Sometimes You Need to Redefine Productivity on Your Terms

“Rest is not idle, not wasteful. Sometimes rest is the most productive thing you can do for your body and soul.” – Erica Layne

 

The Myth of Constant Motion

Most of us, with time, start equating worth with busyness, where success is often measured by how much we’ve done rather than how deeply we’ve lived. Where pausing is seen as laziness. Rest is something you “earn” only after you’ve burnt yourself out.

But here’s a truth I’ve come to embrace through coaching, reflection and lived experience:

Rest isn’t a reward. It’s the work.

It is not the break between the important things—it is the important thing.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

Rest isn’t the opposite of productivity—it’s the foundation of clarity, focus, resilience, and presence.

When we neglect rest, we risk:

• Making decisions from depletion and not from a state of wisdom and growth

• Losing connection with our intuition and values

• Drifting from who we are in the name of what we “should” be doing

• Feeling emotionally flat, even while ticking all the boxes

When rest becomes a conscious practice—not a reactive crash—we create a life that feels sustainable, energised, and aligned. 

Your 5 Reasons Why Rest Is the Real Work

1️⃣ Rest Restores Your Capacity to Lead

•  For optimal Leadership, you require clarity, emotional regulation, and creativity. None of those thrive under exhaustion.

💎 If you’re leading from burnout, you’re not leading but surviving. Ask: “Am I showing up from fullness or fumes?”

2️⃣ Rest Allows Integration of What You’ve Learned

• Growth isn’t just about learning new things. But letting your system absorb, digest, and embody those things.💎

 💎 Stillness gives space for reflection—and that’s where wisdom lives.

3️⃣ Rest Reconnects You with Your Humanity

• You’re not a machine but a human being—with rhythms, emotions, cycles, and limits. Rest allows you to honour that truth with compassion, not guilt.

 💎 Ask: “What does true rest look like for me, not what I think it should be, but what I need?”

4️⃣ Rest Interrupts the Hustle Narrative

• Choosing rest is a quiet rebellion in a world obsessed with output. It often invites others to do the same. It can reshape our definitions of success and enoughness.

💎 The more we normalise rest, the more we model grounded leadership.

5️⃣ Rest Creates Space for the Unexpected Gifts

• Some of the most powerful insights come when we’re not trying to be productive. The best ideas, the clearest realisations, the most profound healings arrive in stillness.

“Sometimes you have to slow down enough to hear what life is whispering to you.” – Oprah Winfrey

What Rest Might Look Like for You

Rest doesn’t have to mean stopping everything. It can be woven into the everyday:

✔️ A nourishing walk without your phone

✔️ Saying no to one thing this week that drains you

✔️ Taking a real lunch break

✔️ A tech-free evening once a week

✔️ A slow morning without rushing

💎 Ask: “Where is my body asking for softness? Where is my mind asking for stillness?”

Don’t wait for permission to rest, and don’t wait for the crash. Instead, choose rest for your leadership, wellness, and growth journey. Give yourself time to step back—not as a luxury but as a necessity. I've just completed an eight-week sabbatical from my work as an NHS GP in the United Kingdom. This was part of my leadership journey, and at the end of five years as a GP director, it was a welcome arrival. The time off from my regular duties provided me with headspace and the ability to set goals for betterment, both physically and emotionally.  

I feel rested and have emerged from this break a stronger individual who can lift heavier weights, a more confident speaker, a compassionate community worker bringing #IAmRemarkable workshops to the general public, and a seasoned journal writer.

The time and space have allowed me to test new waters, collaborate with new organisations and do a phenomenal amount of charity work. Here is to returning to work as a part-time GP with time, space and a renewed ability to give from a cup that still has space to fill. ❤️ 

Rest is where the real work begins.