"You're not working hard enough."
- Me, to myself, despite spinning 7 plates that are on fire over a shark tank
There's a delicious irony in chasing freedom through freelancing, only to become your own worst taskmaster. Despite the 5,738+ reasons freelance copywriting makes my heart sing, one demon persists: the inability to power down my work brain.
Bad news: my boss is a hardass.
I escaped the corporate hamster wheel—where 100mph was the standard gear—only to rebuild the same relentless machine in my own home office.
In fact, it was worse.
This weekend, my new Breathe magazine sat neglected as my mind raced through an obstacle course of freelance anxieties:
Shouldn't I be networking right now?
That unanswered email is practically radioactive...
What if my dream client is scrolling LinkedIn this very moment?
It's ironic, considering the Breathe magazine on my table is about mental health and creativity.
And let's be honest—if your ideal client is hunting for copywriters during the weekend, perhaps they're not the work-life balance icon you need in your professional ecosystem.
Why is switching off so damn difficult? Because somewhere, the patriarchal ghost of productivity whispers that our value equals our output. It's time we smash that equation.
Rest isn't a weakness. Maybe it's the soil where your next brilliant idea takes root.
And let’s keep with this nature metaphor; flowers don't bloom year-round; why should your creative mind?
The permission slip you didn't know you needed
I am here to tell you that you ARE doing enough.
Your weekend belongs to dog cuddles, trashy TV, friendship, and stillnesses so complete they almost feel uncomfortable at first. That discomfort? It's just your work identity throwing a tantrum.
Stand firm. The work will wait.
The sweetest irony of all?
Your mind, refreshed by actual separation, brings solutions that the hamster-wheel brain never could. Monday rolls around and you’re better for your rest, not worse.
You haven’t fallen behind.
You haven’t missed anything you can’t catch up on.
You are okay. Take a breath.
A call to deliberate rest
So, fellow overthinkers, boundary-pushers, and change-makers, can we promise each other something?
Let's reframe rest not as an indulgence but as the foundation of outstanding work.
Because the truth is simple: we don't serve anyone by bringing them our depleted selves.
Are you brave enough to rest completely? The world needs what emerges when you do.
I feel like I’ve had the value of rest impressed upon me in so many ways… but everyone I know struggles to rest effectively and consistently. It makes me wonder why? Lovely piece 💕
"There's a delicious irony in chasing freedom through freelancing, only to become your own worst taskmaster. Despite the 5,738+ reasons freelance copywriting makes my heart sing, one demon persists: the inability to power down my work brain." <-- THAT. I also think to add onto this, that there are "seasons" in our businesses. I've spent a lot of weekends working to build my business and very much not resting, and also could sustain it depending on the time I was in. Sometimes, I need more rest than others! And sometimes, I just gotta' get stuff done when I feel it calling to me 😂