{Print from The Little Illustrator on Etsy}
I’m stopping the regularly scheduled programming to say: I took yesterday off. Well, I kinda took the day off. I had two consulting sessions—but other than that, the day was mine for reading, relaxing, and dancing around my house in my pajamas.
Some of you might be thinking, “Big whoop.” But, there is a point to this post, so stay with me.
Creative Fire
I know that most of you have felt that creative fire that lights you up when you get an idea that you just can’t stop thinking about. You know when you can’t stop thinking about that knitting pattern that popped into your head while you were taking a shower? Or the inspiration that you got for a new piece of art when you were out walking your dog?
Like many creative entrepreneurs, I feel that fire on constant basis.
Most recently, I’d been contemplating putting together a membership site that would be a place that creative entrepreneurs could have access to experts who can help them build successful businesses. At the beginning of March, I decided it had to be my next step. The fire burned—and I knew it was something that I couldn’t let go. So, I’ve been working like crazy to make it happen.
One of my strengths and weaknesses is my intensity. When I come up with an idea, I make it happen while I continue to do all the stuff {blogging, guest posting, creating, cleaning, exercising, etc.} that I still need to do. I stick to my 6-item to-do list—but once I’ve completed everything, I give myself space to work on the project that is consuming my thoughts.
My husband says that I work harder than anyone else he knows, and he’s a lawyer {which means he knows a lot of people that work hard—including himself}. I’ll work for 6 or 8 days at time for 12 hours a day if I’m experiencing that creative fire without neglecting my relationship or myself. I still spend time with my husband, exercise, and make time for friends. But, I use all of my “free” time to “work.” But, most of the time it doesn’t feel like work, because I love it.
People talk about having balance—and really I think balance is person specific. I wouldn’t be happy relaxing all the time. I enjoy working with creative entrepreneurs, writing, and creating. It makes my heart sing. So, it’s balancing for me to spend my time doing those things.
Listen to Your Body
But, sometimes, my body says, “It’s time for a break.” Even though it doesn’t feel like work, it still takes a toll on my body to work around the clock.
Yesterday morning, I woke up and the first thing that popped into my head was, “I need a day off.” And, it wasn’t coming from a crap excuse. It was my body saying, “hey lady, you need to relax today or I’m going to shut down.” My muscles were achy and I just felt exhausted. I knew that if I pushed myself to work all day, I wouldn’t be able to fully concentrate and do my best work.
I’m a no-nonsense type of person that will tell you to stop making crap excuses and get to freaking work. If you’re just taking time off due to laziness, I’ve got nothing for you. But, I also say that if your body is telling you that you need a day to reload and relax, listen to it.
How do you tell the difference between crap excuses and a real need to take a day off? Crap excuses come from your mind. Thoughts like, “That person can do it, but I can’t,” “I can’t be successful on Etsy, because I don’t have fancy camera equipment,” and “I don’t have enough time,” are all crap excuses.
But, when your body is giving you signs: exhaustion, achy muscles, run down, lack of concentration, etc, you should take time for yourself. You’ll be better for it.
I know that when I take a day to rejuvenate, that the next day I’ll be more focused, energized, and ready to work. It makes me a better artist, wife, entrepreneur, and coach. I no longer feel guilty about taking a day off, because I work damn hard.
I perfectly understand what you mean April! I must admit that often I’m so excited on a project, or for a new idea that hours fly away without realizing it.
It can happen to have an extra thing to do, a last-minute problem with back-ups or everything that could not be foreseen or taken longer than we thought but, I strongly think that it should be an exception, because if you end with this kind of routine, you will find soon so tired, stressed and nervous that the whole result of your work will be negatively influenced by this.
You’ll end to do less than half of your “to-do-list” and in a worst quality. I’ve seen this on myself, lots of times. And my body pleads for mercy and rest. Really.
