Rest is Productive

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Table of Contents

Podcast Description

We’re diving into a topic that may seem counterintuitive at first: rest. That’s right, rest is actually productive!

We live in a hustle and grind culture where it often feels like we need to be constantly busy and working non-stop to achieve success. But the truth is, making time for rest and relaxation is essential for our productivity and overall well-being.

In this episode, I’m sharing a pep talk I recorded for my members earlier this week so that you can feel inspired and start to prioritize rest too.

Links Referenced in Episode:

▶ Learn more about the Productive Entrepreneurs Club

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Episode Transcript

(Note: This is a formatted AI-generated transcript to make it easier for you to read through, but is not an optimized blog post. Please excuse any spelling or grammar errors and filler words – it’s just how I speak LOL)

Episode Intro

We’re diving into a topic that may seem counterintuitive. Rest. That’s right. Rest is actually productive! We live in this hustle and grind culture, where it often feels like we need to be constantly busy and working non-stop in order to achieve success. But the truth is, making time for rest is essential for our productivity and our overall well being.

So in this episode, I’m sharing a pep talk that I recorded for my membership earlier this week, so that you can feel inspired and start to prioritize rest, too. Are you ready? Let’s dive in.

Hey, I’m Lucy Reyes, your host of the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast, where I’m on a mission to help online entrepreneurs like you focus on all the right things and kiss overwhelm goodbye. Here, you’re going to learn strategies that will boost your productivity so that you can scale your online biz and impact lives sooner. It’s your time to shine. So let’s get started.

Don’t Burn Yourself Out

Hey, hey, welcome to the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast. I am really excited about this episode today because there has been so much going on. I’ve been seeing so much talk and so many people coming out on their emails and saying something about feeling burnt out in 2023 and how they don’t want the same thing to happen in 2024.

And I’m seeing this way more than not. And I really, really think it’s so important that you understand, and that you truly truly believe the fact that making time to rest is actually super important and super critical in helping you be at the most productive that you can be.

You don’t have to overwork yourself. You don’t have to burn yourself out. You don’t have to do more in order to get more done. It’s the opposite. You need to feel well rested.

And so I actually recorded an episode specifically for my members inside of the Productive Entrepreneurs Club. Every week, I record a new pep-talk episode for them that they get in a private podcast style and this week was all about rest.

And so I decided that I’m going to bring that episode to the public podcast because it’s such an important message that I want everyone to know. And, you know, instead of re-recording, I’m just going to do it the efficient way and repurpose my own content.

So I am going to go ahead and hop on over and pull out the episode so that you can listen to it here on the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast. So without further ado, here is an episode from the Productive Entrepreneurs Club.

Private Episode from the Club

Hey, hey! Welcome back to another weekly episode of the motivational pep talks. I am really excited about this one because there has been so much going on at the beginning of the year and already feels like this month just flew by and I really want to start, you know, this year, the 2024 year.

We’re still in the beginning and I want to give you those very, very important reminders so I absolutely love the quote that I came across to help get this message across. And so today’s quote is,

“Sometimes the best solution is to rest, relax and recharge. It’s hard to be your best on empty.”

And I love this because rest is productive and it might sound counterintuitive. It might sound like, “How is rest productive? How is me not doing more or getting more done productive? When I’m resting, I’m not doing anything. How is that productive, Lucy?”

And hopefully, since you’ve been in the Productive Entrepreneurs Club, hopefully that’s not the case anymore. Hopefully that’s not what you’re thinking, but I know that it is a mindset shift.

It’s something that, you know, naturally growing up, the culture, this hustle culture makes you think that you’re always having to grind, that you’re always having to work more and do more and look and appear like you’re so busy all the time.

Because otherwise, what are you doing with your life? If you’re not always go, go, go, are you being the best parent that you can be, or you being the best teacher that you can be? Are you being the best, like, whatever that situation is for you? Like, are you actually being the best that you can be if you’re not always trying to do more of that thing.

That is what this culture has instilled in our brains. Like I know it, I know it. It came up with my upbringing as well, the way that my family was brought up… My family, I don’t know. They were… I’m a first-generation Mexican. I’m a first generation Mexican here.

So it was very much, “You gotta work.” I had two jobs in high school. As soon as I could work at 18, I was working my two jobs. And that was the thing. That was what we were taught to do so it’s not your fault if you feel like rest is not productive.

However, it is. Rest is productive and it’s something that you need to prioritize. Okay? And you also need to also be able to give yourself the grace and forgive yourself whenever you’re not able to get something done.

Usually if you’re taking longer to complete something, it might be a sign that it’s time for you to take a break. So, let me give you an example. This week, my… It’s been raining here in the Houston area where I live. And so my husband, he works in construction, so he works outside.

