I was doing it.
My friends and family couldn’t believe it.
When I got back, they asked if it was a challenge for me. They thought for sure I was going to struggle with it.
What is “it?”
Taking time off.
Katie and I were on our honeymoon in Cancun for a week. It was the first whole week I’ve taken off in 5 years.
It felt fucking fantastic. (Excuse my French)
Maybe I struggled a bit to let go, but I was in rest mode after the first day.
I was sipping margaritas lying in the infinity pool with no worries in sight.
It inspired me to strive to make trips like that more frequent—to make taking time off a practice in my life.
Why do I think taking time off is essential?
Rest leads to greater creativity and productivity.
It’s a paradox. The more you rest, the faster and further you go.
If you told me that five years ago, I would have yelled some Gary Vee bullshit at you and got back to “grinding.”
I now realize that creativity is a concoction of rest, experiencing life, and habits.
2 out of those 3 require you to slow down. Resting and experiencing life requires a different speed than executing your habits.
But without consistent execution of habits, creativity will always seem a block away.
You may have great ideas from resting or going on a hike (experiencing life), but without habits to make those ideas a reality, all you have is a creative idea.
Creativity is about ideation and creation.
How do you balance resting and doing?
🧠 // JO