For this I try to feel every signal my body gives me and to help me on this I’ve set a sort of rules to follow such us don’t work on my blog after dinner, make regular breaks during the day, dedicate some time on reading/studing (I’m trying to put this on my every day list), relaxing on evening with friends or making things for myself (so much often relegated to the bottom of the list!)…
I love the feeling of getting swept up by a new idea–but it’s just like you say–hours fly by without you even realizing it. No water, no food, no rest…and that’s not good for me! I like that you’ve set up rules for yourself. The way I have my business set up, it’s best for me to not make hard and fast rules about when I can/can’t work. Instead, I just try to pay attention to the signals from my body.
Completely relate. Sometimes we get stuck in the lure of perfectionism + think life is fixed! I battle this constantly as I attempt to allow more beautiful messiness into my life. As creatives WE NEED these tangled moment to allow the paint drips + doodle + scribbles to unfold. If we work in auto-pilot, our dreams dull. When we are attentive to our body + receptive of our surrounding we are able to wonder free.
This is something I’ve been thinking a lot lately + L-O-V-E that you wrote a post about it because it helped sink everything in 🙂 Thanks sweetie!
Hey Mayi,
I love that you said, “we need these tangled moments to allow the paint drips + doodle + scribbles to unfold.” So true.
I can totally relate to this, too! I have so many projects on the go that I am always “working” (although it doesn’t always feel like work!) and I rarely sit down to “relax” (and I get antsy if I try.) That’s good balance for me, because the things I spend time doing (creating, sewing, writing, learning), make me happy! But I think I needed to hear this today. Sometimes I find it hard to give myself permission to take time off, even when my body cries out for it. I know I am not as productive when exhausted, but working a full time job and trying to make my business dreams happen on the side, I feel like I need to make every single free second count! You are right though, I know in the long run that I will be more creative and productive when I am rested and rejuvenated. Thanks for the insight!
I completely relate to wanting to make every moment count. Before I quit my “day job,” I woke up every morning at 5am to work on my creative biz before going to work. And, there were definitely days when I needed a break and I didn’t give myself those breaks. I felt like I was always playing catch up, because I could never get enough done. I’m glad that I worked that hard to build the business that I have–but I could have taken a break when my body needed it. I would have had more energy and I think I would have been more productive.
In 2009, I had a tumor removed from a gland in my neck which impacted my kidney (I know, weird). Now I have to be very aware of my body and I make sure to take time to rejuvenate.
it is easy to give in to the negative thoughts about work and worth; I have learned that by ignoring those feelings I am so much better off in the end.
Thanks for sharing that Erika. I’d love to hear more about how you stay aware and what you do to rejuvenate.
Thanks April! I think listening to our bodies is something we grow into. When we’re first starting to build our business we want to work hard & all the time to get a lot accomplished & grow our business, but the more we get into a groove with how we want to run our business the better we are at knowing what our body is saying & knowing when it’s needing a break.
Tara Gentile is big on working hard when your Creative Fire is burning. She says you need to “burnout” meaning work while the fire is strong.
I also like that you talk about balance & that it’s a personal thing. Life in general strives to be balanced, but its always a back & forth battle. There are seasons for everything in life, & I think that instead of working toward perfection & balance that we need to focus on working with the seasons in our lives or our business. Work with our strengths instead of focusing only on our weakness.
Thanks again!
Thanks for adding to conversation Meagan. I completely agree with Tara on working while that fire is burning–that’s how I work! That’s also why I don’t think striving for “balance” according to someone else’s definition of balance works. You definitely have to do what’s right for you. It took me a while to realize that I could take a break while that creative fire was burning if my body needed it–and not lose momentum. For instance, putting together this membership site that I’m working on takes tons of time–but I can still take a day off and come back even more energized to work on it.
I absolutely do NOT listen to my body when it tells me I need a break, but I’m really trying to get better at doing so. I get really panicky sometimes because I have a day job that eats up so much of my time, crafting time is really hard to come by. My “creative fire” typically hits while I’m slogging away at the office and cannot take any real action on my idea.
