Good News & Gratitude #5

Shoutout to Days Off and Other Forms of Rest and Comfort!

The hammock I hope to spend much of Sunday lying in!

Hello Dear Beyonders!

I want to start today’s post with my gratitude for you! Firstly, thanks for responding to the poll. I was delighted to learn that the majority of you enjoy the interviews and don’t find them too long. I’m nothing if not curious, and have yet to get all the way through the long list of questions I have for each writer. And, good news, there are so many great upcoming interviews: Ingrid Rojas Contreras (her books make me swoon and fill me with hope), Kemi Nekvapil (simply brilliant—I wish she were my next-door neighbor), and Bryan Washington (is there a more tender heart on the planet, or a better ear for dialogue?). With more in the works!

I was also very touched to learn how much you enjoy my personal essays. Thank you for that. Nothing means more to a writer than knowing their words are meaningful to others. I have plans for more. In fact, this Thursday I’ll be posting an excerpt from my novel. I’m excited to share that with you and so look forward to hearing your thoughts.

And thank you, thank you for your outpouring of kindness and support during some tough weeks. All your comments and emails buoyed my spirits tremendously.

I also want to express my gratitude to

Erin Shetron

. Erin has been helping me behind the scenes for a few months now. She comes up with all the beautiful titles, button comments, and questions for comments. And she helps me feel less alone in this sometimes overwhelming endeavor. Last week, when I hit burnout, she pretty much carried Beyond—launching the new Thoughts On column. Gigantic gratitude!

And also gigantic gratitude to

Anne Kadet

. Anne is profoundly skilled at making clear and firm boundaries between work and non-work time, and fiercely protective of non-work hours. My hour usage has all blurred—and I believe this is a piece of the burnout I hit. Anne has been helping me come up with a Time Organization Plan. Thank you, Anne!

In this phase of my life, I need to move slowly and carefully with change. So Step One: I’m taking one day a week completely off income work and chores. Other than on holiday, I haven’t had a day like this in about fifteen years. I’m excited and nervous and even a bit confused about how it’s all going to play out. But I envision a lot of lying in the hammock, cuddles with Rudy whilst reading a good book, and extra long walks with Delilah and Cookie. I’m going to do my best to stay off the internet. We’ll see about that. That might be a later step!

Also Step One: Take half an hour each day to do nothing. I took my first half hour yesterday and watched the birds bounce around in the bird bath. Almost instantly, my breathing deepened and I was amazed by how little my mind had to say. Occasionally, a “should” popped up—but then eased off again. Yay!

I take excellent care of myself as far as eating well, exercising, being out in nature, doing things I love, learning new things, friends, adventure, health protocols, and all of that goes. Where I’m realizing I need help is rest. And so addressing that has now begun!

Emma Gannon

has written a lot about burnout. Here’s her introductory post but there’s a mountain of good information in following newsletters. If you’re not familiar with it, The Hyphen is also bursting with brilliant insights on writing and Substack and being a human in this difficult world.

All of which leads me to hoping we can share our insights on rest. Do you take a full day off each week? Or possibly two? If so, what sort of impact has it had on your mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual health? And how do you spend those days? If you work, do allow yourself a moment of rest during work days? How do you organize your time? Do you find schedules helpful? Or do you prefer an organic flow? Who’s helped you through a tough time?

And: What are you grateful for this week—rest, play, mischief, or anything? What’s your good news?

We’re in such hard times; it helps so much to hear each other’s stories. So let’s hear yours!