you and commit to making time for them in your week, choosing at least one a day, every day.
- Look at your schedule for the week ahead. Assess whether you have over-scheduled yourself with after-work activities or family obligations. If you have, what can you remove from your schedule?
- On the weekends, ensure that you have allowed for some unscheduled time. Choose to engage in activities that fill you up – a nap, a phone call with an old friend, a meaningful conversation, one of your favorite physical activities, exploring a new topic, engaging in a hobby you enjoy, or just sitting on the porch or patio staring at the sky, trees, and birds and allowing your mind to wander. We are a culture that loves to fill (and overfill) our time. Unstructured time feeds our imagination and refuels our tank. Don’t discount the value of sitting on a bench at the park passing the time people watching.
How often do you allow yourself unstructured time to explore and play (without surfing social media!)?
What will you do today to rest, refuel, and rejuvenate?
Wishing you a day of leisure,
Kori
P.S. If you missed it, I am currently offering a Jumpstart (or resuscitate) your Business special. In honor of my birthday on 2/18, you can work with me for $218! This includes a 2-hour coaching session focused on getting your business unstuck, creating a strategy to move your business forward so that you can start making money (or make more money) in your business. You will also receive a personalized mindset practice as well as two weeks of support via email to keep you on track. We will have a 30-minute check-in session at the end of the two weeks to measure progress and make adjustments as needed to ensure you continue moving forward. Get out of confusion and overwhelm and get into clarity and confidence. Book your free Breakthrough Session to learn more about working together, ask questions, and see if this is a good fit for you.