Why Creatives Struggle With Rest (And What Actually Helps)
If you’re a creative, you know how deeply ingrained hustle culture is in creative careers. You’re pushed to work seven days a week – going on every audition that comes your way, submitting your work everywhere you can, applying to every grant you find – with very little regard for your well-being. In my work with artists, I constantly see the way they struggle with rest. They’re exhausted, but they’re worried they’re going to miss out on a golden opportunity if they take time to slow down.
If you see yourself in this, there’s nothing wrong with you. Rest is hard in creative careers where grinding yourself into burnout is rewarded and encouraged. So how can you prioritize rest? Let’s explore why it’s hard and what you can do about it.
Why Rest Feels so Hard for Creatives
If you’re scared or hesitant to rest, you’re not alone. There are a million reasons that rest is hard, and they’re amplified in creative careers where you only make money when you’re working. Many creatives have difficulty resting because:
Their productivity is tied to their self-worth, meaning that if they’re not creating or performing, their self-worth tanks.
They’re afraid of losing career momentum or missing out on big opportunities
They’re stuck in the hustle culture mentality (“If I’m not constantly grinding, I’ll never make it big)
They’re living in constant job and financial instability, meaning that any opportunity could be the difference between paying their rent and not.
They’re working two or three jobs, and the overlapping schedules leave them working seven days a week.
Sound familiar? You may have heard “Just take a day off,” but that doesn’t always work when these are your realities.
A Gentle Reframe: Rest Isn’t a Luxury, it’s a Necessity
Something I say to my clients constantly is “If you don’t rest, your body will do it for you.” Whether that’s illness, injury, or a complete emotional or physical crash, your body and brain will give out on you at some point if you don’t allow it to rest.
According to the American Psychological Association, rest is a vital part of well-being. In fact, not getting enough rest can lead directly to physical, mental, and emotional breakdown. I don’t say this to shame you, or to make you feel guilty for not resting – I just want to help you understand how dangerous it can be to not allow yourself to slow down.
What Rest Looks Like for Creatives
You may have gotten many types of advice on rest – whether it’s from your mom or your therapist or your professors – but what does rest really need to look like for creatives? Some important things to keep in mind as you build rest into your life:
The best rest is intentional: Setting aside time to intentionally slow down will be more helpful than the passive numbing of scrolling your phone or distracting yourself with reality TV.
Consistency is key: Setting aside regular time to rest each day or each week will be more effective than one 15-hour sleep block once a month.
Rest doesn’t have to be productive: Lots of creatives I work with want to “optimize” their rest by doing every self-care activity they can think of, but it doesn’t have to be like that. Any kind of intentional slowing down will help.
Rest is not weakness: Everyone needs rest, and taking breaks for restorative rest does not make you weak or take away from your passion.
Building in rest takes time and intention. If you’ve been pushing yourself to the point of burnout for months or years, it may take you some time to build those habits. Be patient, be compassionate, and allow yourself to rest.
What Actually Helps
Okay, so we know that rest is important. Now, how do you weave it into the fabric of your life in practical ways?
Shift the Way You Think About Rest
Some people view rest as a reward for working hard or something you need to earn, so the first thing to do is to shift out of that mindset. Rest is vital, and going without it is a fast track to burnout, illness, and injury. Give yourself permission to take that time, whether you feel you’ve “earned” it or not.
Keep a Regular Sleep Schedule.
As much as possible, go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. If you’re in a show and are sleeping 1am-10am on show nights, try to keep that up on off days. I know you probably want to “catch up” on sleep on your off days – and trust me, I get it – but the more regular your sleep schedule is, the more resilience you’ll have on the days where you have to be up for those 5am ECC calls. A regular sleep schedule is the absolute best thing you can do to build rest into your life.
Set Aside a Regular Time to Rest
Set aside some amount of time each day or week to rest, and make it a non-negotiable. Whether that’s the hour before bed every evening or a whole day off every week, build in regular time to turn your brain off and regularly rest. As much as you can, say no to plans or classes or auditions that show up during that window. I know it’s hard, but protecting that time will pay off.
Take a Nap
This is technically frowned upon when you’re trying to build a regular sleep schedule, but if you’ve had a short night or a busy week and you’re exhausted, take a nap! Get comfy, put on a sleep mask, and sleep for a while. Your body needs rest, and napping is an act of self-care, not a sign of laziness.
Engage in Play
Do things that are just for fun. Play has many benefits, including increasing creativity, and it’s a great way to let your brain and body rest. Do a puzzle, play a game, color in a coloring book (without a focus on perfection or product!) – anything that lets your brain rest on fun rather than productivity.
Get Support
If you’re finding it difficult to incorporate rest in your life, seek support from others to help you do it. Maybe it’s support from friends or family to help you stay accountable to your plans to rest, or maybe it’s support from a therapist who can help you incorporate rest in a healthy way.
How Therapy Can Support a Healthier Relationship With Rest
For most people, their relationship with rest is complicated. Maybe they know it’s necessary, but they struggle with feelings of guilt, shame, or fear when they try to rest. Therapy can help:
Uncover those underlying fears and reframe them.
Clarify your values and how you can move toward them through restorative rest.
Make a plan to regularly incorporate rest
Provide accountability to help you implement those plans
Identify and troubleshoot obstacles that get in the way of rest
If you’re looking for more support around rest, I welcome you to schedule a free 30-minute consultation with me to explore whether therapy would be a good fit.
You’re Not Bad at Rest – You’ve Been Carrying Too Much
It’s okay if rest feels overwhelming and uncomfortable. When you’ve been inundated with hustle culture as much as most creatives have been, rest can feel like the enemy. It’s okay to struggle, and it’s okay for your rest to be imperfect – it’s a process and a practice, like any important skill. Do your best to extend yourself compassion, and take care of yourself on this journey.
Resources
American Psychological Association. Seven Types of Rest to Help Restore Your Body’s Energy. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/mental-health/seven-rest-types
National Institute for Play. The Importance of Play for Adults. Retrieved from https://nifplay.org/play-note/adult-play/
The National Sleep Foundation. The Benefits of Napping. Retrieved from https://www.thensf.org/the-benefits-of-napping/
Psychiatrist.com. Why Sleep Consistency May Be More Important Than Duration. Retrieved from https://www.psychiatrist.com/news/why-sleep-consistency-may-be-more-important-than-duration/
Psychology Today. The Importance of Rest. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-your-voice/201507/the-importance-of-rest
Psychology Today. The Rise and Grind of Hustle Culture. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-right-mindset/201910/the-rise-and-grind-hustle-culture
Verywell Mind. Why You Feel Guilty About Resting—and How to Break the Cycle. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-overcome-productivity-guilt-11869732
