I, like most people, am not a stranger to burn out, especially having been a public school teacher for 13 years. Burn out and I were best friends for a looooong time.

And I thought that when I left teaching my burn out would magically go away.

Turns out that I have learned some truly bad habits that have followed me into my life as a self-employed girly.

I started the year off slowly, enjoying the winter, buying a planner (which I am still using by the way!), and easing myself into 2025.

I began to habit stack. First it was getting myself back into moving my body in ways I enjoyed. This was added to my work days of writing and lesson planning for my TpT store. Simple. Easy.

I was consistent, and I gave myself goals each day, each week, each month. And that consistency combined with continually reaching those goals created some serious momentum. Everything was growing: my business, my novel, my confidence in my body. I had a routine. In the morning I wrote, and in the afternoon I worked on my store. Monday, Wednesday, Friday were for mid-day pilates. 3pm and 5pm were for walks at least five days a week.

And then last week, I felt myself sputter. You know the feeling when your car is running out of gas and you know you need to stop at the next station but you don’t? Yeah. That’s what happened.

The week started off well enough…until I woke up with a migraine on Tuesday. That migraine would be my downfall. I gave myself the day to rest (without guilt!) and Wednesday, I was up and running again. I should have listened to the warning of my body, but I didn’t. Thursday I slipped into some serious exhaustion and Friday was another migraine (this one with aura) until the slide into food poisoning over the weekend.

And now, I’m stuck in a funk.

How does one get beyond the guilt of needing rest? My body is clearly needing more than what I’ve given it, but…I feel like there’s a war going on in there.

I guess it’s time to take the day one event at a time with opportunities for naps and reading. And give up the guilt.

Easier said that done.

Until next week, friends.