Today I want to talk about how you can take time to rest as an entrepreneur! When I first became an entrepreneur, I never used to rest. I wanted to be the one wearing all of the hats, doing all of the things, and running the show all on my own. I worked nights, weekends, during soccer games and dance classes, at the dinner table, and even during bedtime routines. I believed the lie that if I wasn’t accessible 24/7, if I didn’t work every spare second of every day, I would never be successful.

You know that’s a lie, right? If this is the first time you’re reading this, please write it down. The hours you work is not equal to the success you create. You can work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and that still won’t be the thing that measures your success. 

It took me a really long time to understand this and while I can’t get back those hours that I literally could not walk away from my work, I can take what I’ve learned over the years to help me set boundaries and encourage you to do the same. 

It’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to feel as if they have to spend 80 hours a week actively running their business. Somewhere along the lines, we’ve been taught to wake up before the sun and stay up long after it sets simply because we believe the amount of hours we spend on our business is the most important thing we can do.

But what if I told you that you can find time for your business and everything else you love and enjoy? What if I told you it was possible to run a profitable business, care for your family and still have time left over for yourself? Time to read a book or travel. Time to spend in nature or curl up with your favorite television series. Time to rest. 

What if I told you that spending hours upon hours on your business is not what makes you profitable?

That time does not equal money and that extra hours in the day will not get you anywhere? And that if you aren’t making time for rest, you’ll never see the success you’re working so hard for?

The amount of time you spend on your business does not measure your level of success.

You do not need to add another ten hours to your day in order to become profitable in your business. Simply busying yourself with an overwhelming workload is not the key to success and it’s not the way to create the business you’ve been dreaming of. You do not have to work yourself silly to find success. 

So how do we do this? Today, I want to walk you through the steps I’ve taken to add rest into my schedule without falling behind in my work. And I am certain these same steps will work for you too.  

But for those days when you’re laser-focused and ready to work, this guide will walk you through all you need to know about running your business like a boss!

Get this guide, and become your own boss lady!

Now, let’s get back to rest:

 

This is a great way to feel like you’ve added hours to your day by becoming more productive. So what does that look like exactly? 

Break your day up into 20-minute chunks. When you first wake up, what will your first 20 minutes look like? Will you exercise? Take a shower? Eat breakfast? Answer emails? Whatever it is, schedule those 20 minutes and then move on to the next twenty until you’ve filled your entire day. And while 20 minutes may feel like too small of an amount of time, you’ll be so surprised how much you can accomplish in those 20 minutes if you schedule the task and stick to it. You may find that at the end of the day you only gave your business three 20 minute times slots out of the nearly 50 twenty-minute chunks in a day, but that’s okay! That’s more than enough time to be useful and productive. Trust me. 

The key to being successful with your time blocking is to start planning out your day ahead of time. Then you can prioritize items in order and work from the top of your list, down. 

When you have a lot of things on your plate, oftentimes the overwhelm of where to start is what stops you from even starting. Have you been there? I know I have more times than I want to admit. But when you know that you have 20 minutes to really give that task your all, you are focused and determined to get it done. And then when it is done you not only feel good about yourself, but your business has benefited as well. It’s a simple concept that makes a huge impact on productivity and how you spend your time. 

Scheduling also goes hand in hand with time blocking. If you don’t know what you need to be working on, spending 20 minutes on “something” is actually not productive. Don’t fall into that trap of thinking that if you’re doing something you are being productive. If you aren’t doing things that make a difference in the outcome of your business you are wasting time. I realize that there are a lot of things that are important to running a business but most of the time, you want to be working on things that make your business money, not just steal your peace. 

If you take the time to plan out and schedule your day into these “Take 20” chucks, you will be amazed at how productive you can become. What we need is not more time in our day, but more structure to start using the time we already have wisely. Give this method an honest try for just one week and I am certain you will experience an incredible shift in how you spend your time, ultimately freeing you up for more rest. 

For more tips on getting the most out of your work hours, be sure to check out my guide to becoming more productive in your business!

How you make time for rest will look different for every entrepreneur, but I hope these three simple steps have freed you up to believe you do have the time in your day to rest and that they help you feel equipped to make rest a reality! You do not need to work yourself to the bone in order to call yourself successful. Trust in that truth with me and get out there today and make time for rest! 

If you’re new to the entrepreneurial game and rest isn’t yet on your agenda because you simply don’t even know where to start, I’m sharing all of my best tips and tricks for starting a business in my Business Starter Kit! Check it out HERE!

Business Starter Kit!

For even more content on building a business with the skills and hours you already have, be sure to check out:

The Blush Pages Membership for monthly business content curated exclusively for members!

The Profit Plan for everything you need to start earning consistent income!

The Business Starter Kit for getting your business off the ground and out into the world!