So once I get home from the office, I’m antsy and frustrated from sitting on my idea all day without being able to work on it. And of course, by that time my “creative fire” is totally burnt out and I’m mentally done for the day. Short of quitting my day job, which isn’t possible right now, I’m not certain how to get my fire to come out at times when I can actually work!
Hey Darlene,
I completely know where you’re coming from. When I was a therapist, I’d have lots of sparks of ideas and wish that I was at home to act on them. I also didn’t listen to my body–one time I went into work when I was having back problems and couldn’t even stand up straight and my supervisor had to send me home. I used to “work through the pain” instead of taking a break. It’s rough trying to balance your creative passions and biz with your day job.
I’ll tell you what worked for me. I got up extra early to work on my business, because I knew that once I got home in the evenings I was done. I barely had the energy to make dinner and watch television at that point. I knew that I had to force myself out of bed and get to work in order to work towards my goals. My mind was also much more focused in the morning than it was in the evening, so I got a lot more done that way.
Darlene,
I totally hear you. I’ve worked myself up into such a panic that I’ve caused myself a headache that lasted for days. Not very productive. I was just telling my hubby-to-be yesterday evening, that when I get to the stage of employing someone, I’m going to make the last 45 minutes of each day personal creativity time.
I can’t stand that it takes me my whole walk home, a shower and sometimes even a little quiet time on my own before I can get my day job off me and start my non work life again. Getting up early in the morning helps as you can actually get a lot done even in 30 mins and I’ve recently started doing April’s blogging worksheets and other small tasks in my lunch break to help me feel less frustrated.
Sarah
I so know what you’re talking about! I get blown away sometimes by my own enthusiasm so much that I only feel my body scream STOP when it’s already way to far. Mmm might be something I could work on… Thanks for your nice post!
Hey Kim,
Oh, yeah–that used to be me. And, sometimes I still fall into that trap.
I think my body forced me to take a break this week. I was really working too hard. I actually became ill and took a day off just slowly getting back into gear.
I hope you’re feeling better Brandi!
I tend not to even listen to my body when it tells me I am hungry until I have the shakes and wonder why. So, I completely need to hear your message often.
Like Erika mentioned, having had a health crisis does make you listen to your body more. I just need to remember to hear and translate the messages!
I relate Gwen. It’s so not good when you wonder why you feel dizzy and your hands are shaking and then you remember, “oh yeah, I forgot to eat lunch.”
I was so happy to read this post today because I was in this situation yesterday too! It’s funny that I had to convince myself to stop and relax. I’ve been working on new designs, baby quilts, girl’s aprons and building a stronger brand and having so much fun doing it all that I’ve been working round the clock for the past…I don’t even remember how many days (haha). It finally caught up with me yesterday and I woke up feeling like a slug! So I took some “me” time =). It’s amazing how easy it is to get caught up in your work, because you’re right April, it is so much fun working on something you are passionate about.
Today I woke up feeling ready to get more things done, I felt so much better!
Thanks for posting this, it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one that needs a break sometimes =)
I’m glad you could relate Rose! It’s so important to have that “me” time every once in a while.
Hi April! 🙂
What an excellent topic! This is something that us Entrepreneurs tend to ignore. I listen to my body sometimes but more often than not I ignore those signals because my mind wants to push forward and I think I *should* be workin whether I feel like it or not.
I love how you’ve given some tips on how to distinguish between excuses from your mind and signals that you actually need a break, too! 🙂
Hey Jess,
I completely agree that there is this push and pull feeling that I should be working–even when my body is saying, “slow down or I’m gonna crash.” My husband used to tell me to take a freaking break–because he could tell that I needed a break before I realized it. Now, I’ve gotten much better at noticing those signals.
Dear April,
I am new to your blog and want to say that although I sense that I am not your core “target” audience I admire and respect a few things about you:
1) Your no BS straightforwardness – I love the honesty you use in your writing and the intent behind it which is truly to add value to your readers.
