If you’re reading this, you’re probably a hustler, or you’re at least in the middle of your transformation into one. You’ve adopted the “grindset” and you’re putting in the work at all hours of the day and night, seven days a week. You’ve probably even cut back on your sleep a little bit to squeeze an extra bit of productivity into your day. It’s great that you’re this motivated, and that you’re committed to doing more than the countless people who just sit on their couch and veg out while life passes by. But maybe you can occasionally take a page from their book. Don’t forget to rest.

        And when we say rest, we really mean rest. Completely detach from your projects, don’t look at your emails, be present in the simple moments of your life like taking a shower and eating your meals. Give yourself permission to relax. Taking a little time off isn’t a failure of motivation or endurance. It’s an absolutely necessary component of your personal growth. Resist the temptation to turn your rest periods into stealth productivity – taking time off from your job to tackle a home improvement product might recharge your batteries a little via a change of pace, but it’s not really resting. 

        If you work out, you know that rest periods are a vital part of the plan. Your muscles grow through a cycle of stress and repair. The repair happens when your muscles are at rest. Your brain works like this too. The things you learn need your brain to have some downtime so they can find a place to settle in. Periods of intense activity carve the path for your growth, and the rest periods are when the growth actually happens, so it’s important that you shut things down occasionally. Take a day off. When you can afford to do it, take a week. You’ll grow so much more quickly if you give yourself permission to take a breather, and you’ll also help yourself avoid burnout which can lead to way more downtime than any vacation. 

        Taking care of business also means taking care of yourself, taking care of yourself takes some time to rest.