Rest is Productive

So, it’s safe to say I have not been very present throughout January. As we approached the end of last year, I completely burnt myself out (as I wrote about here). After nearly five years of pushing incredibly hard every day of the week, I peaked, and as Christmas arrived, I needed to allow myself to switch off. In all the years running The Fabled Thread, I felt my creativity was invincible. But December showed me it’s not – if you constantly pour from the cup without refilling it, it does eventually dry out.

So, you can’t have failed to notice, I’ve taken myself offline for a while. In the early weeks of January, I worked at about 50% capacity while taking a couple of weeks away with my dad and husband in the mountains. Then, for the last two weeks, I have been on the trip of a lifetime – a textiles tour of Gujarat in India (which, trust me, you are going to be hearing a lot about just as soon as we sort through my hours of footage!).

During that time, of course, I felt immense guilt for taking myself offline – I am the product designer, the salesperson, and the marketer of the business, so when I am not there, there are no new social media posts, no emails, no journal articles, nothing exciting to engage you or remind you we exist. So, of course, this has a knock-on impact on the business – we have a slower January than we would have had if I had been pushing.

I’ll be honest – it took immense courage to allow myself this time. I wouldn’t have been brave enough to do it if my husband, Harry, hadn’t basically told me I had to. He could see me better than I could see myself – I thought I could power through; he knew I couldn’t.

Whilst I’ve been gone, you’ve been left in the very capable hands of the team in my absence, but please know it was 100% worth it. And here is why…

In our society, through social media, journalists, and podcasts, there is this constant narrative that to be productive is to be succeeding. From time-blocking to the 5AM club, there are so many experts out there telling us how to be productive and why being productive will make you more successful.

As someone who, in many ways, could be seen as pretty productive (albeit having failed to maintain any formal method for doing so), the issue with the glorification of productivity is that the moment you fall off the wagon, you feel like you are failing. It means you feel guilty at the merest suggestion of rest – a Sunday lying on the sofa just binging a box set without sewing. What should be a break becomes its own stress creator because, as you lie there, you can’t just enjoy the time. The little voice in your head says, “You’re wasting time.”

I do agree to some extent that to build a successful business in the long run, you have to do more than other people are willing to do. There is a reason so few start-up businesses get to the five-year mark: whilst, of course, the business idea and the external factors of the industry matter, but fundamentally the person driving, adapting, creating, risking, and pushing at the core of the business is what enables it to keep going and growing. But the issue is – what does “more” mean? More doesn’t necessarily mean more hours.

Take, for example, two people who arguably achieved a lot but didn’t, in the modern sense, work a lot: Einstein and Darwin. Einstein would spend large parts of his day on long walks, playing the violin, and daydreaming – frequently speaking about how allowing his mind to wander was crucial for complex problem-solving. Darwin did a form of “time-blocking,” but rather different from what we see today. He would spend a couple of hours in the morning intensely working and then have the rest of the daytime-blocked into walks, naps, lunch, and socialising, with only one further short work block in the afternoon.

Studies have shown that the brain is at its most creative when allowed to wander – that’s why ideas often come to us at those unexpected moments, like in the shower, while cooking, or on a walk. Yet this myth that to be productive means getting through a task every 15 minutes assumes that will generate results. The question should be more: why do I have a task every 15 minutes? Why is my to-do list so long? What can I do to reduce it?

For anyone else out there with their own business or working as a sole trader or freelancer, the idea that I just took practically five weeks out of the business sounds mad and terrifying. To those in jobs, I also appreciate that this might sound like a luxury very few people can afford. Of course, to an extent, it is a luxury, but at the same time, for nearly five years, I have not taken any time out of the business. And by any time, I mean any waking moment. Whether I am on a walk, in the shower, at the shops, on holiday or even with friends – I am thinking about The Fabled Thread.

There is freedom in some ways when running your own business, but in many ways, I feel more trapped than ever before. There is no off button. I have people who rely on me for their livelihoods, and I never take that lightly. So, when I say that taking five weeks off took courage, I really do believe it.

Now, while for the first three weeks I worked at around 50% of my usual hours, the trip to India wasn’t just a simple I am out of the country type of break. For the first time ever, I completely disconnected. I couldn’t track daily sales, I couldn’t check our Instagram, and I couldn’t even look at my emails. We set up an out-of-office response on my account stating that if anything urgent arose, people should email Jen. She then sent me a text only if something truly needed my attention. Unsurprisingly, given that I have a very capable team, there was actually very little I was needed for.

So, I have had a full mental break from the business for the last two weeks, and it has been transformational. That’s not to say I have been resting in the traditional sense– the tour of India was one of the most intense trips of my life, as you’ll see when I start sharing my video diaries – but I have been thinking about other things. I have been absorbed in activities beyond The Fabled Thread, and it has led to breakthroughs!

About five days before coming home, I had one of those nights where I woke up at 3AM with my head buzzing with ideas – totally new products, new ways of doing things, changes to our current plans. I was so excited I couldn’t go back to sleep. I started writing, researching, drafting. It’s been months and months since I’ve had one of those nights, and I can’t tell you how much I missed the feeling of being that inspired.

Of course, it would be remiss of me to talk about this without acknowledging that taking a break is also incredibly hard and requires self-discipline. I had the Freedom app blocking Instagram, Shopify, YouTube, and my email, but I still tried to find workarounds. I attempted to log into Instagram via the web browser while the app was blocked, found a loophole where I could check our daily sales through my email provider, Klaviyo, and even downloaded the Outlook app to access my emails there.

