Why Rest Feels Unproductive (and How to Rewire That Belief)
“I’ll rest when things slow down.”
“Rest is for people who aren’t trying to make things happen.”
“If I stop now, I’ll fall behind.”
If these thoughts sound familiar, you’re not alone.
In fact, for many women leaders, rest doesn’t just feel uncomfortable, it feels like failure.
But here’s the truth: The belief that rest is unproductive is a lie that keeps us burned out, bitter, and broken. Now, it’s time we rewrite that story.
The pressure to “keep going” isn’t just personal, it’s cultural. From a young age, we’re taught that:
Productivity equals worth
Hustle earns praise
Slowing down is selfish, lazy, or weak
For women in leadership, the pressure multiplies: You’re not just leading a team, you’re often managing a household, supporting friends and family, and showing up for everyone else, all the time.
Somewhere along the way, rest got labeled a luxury instead of a leadership strategy.
When we only rest after we’ve burned out, we:
Treat recovery like a chore
Never feel truly restored
Stay caught in a cycle of overwork → collapse → guilt → repeat
Burnout thrives in systems where rest is postponed, rationed, or “earned, “but you can’t wait until you deserve rest to take it. You deserve rest because you’re human. Not because you’ve crossed enough off your to-do list.
How to Rewire the Rest = Laziness Mindset
Here are five mindset shifts to begin reclaiming rest, not as weakness, but as wisdom:
Rest Is a Form of Preparation - Just like athletes train and recover, leaders need intentional pause to perform at their best.
Reframe it: “I’m not avoiding the work, I’m preparing for it.
Rest Increases Productivity (Not the Other Way Around) - Studies show that rest fuels focus, creativity, and better decision-making. It’s not wasted time, it’s what makes your work time work better.
Reframe it: “Rest is what makes me sustainable, not replaceable.”
You Don’t Have to Earn Your Breaks - You are allowed to rest even when your list isn’t finished. Spoiler: It never really is.
Reframe it: “Rest isn’t a reward. It’s a requirement.”
Tiny Rest Moments Count - Rest doesn’t always mean hours on the couch. It can be:
A walk without your phone
A few deep breaths between meetings
Saying “no” to one more thing
Reframe it: “Small resets create big results.”
Rest Is a Leadership Skill - When you rest, you model boundaries, emotional intelligence, and clarity. You lead from wholeness, not depletion.
Reframe it: “Rest makes me a better leader, not a weaker one.”
What You Can Do This Week
Track your guilt: Notice when you feel guilty for resting. What story are you telling yourself?
Schedule a “non-negotiable pause”: 15–30 minutes where you don’t fill the time with productivity
Use the free worksheet to reflect on how your beliefs about rest were formed, and how you want to shift them
You don’t have to earn your right to rest.
You don’t have to wait until everything is done.
You don’t have to keep proving you’re “strong enough to push through.”
The strongest leaders know when to pause, so they can rise again, whole.
Free Tool: The Rest Reframe Journal Page
This week’s printable worksheet will guide you through:
Uncovering your current beliefs about rest
Identifying where those beliefs came from
Writing new, supportive reframes to help you rest without guilt