2) Your passion – I have the good fortune of having a gift of accurately reading people quickly and I KNOW you are a passionate human being who will go far in life.
3) Your creativity – I also read your post on the new positions on your blog. You could (like most people) complain about not having all the financial resources to offer three paid positions but instead are bartering intelligently and adding perhaps a lot more value than what money would pay for the positions.
As for the topic you discuss here – I get you 100%. my vlog just launched 2 weeks ago but since I got the idea in my head about three months ago I have been working relentlessly until 2 am every night to make it happen. (and I wake up at 5:30) so I get it. I completely agree with you on the need to balance out this a bit or risk burning out. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) I have been like this all my life, once an Idea gets a hold of me it is almost impossible to let it go.
I think If I can manage to sleep a bit more, the intent, purpose and passion of it will still be there but there will be more of me to share. I am glad I crossed paths with you and I don’t know how or when but have the feeling we will collaborate at some point together. I look forward to seeing your blog go to the next level with this new initiative you have and also look forward to getting to know you better and learn more from you.
I notice you are not using video on your site but if you ever do I will be glad to offer some advice (free of course) on the few things I have discovered that might save you a ton of pain (cameras, streaming platform, lights, uploading tools, video duration, etc).
I send you a big hug and and am grateful to be in contact with you!
-Bernardo
Hey Bernardo,
Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m definitely a straight-forward kind of person 🙂
I completely relate to working around the clock to get something accomplished. A lot of my family members and friends describe me as “intense” because once I get an idea, it’s very hard for me to stop until I’ve done what I’ve set out to do. That’s why I covered this topic–and continue to talk about this. I think entrepreneurs often get caught up in their ideas and push and push and push…..which is definitely a strength–but it can also be a weakness.
BTW, I do use video here on occasion. I usually do more writing than I do video. But, I love using video to add an extra layer of engagement. I use video much more in my programs and online courses.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment–I’m glad that we crossed paths, too.
I have learned to recognize when I need to go to bed an hour or two early. I feel that ‘catch up sleep’ on the front end of the night is much more effective than sleeping in. Sometimes it takes a couple of nights to feel the energetic force again.
Working through lunch is one of my major problems. It’s even worse when I’ve been out in the garden doing physical work! My energy fluctuates more dramatically in the spring. I love the reawakening but sometimes the allergies, busy schedules, and dramatic weather changes drive me nuts!!
Everything that you said is soooo true and I can definitely relate to it. It’s like I catch on fire from the excitment of creating that I just sometimes feel theres not enough hours in the day to create, cook, clean take care of my two grand kids during the day that once I finally burn out my overdrive my body does tell me it’s time to take the day off and relax, read a good book, go out with the hubby somplace fun, visit friends and family get in some yoga like today I’m taking the time out for me as we get older like I am at 52 years old we have to take the time to just relax my body always lets me know when it’s time to just rest and relax this is a really good post.
You are such a mind reader April!
Unfortunately, when I become consumed by an idea, it normally reins havoc on my sleeping pattern and I’m up til 3am just buzzing with excitement. Not so good when you have to work a regular 9-5 but it is quite literally the most amazing feeling in the world.
I pushed my body far too far a few months back and my Christmas Day was spent in bed, in agony with back pain and a 3 week recovery in front of me. One migraine and a cold later and I was one very sorry lady.
Needless to say that one of my New Year’s resolutions was to respect and devote my body to wellness. Last week I took an unpaid day off my day job because I just felt it was best. I finished reading a book, had a daytime bath (the best kind!) and meditated throughout the afternoon. I might just add here that achieving relaxation is something very new to me and takes so much more effort and hard work than starting and running a business ;0)
Good luck everyone with finding their balance x
You make a very good point. It is easy to get carried away when your ideas are tumbling out so quickly. I have learned to listen to my body, mostly because work that I do when I am too tired or am losing my focus usually has to be redone to meet my standards.