summer fridays, lazy smart, and the guilt-free guide to rest

It's the unofficial start of summer this weekend here in the States. 

Maybe it's the longer days or the promise of "summer freedom" lingering from childhood, but there's something about this time of year that creates a unique tension – simultaneously pulling us toward both rest and productivity.

"I should be taking advantage of these beautiful days!"
"I need to get ahead before [vacation/fall/Q3/Black Friday] hits."
"Everyone else seems to be making the most of their summer..."

For many of us, summer doesn't actually mean slowing down. It means cramming more into already full days – projects, vacations, bachelor/bachelorette parties, bbqs, etc. – while carrying the added weight of feeling like we should somehow be more relaxed through it all.

This expectation collision creates a perfect storm of guilt: guilt when we're working instead of "enjoying summer," and guilt when we're resting instead of "getting ahead."

I've spent the last decade of my career watching this pattern play out in myself, past executives, and my clients' lives – that frantic dance between productivity and presence, rarely fully experiencing either one.

What if there was another way?

What if we could find the sweet spot between accomplishment and restoration – building systems that flex with our seasons rather than forcing us to choose between them?

That's exactly what we're exploring this week – how to rest guilt-free while navigating your busiest seasons. Because summer doesn't have to mean sacrificing either your goals or your wellbeing.

Let's dive in...

🌱 TIPS FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE LIFE + BUSINESS 

Half-Present Everywhere (Effective Nowhere)

I can't count the number of times I did this when I was in corporate or building my handlettering business: 147 browser tabs open while "watching" a show with my partner.

My body was on the couch, but my brain was halfway through composing three different emails, planning tomorrow's schedule, and trying to convince us both I was "just checking one thing quickly" when in reality I was anything but present. (And I'm still guilty of it sometimes too.)

Sound familiar?

I wasn't being productive. I wasn't resting either. I was performing productivity, It's that weird limbo where we're not fully working or fully present, just performing busyness to convince ourselves (or others) that we're doing enough—aka Productivity Theater.

It's the digital equivalent of shuffling papers when someone walks by your desk. Except now, we're performing for ourselves just as much as for others.

The most frustrating part?

This constant half-work/half-rest state is literally the perfect recipe for burnout. Your brain gets the stress of work without the satisfaction of completion, and the guilt of rest without the recovery benefits.

So why do we keep doing this to ourselves?

For me (and many of my clients), it comes down to three environments that pull us into this pattern:

🖥️ The All-Access Digital World
My phone used to be like a 24/7 portal where work could reach through and grab me anytime. That constant accessibility made me feel important ("they need me!") while simultaneously draining my ability to be present anywhere.

Instead of trying to use willpower (spoiler: we can't willpower ourselves out of every scenario), I've found that using tech to create boundaries for you is so much more effective. My phone automatically shifts into Focus modes that change what I can access at different times of day and days of the week. During rest and social time, work apps are completely hidden — not just silenced, but hard to get to. I can't "just check" something that isn't there.

👥 The "Always On" Culture
We've all felt it... that pressure to respond instantly, to stay late because everyone else is, to prove our dedication through constant availability. Maybe your fingers even move without thought every time you unlock your phone, literal muscle memory of these habits. I used to wear my "first one in, last one out" status like a badge of honor.

But here's what took me years to learn: that badge costs waaaaaaay more than it was worth.

One tiny rebellion that can game-changing is changing how you discuss work. Instead of "I'm working on X" (which measures effort), shift to "I completed Y" (which measures results). This subtle language shift helps break the spell of valuing hours over outcomes.

🧠 That Voice In Your Head
Sometimes the hardest audience to stop performing for is yourself. That voice that whispers "you not doing enough, you could be getting father ahead if you did more now" doesn't care if you're making actual progress – it just wants to see you hustling (and getting recognized for said hustle.)

One client described it perfectly: "I feel like I'm constantly auditioning for the role of 'successful person' in my own life."

The most effective counter I've found is deceptively simple: At the end of each day, I write down three things I completed – not worked on, but finished. They don't have to be big (sometimes mine are literally "responded to that email I've been avoiding" or "finally scheduled that doctor's appointment").

This simple ritual shifts my brain from valuing motion to valuing progress, however small.

Next time you catch yourself halfway between work and rest, try asking: "Who am I performing for right now? And what would actually feel better than this performance?"

Your body already knows the answer.

What's one form of "productivity theater" you've caught yourself in lately? And what would true rest or true focus have looked like instead? I'd love to hear your examples - sometimes naming these patterns is the first step to breaking them!

✨ TIPS FOR A MORE SOULFUL LIFE

They Called My Light Switch Pulley 'Lazy' (It Was Actually Accommodation)

Growing up, I was called "lazy smart" so often it became part of my identity (though with emphasis on the lazy part.)

Why? Lots of reasons, but the one that always stands out was when I built a pulley system to turn my bedroom light on and off without getting out of bed. Before I understood why, I was creating systems to minimize repetitive tasks. Because I'd spend hours finding a more efficient way to do something that would have taken minutes to just do the "normal" way.

"You'd be unstoppable if you weren't so lazy," they said. As if finding a different path was somehow cheating.

It took me 20+ years and multiple burnouts to realize a fundamental truth:

It wasn't laziness. It was my brain working exactly as it was designed to.

What I was actually doing was accommodation and conservation—creating systems that worked with my natural wiring instead of against it. I was honoring my energy needs in the only way I intuitively knew how.

This "lazy" narrative isn't just personally harmful... it's historically backwards.

Ancient cultures understood what our productivity-obsessed world has forgotten: rhythmic rest isn't a character flaw, it's wise.

