I’m feet up, watching Netflix, and when I hear the sound of my husband’s car on the driveway, I jump up and switch the TV off.

I was exhausted, feeling like an extra on The Walking Dead. I hadn’t slept through the night for months, waking up at 3 a.m. and finding myself downstairs reading until I finally nodded off at 6 a.m., just before I heard my husband get up and the morning ritual of kids’ breakfasts and school runs started. So resting on the sofa before starting dinner is a perfectly acceptable activity.

But why did I react this way?

I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but hearing a family member come home while resting triggered me to jump up and pretend I wasn’t. It wasn’t a conscious decision; even though I was struggling with sleep, nerves on edge and brain fogged, I was hard-wired not to be caught resting.

During my burnout recovery in my 40s, I struggled with the advice, ‘You have to rest.’

I defined rest as sitting on the sofa, eating wotsits … the epitome of unproductive. And being unproductive was sinful.

I can now look back and see how strongly these word-hard stories of mine kept me from recovering from my burnout … I was hardwired to be productive at all times, so being caught with my feet up on the sofa was a bad thing.

Resisting rest is not normal

Today, I speak to hundreds of women (and men, too!) who tell me similar stories of resisting rest. It’s all too common now, to the point that we joke about it with our friends, which helps us normalise this behaviour, knowing that this Pavlov Dog’s reaction inflicts others.

But resisting rest is not normal.

It should never be normal to jump up when someone is having an afternoon nap, a quiet moment decompressing from back-to-back meetings, or resting on the sofa before the next job needs doing.

If our bodies need rest, we need to rest. If we don’t, we will get ill. Fact, yes?!

Rest is not a reward for hard work

Rest also needs to happen before we need it.

Another hard work story I see play out with many, myself included, back in my 40s, is that we can rest when we have performed. We can rest once the jobs are done, and our productivity levels mean that we are ahead of the tasks and now have time to rest.

I always return to Mother Nature and look at how seasons work. Our modern calendar puts Spring at the start of the seasons, with Winter at the end of the year. And yet, Mother Nature begins her incredible work in Winter, preparing the earth and drawing on its resources so she is ready to burst forward in Spring. Winter may feel like a dead month on the coldest, darkest days in December, but it’s far from dead because without these precious months of rest, recharge, and reallocation of resources, Spring could never happen.

I’m sure you know how you feel after a good night’s sleep and how much more productive and in flow your day is, so why not rest before the busy periods in your day?

Unravel your hard work stories

Resting during periods of illness ought to be essential, and you probably know this on a logical level. Yet our hard work stories prevent us from resting, even when we know we need to.

Some journalling questions to help you ponder on yours …

• How do you define productive?
• When do you feel most productive?
• Who taught you about resting (or not resting), and what did they say?

Many of our stories are given to us by our parents and peers growing up, so I invite you to go back to your teens and 20s, as well as your more recent decades, and reflect on how those around you perceive rest. You may find that your hard work story isn’t yours … find a thread and pull it. Unravel those stories that hardwire your ability to rest.

Being “busy” has been a badge of honour for many years. We’re surrounded by messages that equate busyness with productivity and worth, especially as women.

We often try to balance life, business, and family responsibilities: from work deadlines to family obligations, our days are filled to the brim, leaving little space to breathe, let alone feel genuinely fulfilled.

We now seek approval from others as we respond to questions such as ‘How are you?’ by telling each other, ‘I’m great—so busy.’

Busy has also become the barometer of our health – not by sharing how we feel or how our health is … but by our degree of busyness.

The illusion of “Doing More”

There’s a common belief that success lies in doing more, handling every task, and pushing through each day without missing a beat. But when we’re constantly trying to keep up, we lose connection with what truly matters: our wellbeing, our relationships, and our own sense of purpose.

Many of us experience the toll of this “always on” lifestyle in our bodies and minds. We become stressed, tired, and even physically unwell, accepting these as the costs of achieving our goals.

But should success require us to sacrifice our health and happiness?

For me, the answer eventually became a resounding no.

Why busyness fails us

There’s a reason so many women feel burnt out. When we prioritise busyness over intentional living, say yes too many times, and overcommit ourselves, we’re forced to ignore our bodies’ natural rhythms, pressing on even when exhausted.

We ignore niggles in our body, such as back twinges, bloating or skin conditions, and squish down emotions because we feel we don’t have to ‘deal with them’. And for anyone who has done this over a period of time, you know these niggles and squished down emotions have a habit of blowing up volcanically at a time when you least expect them to.

And as women, who often manage the bigger percentage blend of business, family, and home responsibilities, the toll can be even greater.

But the constant juggling isn’t just exhausting; it’s counterproductive.

Over time, our energy wanes, our focus blurs, and we become less effective in every area of our lives.

Embodiment as a path to aligned living

If busyness leads to burnout, what’s the alternative?

For me, the answer came through an unexpected yet life-changing practice: embodiment.

Embodiment is about reconnecting with our body’s natural wisdom, honouring our energy, and shifting from a mode of constant doing to one of intentional being.

Rather than viewing busyness as a measure of success, embodiment invites us to listen to our bodies, noticing when we need rest and feel energised. This approach brings a sense of alignment and allows us to be fully present in life and work.

When I began practising embodiment, I felt deeply uncomfortable, yet something inside me was crying out for it. I’ve always loved to dance, but it would always be in the kitchen with no one watching or after several glasses of wine if I were out with friends.

My first few sessions made me realise how unconnected I was in my body; my hips were stiff, I found finding a rhythm awkward, and I spent too much time worrying about what I looked like and whether I was ‘doing it right’.

But over time, I experienced an incredible shift.

I learnt to get out of my head and be more in tune with my body. My days became more energised, my priorities clearer, and my sense of fulfilment deeper. This wasn’t about doing less but creating a rhythm that allowed me to flow through life’s ups and downs and live in alignment with what mattered most.

How embodiment transforms our relationship with busyness

Embodiment isn’t about avoiding responsibility or stepping away from meaningful work; it’s about being more intentional with our energy.

Here are some of the shifts I’ve experienced—and now see in the women I work with—when we embrace embodiment to manage life and work with greater ease:

1. Listening to Your Energy Cycles

Each of us has natural ebb and flows in our energy, particularly women, because of our monthly hormone cycle and menstruation. Embodiment helps us recognise these cycles, allowing us to align our tasks with moments of high energy and honour our need for rest when it arises. This approach not only enhances productivity but also brings a sense of balance to our days.

2. Presence Over Multitasking

Busyness often leads to multitasking, splitting our focus and leaving us feeling scattered. I am not the only one who grew up believing that being a multi-tasker was a good skill to have. But as we get into our 40s and 50s, our brains simply can’t keep up with multiple tabs open, the same way that our phones and browsers slow down when too many apps or tabs are open.

Embodiment teaches us the value of presence. It allows us to bring our full attention to each moment, whether it’s a business task, time with loved ones, or simply a moment to breathe. This sense of presence makes our days feel fuller, not busier.

3. Honouring Rest as Essential

Rest is often seen as “wasted time” and something we do after we’ve put in the effort, but it’s essential to our wellbeing. You only need to look to professional athletes and see the importance they place on active rest as part of their training programmes to realise it’s critical to high performance.

Embodiment invites us to redefine rest and see it as a vital part of success, allowing us to recharge and return to our lives with greater clarity and resilience.

4. Embracing Intuition as our Guide

Busyness often pulls us into a reactive state, causing us to respond to demands rather than make choices aligned with our values. It keeps us in crisis management mode, which is great for crises … but not so great for everyday life.

Through embodiment, we learn to tune into our intuition and let it guide us. This helps us prioritise what truly matters and feel confident in saying no to what doesn’t serve us.

A New Way to Approach Success

Since embracing embodiment, I’ve found that success feels less like a never-ending to-do list and more like a fulfilling, intentional journey.

I no longer feel pressured to measure my worth by how busy I am. Yes, it’s been a hard habit for me to break because of the deep ‘hard work’ beliefs my body held, but it gets easier and takes me less time to course correct when I find myself getting deep into the busy trenches.

I spend more of my time now focused on creating a working week and month where I can allow my energy to flow naturally, where I’m present in both my work and personal life, and where I feel a deep sense of alignment.

This shift isn’t just for avoiding burnout; it’s a pathway to creating a life that feels whole, balanced, and aligned with who we are and gives us the resilience to dance with whatever life throws at us.

And it’s something every woman deserves to experience.

Your invitation to explore embodiment

If you’re tired of feeling overwhelmed by busyness and ready to try a new approach, I invite you to join me in exploring embodiment. I’m offering a series of beginner classes designed to help you reconnect with your body, manage your energy, and approach life with a balanced and intentional rhythm.

If you’re ready to let go of the endless cycle of busyness and step into a more aligned way of living, click here to learn more and reserve your place.

Success doesn’t have to mean constant busyness.

It’s time to release the idea that being busy equates to being successful and instead embrace a life that’s both fulfilling and sustainable. Embodiment offers a way forward, and I’d be honoured to share this journey with you as we create a new rhythm that honours our full selves—life, work, and all.