So that means he can’t go to work, which means I get a little bit more help at home. And so he’s been really the one that’s been taking care of our daughter and taking her to school and picking her up, and so that’s been giving me extra time to work, right? Because I’m not having to do drop off and I’m not having to do pickup.

So I have more time and I can feel it. I can feel that at, towards the end of the day, because I had that extra time in the morning and I’m having like that extra 30 minutes to an hour in the evening. I can feel myself starting to like, wind down and I’m starting to scroll more on social media just to, you know, do my own thing.

And I’m telling myself, “Oh, it’s because, you know, I have to do my 10 minutes of engagement on Instagram,” when it’s really not like I’m literally just scrolling. I’m not even engaging and that’s my sign to myself, like, “Alright, Lucy. You need to get off the computer and go lay down.”

And so I will. I will do that when I feel it in my body and I notice that my body is telling me to get off the computer and it’s like, “Alright, let me just go lay in bed before the house gets pretty loud and pretty chaotic.”

Right? And sometimes that’s all we have to do. We have to really pay attention to our body despite us not wanting to pay attention to it, and really know I can push through to get this done. Like sometimes you have to, you have to, because the more you push off your rest, the harder it is going to be for you to refill that cup.

Right? Like this quote says, it’s hard to be your best on empty. And when you’re empty and you’re still trying to go, it’s going to be even harder for you to refill your cup back up. So it’s really, really important that you just make resting a part of your day to day. Even if it feels like you have very little time in your day, which I know that’s what it feels like.

I know you have so much going on. I know you have so many other priorities that are taking up your time and it doesn’t feel like you have time to rest. But you have to make the time to rest, because that is how you’re going to get your cup filled up. That is how you’re going to stay energized.

And that is how you’re truly going to be at your most productive state. Because when you’re not rested, you’re working slower, you’re not being productive so you have to rest.

Whether rest for you looks like 10 minutes a day, it should definitely be more, but like 10 minutes in the middle of a day. Whether it means six to eight hours, however many hours you are actually comfortable with.

And this will also change depending on your age, your health. Right? When I was in my early twenties, I could function on five hours of sleep. Now I need seven and that is like my magic number. If I sleep eight, sometimes it’s a little, it’s a little too much. I still kind of feel a little bit tired.

Especially if I get like nine hours of sleep on a weekend, oh my gosh! I feel so drained. What is it about that? Anyways, that’s a little side tangent. But you need to know what that means for you and rest does not look the same all the time and doesn’t look the same for everybody.

So it’s important for you to figure out what that means for you and for you to prioritize it. Okay? Because like the quote says, sometimes the best solution is to rest, relax and recharge. It’s hard to be your best on empty.

And so I really hope that you’ll take this message, really dig it into your brain, like ingrain it in there. Like, put it as a thing. If you have to put it on your weekly calendar, if you have to put it as a notification on your phone to remind you, you need to rest, then do it.

Or just also really be very, very in tune with your body and feel what it’s telling you. Is it telling you that it’s tired? If it is then, it’s okay. Go take a nap. Go get off the computer. Take a rest, take a break. Okay?

And then you’ll come back and you’ll feel more energized and you’ll be able to get more done because now you’re going to be more productive because you’re well rested. Alright, friends. Well, I will talk to you again next week!

Episode Wrap-Up

Hey, hey, we’re back and I hope that you enjoyed that motivational pep-talk and that inspired you to prioritize rest. Like I shared in the episode, rest is so, so important and you need to have your rest cup filled up in order for you to actually be the most productive person that you can be, whether that’s for your personal life or for your business.

It is going to be good for your health mentally, physically, emotionally. It is so so important. So please don’t fall under this trap of thinking that you have to do more, that you have to hustle and grind all the time and that you cannot just lay down on the couch and do nothing because that is such a waste of time. No.

You can absolutely go lay down on the couch and do nothing. And that will be very productive of you, especially if you’re needing to refill the rest inside of your cup.

Now if you enjoyed this pep talk, there are over 40 more waiting inside the private podcast feed at just for Productive Entrepreneurs Club members. I record one like this every single week, and you get access to it along with everything else inside of the club, just for $7/month. So, if you want to learn more and to join us, head to cheerstoproductivity.com/club.

And also if you’re feeling inspired and want to help me spread this message of rest of being productive, then I would love it if you could take a screenshot of this episode and post it on your Instagram stories. Tag me @cheerstoproductivity and I will reshare it too. All right, friend. Until next time!

Thank you so much for listening to the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast with me, Lucy Reyes. To view the complete show notes and all the links mentioned in today’s episode, visit cheerstoproductivity.com/58. And before you go, make sure you follow or subscribe wherever you’re listening. So you know once the next productive chat is released. Talk soon and cheers to your productivity and success!