Why I’m Not Very Good at Taking a Break
I’m not very good at taking a break.
I know that sounds strange coming from someone who talks so much about creativity, making space for yourself, and doing more of what lights you up.
But after a big project or launch, my first instinct is not to rest.
It’s to dive into the numbers.
I want to know what worked, what didn’t, what I’d change next time, and what the data is actually telling me.
I suppose that’s the business side of me coming through.
My first instinct is to analyze everything
Whenever I finish something big in my business, I want to look at it while everything is still fresh in my mind.
What did people respond to?
Where did they lose interest?
What should I keep?
What should I change?
I actually enjoy this part.
For all the creative work I do, I also have very strong business bones. I like the numbers. I like seeing the patterns. I like figuring out what happened and why.
The problem is that I can stay in that mode for too long.
Instead of letting something be finished, I immediately start turning it into information for the next thing.
There’s always another thing waiting
Part of the challenge is simply the rhythm of running an online business.
There’s always another blog to write.
Another podcast to record.
Another email to send.
Another program to prepare.
Another deadline coming around the corner.
So even when something big is over, it doesn’t always feel over.
The treadmill keeps moving.
And I’ve gotten very good at moving with it.
Maybe too good.
I’m surrounded by evidence that I should slow down
My husband is wonderful about this.
He’ll give me gift certificates for a massage or a facial because he knows I work hard and probably need the reminder to stop.
And then I don’t use them.
I think I have at least two or three of them sitting around somewhere. Maybe four.
Which is ridiculous when you think about it.
I have actual permission slips for rest sitting in a drawer, and somehow I still manage to decide that whatever is on my computer is more urgent.
That probably tells you everything you need to know.
The times I really reset are the times I get away
For me, the biggest reset has always been travel.
And especially Paris.
I lived in Europe as a child, first in Brussels and later in Paris, so going back has always felt deeply familiar to me.
Over the years, I’ve sometimes gone by myself. Sometimes my husband comes with me, but often he doesn’t.
There’s something about being there that changes my pace.
I walk more.
I look around more.
I sit in cafés.
I notice things.
I stop measuring the day by how much I got done.
And I think that’s why it works so well for me.
It interrupts the rhythm I’m normally in.
Maybe rest isn’t always doing nothing
I used to think taking a break meant stopping completely.
Doing nothing.
Being very disciplined about relaxation.
Which, frankly, sounds like another task I could fail at.
But I’m starting to think about it differently.
Maybe rest is not always about doing nothing.
Maybe sometimes it’s about creating enough distance from your normal routine that your brain can stop racing ahead.
Maybe it’s about doing something that brings you back to yourself.
For me, that might be walking through Paris.
For someone else, it might be gardening, reading, painting, spending an afternoon with a friend, or simply turning the computer off earlier than usual.
The point isn’t what the break looks like.
The point is whether it actually feels like one.
I’m still learning this
I wish I could tell you I’ve figured out how to build beautiful pockets of recovery into my life.
I haven’t.
I’m still much more likely to finish something big and immediately ask, Okay, what’s next?
But I’m beginning to notice that tendency more.
And maybe that’s the first step.
Not forcing myself to become someone who is naturally wonderful at slowing down.
Just recognizing that constantly moving forward has a cost too.
Sometimes the next thing can wait.
Sometimes the numbers can wait.
Sometimes the blog can wait.
Sometimes I can use the massage gift certificate.
I’m still learning how to leave a little more space between one big thing and the next.
And maybe, for now, that’s enough.
xo,
Anne
It’s Never Too Late to Create®
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MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation. I grew up in Paris on the Place St. Sulpice and walked to school through the Luxembourg gardens. And that was only the beginning… Learn more by watching the video on my About page.
