Take A Break, But Don’t Stop

Rest.

Photo by Timothy Eberly on unsplash

To Whom It May Concern:

To this day, the above statement is the best advice anyone has ever shared with me.

With any form of creativity; whether you are a writer, dancer, photographer, film director; a period of rest is your chance to rejuvenate.

We are so caught up in the chase of excellence that rest is not even fathomable. We just want to go above and beyond the expectations and limits of our capabilities.

Speaking of limits; it is important to know what your full capacity looks like. Once this limit is established, you can then gauge how long you can last before signs of burnout start creeping up in your journey.

When I started writing on medium, my initial goal was to write and publish every day. However, a month into my journey, I realized that with my ability and life schedule; this would not be sustainable.

It was a hard conclusion to come to, however, I needed to be this honest with myself especially this early in my journey. It’s about longevity not a sprint.

So, to adapt my writing to meet my personal schedule, I decided to write four times a week, and use the other three days to work on my craft, to set me up perfectly for the next four days.

What this has enabled me to accomplish thus far is to bring structure and predictability to my life. The 3 extra days of writing ensures that what I am writing is worthy of another reader’s time and attention.

Rest is vital. If you don’t take time to rest then you are likely to tap out sooner than you expected.

Rest, but don’t stop. Everything that you have done thus far is accumulating into something much bigger. You don’t see it now, but when it all adds up in the end, you will be grateful for the times you rested, because those days helped you keep going.

Yours Truly,

Barry