The Greeks didn't just tolerate rest—they revered it. They distinguished between anapausis (simple stopping of work) and scholē (purposeful leisure so vital they named their educational centers after it). For them, rest wasn't what happened when work was done; it was essential to becoming fully human.

Sabbath traditions across cultures weren't just religious obligations but recognition that cyclical rest created healthier communities and individuals. A day intentionally set aside from productivity wasn't seen as lazy—it was sacred.

So what happened?

The Industrial Revolution transformed humans from beings into resources. Time became something to extract value from rather than experience. "Idle hands are the devil's workshop" wasn't wisdom—it was propaganda designed to maximize output from human "machines."

This shift hits especially hard for those of us with chronic conditions or neurodivergence. When I finally understood my brain in my early 30s, I realized I'd spent decades fighting my own operating system—interpreting my legitimate biological needs as moral failures.

I've seen this pattern with so many entrepreneurs I work with — the constant push to prove their worth through productivity, only to feel even more "lazy" or "unworthy" when their bodies inevitably demand rest. It's particularly poignant with creative business owners, who often started their businesses to escape rigid corporate environments, only to recreate those same punishing rhythms in their own companies.

Can you relate?

If the thought of rest triggers guilt for you, try this reframe: Rest is the foundation that makes meaningful productivity possible, not something you earn after being productive.

Breathing out isn't something you earn after breathing in—it's part of the same essential rhythm.

Your "lazy smart" solutions aren't cheating—they're brilliant adaptations that honor how your unique brain works.

What "lazy" accommodations have you created that actually reveal your brilliance? I'd love to hear your stories of "efficiency hacks" that others might have judged but actually show how well you understand your own needs!

📈 TIPS FOR A MORE SCALEABLE BUSINESS

Plan Your Rest First (Then Schedule Everything Else)

When I started coaching the founder of a creative agency, they had a reluctant "badge of honor" confession: in ten years of building their business, they hadn't taken more than a few consecutive days away from work.

Last year, they took their first-ever 10-day completely disconnected international trip.

This year? They've already scheduled 14 fully unplugged days for the fall.

What changed? They stopped treating recovery as just a personal problem, and started treating it like a business strategy.

This isn't just a feel-good anecdote. Since implementing intentional recovery periods for their entire leadership team, they've seen unexpected benefits beyond just feeling better:

⚙️ Processes improved as they discovered what broke when key people stepped away
🔍 Team capacity became clearer, informing smarter hiring decisions
🔋 Their leadership returned genuinely refreshed and excited to dive back in

This is the paradox so many of us miss: sometimes slowing down is actually the fastest path to growth.

Yet when I suggest building recovery into business systems, I often hear the same fears:

"I don't have enough time."
"There's too much to do—I'll rest when I get through it all." (Spoiler: that magical "all" never arrives)
"I can't afford to lose the revenue if I slow down."

These fears are understandable and especially make sense, especially in businesses with seasonal fluctuations. When you're juggling client demands, team needs, and your own energy, building intentional rest can feel impossible. And I won't sugarcoat it, there will be times in business where you bite the bullet to hustle for a period.

But what if instead of always fighting against those seasonal fluctuations, you start to see them as patterns to leverage?

Most businesses have natural rhythms—periods of intensity followed by comparative calm. For my own business, I've learned that Q1 tends to be quieter with just my base rotation of retainer clients with consulting work slowing until the end of March.

This seasonal pattern that evolved naturally and is also now by design. After the high-energy holiday season (October through December tends to be my busiest coaching time on top of events and high output personally), I know I need substantial recovery time to return to baseline. Instead of fighting this pattern, I've built my annual plan around it.

Here's how you can implement this cyclical thinking in your business:

Map Your Business Seasons: Just like we did with the Energy Navigator back in February, track your business energy patterns. When are your natural busy periods? When do things typically slow down? Don't just track revenue—track energy expenditure too.

Are there predictable client surges (like Q4 planning, spring launches, or tax season)? What about industry-specific events that always demand more from you? By mapping these patterns, you start to see recovery opportunities hiding in plain sight.

Build Recovery Rituals Between Cycles: One team I worked with now schedules what they call "integration days" after completing major client projects. No meetings, no new projects, just reflection and recovery. These aren't vacation days—they're strategic business days dedicated to processing lessons and replenishing creative energy.

The key is making these recovery periods non-negotiable. They're scheduled before the busy period even begins, protecting them from the "just this once" exceptions that inevitably arise.

Scale Your Recovery Approach: Recovery doesn't always mean two-week vacations. Just like we created scaled versions of personal routines in the Energy Navigator exercise, your business recovery can scale too:

• Micro-recovery: 10-minute buffers between meetings (Google Calendar can default all your appointments to do this for you automatically!)
• Mini-recovery: Half-day or full-day breaks after intense project phases
• Macro-recovery: Week-long intentional breaks built into quarterly planning

The size of the recovery should match the intensity of the work period preceding it.

Create Team Recovery Protocols: If you lead a team, remember that sustainable businesses aren't built on individual heroics. My agency client has used time off for leadership teammates throughout the quarter as recovery time but also as stress-tests for their systems to reveals critical process improvements.

The most sustainable businesses aren't those that push hardest—they're those that understand the rhythm of exertion and recovery.

As we head into potentially busy seasons, what would it look like to plan your recovery first, then build your work around it? Not as an afterthought, but as the foundation that makes your work possible? I'd love to hear what seasonal recovery patterns you might be fighting against instead of leveraging in your own work or life!

BEHIND THE SCREENS

As summer gets into full swing, I'm starting to shift my schedule and structure to match the new season. Here's a few ways that looks: