Your Best Thinking Is Waiting on the Other Side of a Break

If you've ever thought or said, "I'm too busy for time away," here's some unsolicited advice from your coach: you need downtime immediately.

If you've met me, you know, I am a busy woman. I have roughly 30 free minutes per week. So much so that my partner, gags a little every time he catches a glimpse of my calendar over my shoulder.

I know the neuroscience. I know that glutamate, produced when we do mentally demanding work, accumulates and slows brain function, and that brain breaks are required to clear it out. I know that creativity withers without downtime. I know that your inner critic doesn't go quiet when you're busy, it just gets drowned out by distraction while it quietly does its damage underneath.

And yet, I still pack my work weeks, including Saturdays, with client, collaborator, podcast, and support team meetings. Add in admin, college content to create, papers to grade, and, oh yeah, actual parenting.

But this summer has been different.

Before Memorial Day, we sat down with the calendar and didn't ask where we could squeeze in time off. We asked instead what we wanted to experience this summer and how often we wanted to use this precious time. Then we filled a blank calendar with adventures first. We carved out nearly three full weeks, plus a midday off to catch Rockies vs. Red Sox.

Back in June, that meant a five-day trip: remote camping, with hikes of 8, 6, and 4 miles. No service, no schedule, nothing to manage but the trail in front of me. I came back with more creativity and more clarity about my business than I could have found in weeks at my desk.

So this month, we’re doing it again. This time heading to the wild town of Ogalalla to "Lake Mac," for another stretch of real, undiluted rest. Different setting, same result. The version of me that comes home from an actual break thinks more clearly, leads better, and shows up for clients with more to offer than the version of me who never stopped.

So here's your CTA:

Don't go looking for another habit, hack, or productivity trick. Don't open more calendar space for work. Instead, look ahead, claim space for yourself, block it, and do whatever it takes to protect it, including enlisting the people around you to hold you accountable.

Your best living is waiting on the other side of a break.