For years now, I’ve intentionally slowed the pace of my work and life during August so that I can recharge before September. Of course, I still have plenty to do, but over the years I’ve come to see this as one of the healthiest decisions I make, not just for me personally, but for my business as well.
This year is slightly different, though, as it’s the first August since launching my podcast last September, which means pressing pause doesn’t just mean taking a holiday. It means consciously stepping away from the weekly rhythm of recording episodes, writing articles and newsletters, creating content, and all the pressure that comes with showing up online every week.
The interesting thing is, the reason I do this isn’t actually just about taking a break. Over the years, both personally and through coaching clients, I’ve become more and more convinced that one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves isn’t simply rest, it’s also time without external demands.
Time when nobody needs anything from us and time when we’re not trying to achieve something.
If I’m completely honest, there’s a part of me that wonders what pressing pause for a few weeks will do to the algorithm. Whether I’ll lose a bit of momentum and whether or not my reach will drop. But then I remind myself that this is exactly what I encourage clients to do. If I can’t create space when I know I need it, despite spending years helping other people do the same, I’d be missing the point.
Why time without external demands matters
We often think taking a break is simply about recovering our energy and, of course, that’s an important part of it. But over the years I’ve become convinced that something equally valuable happens when we create space where nobody needs anything from us and we’re not trying to achieve something.
Something shifts in the way we think.
When we’re constantly busy, our attention is usually focused on getting through the day, solving the next problem, replying to the next message or meeting the next deadline. It’s very easy for our thinking to become quite narrow because we’re simply trying to keep up. But when we create a little distance from all of that, something shifts. We gain a completely different perspective. We notice things we’d been too busy to see, reconnect with bigger-picture ideas and, perhaps most importantly, reconnect with ourselves a little more.
Personally, when I look back, some of the best ideas I’ve had haven’t come when I’ve been sitting at my desk trying to force them. They’ve appeared, seemingly from nowhere, while I’ve been walking, swimming, reading a book, having a coffee or on holiday. In all of those moments, the common factor is that I’m completely calm and fully engaged in the present moment.
That’s because being present gives our subconscious mind the opportunity to join the dots in a way it often can’t when we’re constantly reacting to the demands of everyday life.
It’s something that’s happened to me many times, which is why I’m so conscious of building in this time for myself, and it’s also something I’ve seen repeatedly through coaching.
When people come to me feeling overwhelmed, convinced they need to work harder or solve everything immediately, their instinct is to push through because it feels like stopping will only make things worse. Yet if their workload allows, I’ll often encourage them to do something that initially feels completely counterintuitive – to slow down for a few days, take a break if they can, or find ways to create a little bit of pressure-free space in their week.
And what’s really interesting is that I see the same thing happen every time…
People come back from a few days away or after simply creating a bit more alone time in their week, and suddenly they know what decision they need to make. The solution they’d been wrestling with feels obvious, or they’ve had a big insight about something completely unexpected.
When your August is busy
Now, I know some people will be reading this thinking, “That’s all very well, but life doesn’t stop for me in August.” This is especially true for parents with children at home for the summer holidays or for people who are working all the way through August, and I completely understand that. I have many clients in this position.
So for me, this isn’t really about taking a two-week holiday.
It’s about asking yourself where you might be able to create even small pockets of time where nobody needs anything from you, and you’re not trying to achieve anything. It might be twenty minutes with a coffee before everyone else wakes up, a walk without your phone, sitting outside for a while, or simply reading a book.
The activity itself isn’t really the point. The point is creating moments where nobody needs anything from you, and you’re not trying to achieve anything, because I genuinely believe that’s where some of our best ideas, insights and perspective come from.
Creating space
Over the next few weeks I’ll still be working with clients, but I’ll also be intentionally creating more space to recharge, reflect and think about where I want to take the business next, and hopefully for some new ideas and insights to emerge as well.
Because, as I’ve said many times before, modern life will quite happily fill every bit of space we give it. There will always be another email to answer, another task to complete, another deadline to meet or another piece of content to create.
So usually we have to be the ones who decide to intentionally create that space ourselves.
Kate x
If this resonates with you, whether you’re trying to create more space for yourself or you’re leading a team that’s constantly under pressure, this is exactly the kind of thing I help clients work through. Sometimes all it takes is a practical conversation to uncover possibilities you can’t see when you’re in the middle of it.
If you’d like to explore how I could help, email: info@katehorwood.com