But slowly and surely, I eliminated my loopholes – every time I found a new way around the blocks, I added it to my block list on Freedom. Eventually, once Freedom was fully set up, I had no options left. I’ve never pretended to have the self-discipline to just not go on apps – I am entirely reliant on other apps to block the ones I don’t want to waste time on. If you ever want to see whether you have an addiction to your phone, block everything and see how resourceful you become in trying to bypass the restrictions. If you’re as resourceful as me, you’ll know you have a problem!

In those little moments when I did find a loophole – when I saw our daily sales and thought, Oh no, is that a bit low?, or when I accessed my emails and saw a customer locked out of their studio access – I felt a stab of panic. I felt guilty every time I sat down to read my book, thinking that I should be drafting an Instagram post or editing some of the videos I had taken.

But, lo and behold… the break did not destroy my business. Orders kept coming in, the team continued shipping, emails were answered, and the world did not stop turning. And while I am sure we had a slower January than we otherwise might have, I am entirely confident that the break I took now will make for a far better year ahead.

For The Fabled Thread, exciting developments are ahead—both for you and for us—thanks to this break.

From a product perspective, I have always struggled with the idea of functional embroidered pieces. Embroidery is delicate and incredibly time-consuming, so the thought of that labour of love being poured into something functional—something that could either experience excessive use or eventually be disposable—has never been something I could fully embrace. There is a reason I frame all our embroidery: I want it to be protected and treasured for generations.

However, being in India—where embroidery is an integral part of both culture and daily life, in a way that we will never truly understand in the UK—has completely changed my perspective. I have seen first-hand that functional embroidered pieces can last for generations. It will take me many months to develop the idea, but know that I am about to introduce more functional embroidery—though in a way you have never seen before.

From a business perspective, this pause has provided an invaluable opportunity to reflect and reassess—particularly in relation to our trial of The Maker’s Space and our plans for The Studio Membership. When you are working intensely on something, as the whole team and I have been with The Maker’s Space, it becomes difficult to step back and evaluate whether it is the right direction for us. While the demand and success of the trial exceeded our expectations, the break has given me clarity: just because something is successful does not necessarily mean it is the right move right now. This has led to fundamental reconsiderations of our next steps, which I wrote about in-depth for Studio Members and those on The Maker’s Space waiting list earlier this week.

From a personal perspective, this experience has revealed just how dependent the business is on me personally—and, more importantly, how incredibly capable my team are. I need to give them more freedom, let go of the reins, and focus on what is essential for me to do. I need to delegate responsibility and, crucially, I need to build rest into my schedule. It should not be the case that when I take time away, external aspects of the business come to a halt. That is entirely my fault for holding on too tightly to control. The time has come to start handing things over and creating a better balance in my life.

This entire experience has reinforced something I already knew but had never fully embraced: rest is not a luxury—it is a necessity. Rest is not about laziness or avoidance; it is about giving yourself the space to think, to reflect, to recharge, and ultimately, to be more creative and effective in the long run.

Yet, as a society, we have been conditioned to believe that productivity equals success. We glorify hustle culture, early starts, and long hours, while simultaneously undervaluing recovery and the creative breakthroughs that emerge from stepping away. But some of the greatest minds in history, unstructured time was an essential part of their success.

So, how can we begin to incorporate more rest into our lives?

1. Rest as a Priority, Not an Afterthought

If something isn’t scheduled, it often doesn’t happen. Make time in your calendar for genuine rest—this doesn’t necessarily mean sitting around doing nothing, but rather, giving your mind a break. Time when your thoughts can wander.

For me, that means prioritising going for a swim, or following a new recipe to cook supper, or visiting a gallery. Whatever it is for you, treat it with the same importance as a meeting.

2. Create Work Boundaries

If you run your own business, are self-employed, or work remotely, it can be especially difficult to switch off. Try build discipline about set clear boundaries: turn off work notifications in the evening, take weekends (or at least part of them) off or build in rituals that help you switch from work to rest mode – maybe it’s a bath, or reading a few pages of a book with a drink. Again, whatever it is for you. But just think, how often has an email ruined an otherwise relaxing evening when it could have easily waited until the next morning? That constant distraction—jumping between rest and work mode—means we never properly relax.

3. Disconnect to Reconnect

Taking a proper break means disconnecting from the things that keep you mentally tied to work (or your phone)—emails, social media, tracking sales, the news. These are my distractions, but yours may be different.

If you don’t have the self-control, then I swear by the Freedom app to block access to things that prevent you from switching off. Personally, I have Freedom set to activate every evening at 7PM until the following morning at 8AM. This means that my mornings don’t begin with me looking at my phone, and my evenings are spent stitching rather than scrolling.

And if you really struggle with placing high expectations on yourself, set up an email auto-reply when you’re away from your desk or taking downtime—something like: Contact me here in case of an emergency. It’s amazing how few things that stress us out are actually perceived as urgent by others.

4. Reframe Rest as Productive

If guilt creeps in when you rest, remind yourself that rest leads to better results in the long run. Some of the best ideas, solutions, and creative breakthroughs come when we stop forcing productivity and allow our minds to wander.

Often, this is something you have to learn through experience—young people glorify the grind. Unsurprisingly, those with more experience in work and life know how short-sighted that is. Trust those who have been in the game longer and probably have learnt a thing or two!

5. Delegate and Trust Others

If you feel like everything will fall apart without you, it may be a sign that you need to delegate more—or take something off your plate entirely. Whether in business or at home, trusting others to take responsibility frees up time and mental energy for yourself.

We can only be overloaded for so long before we break—don’t let it get to that point as I did!

Taking this break has been one of the most important things I have ever done for both myself and The Fabled Thread. It has reminded me that stepping away is not a sign of laziness or neglect—it is a fundamental part of long-term success. I am human – I need rest to function at my best.

So, if you are feeling burnt out, stuck in a productivity loop, or just in need of clarity—take a proper break. Even if it’s just a small one. Because in the end, rest is productive.