12/16/2025
Toughtful Tuesday...
Hey friends, especially my fellow over-50, over-worked, and overly creative thinkers! 🙋♀️
I'm talking to those of us who are holding down a full-time job while also trying to build our dream business on the side. You know who you are—the ones whose to-do lists have their own to-do lists.
I had a little revelation (probably while I was supposed to be relaxing on vacation sometime ago): Vacations are NOT a change of scenery for your laptop or posting the entire time. They are not a Wi-Fi-enabled opportunity to finally get ahead on your business plan.
I know, I know. It’s tempting. The guilt is real. "But if I just answer these few emails..." or "I can totally sketch out that new business plan or idea by the pool!"
Here’s the thing I’m finally learning: You cannot pour from an empty cup. And my cup has been rattling around in the dishwasher on the "heavy duty" cycle most of this year. 😅 Also, we want to make room for more creative ideas.
A real vacation—where you actually close the laptop and silence the notifications—isn't a luxury. It's essential maintenance. It’s the reboot our brilliant, tired, peri/menopausal brains desperately need to come up with our next great idea.
So consider this your permission slip: It is okay to just BE. To read a trashy novel. To nap for no reason and whenever. To have a conversation that isn't about house chores, emails, responding to chat messages, or agendas or planning - break from social media too.
Your business or career will be there when you get back with or without you. And it will have a much clearer, more rested, and frankly, more pleasant employer/colleague.
Now, if you'll excuse me, my book and my iced tea are calling. The only "running" I'm doing this week is running out of sunscreen.
What’s your best tip for actually unplugging? Maybe this can help someone else.