Working Hard to do Nothing

I just got home from spending the long weekend at my parents’ cottage on Lake Simcoe and I couldn’t feel more relaxed. It probably has something to do with the 11:00 am wake up I had today (how did that happen?!) and also something to do with the whole lotta nothing I did all weekend. The funny thing is, it actually took effort to do nothing.

As a blogger and as someone running my own business, I am constantly faced with the feeling that I should always be doing more.

In a setting as beautiful as the cottage, surrounded by the incredible food prepared by my chef mom and sister, there is always a photo to take. 

And with all the down-time, sitting in front of the TV or lying around on the couch, it always seems like a good opportunity to be on my phone, to catch up on Instagram or answer some e-mails.

But when does it all stop? How does the ‘doing nothing’ begin?

Since this was the first of many summer weekends up north, I did not want to set the precedent that I would be working the whole time. Yes, I brought my laptop with me and some product to shoot but I also knew I really needed a physical and mental break and should try and relax.

What I realized is that it’s almost impossible for me to relax when I have my phone with me. Call it sad, or unhealthy, or whatever you want to call it, but it’s true. I am constantly faced with the struggle of wanting to share everything on social media but also wanting to mentally shut down. 

So once the photo-shoots (including below) were done, the messages were sent, the workouts were filmed and the stories were posted, I decided to just turn my phone off. And that’s when the ‘doing nothing’ began.

I played with my nephews for hours, caught up on TV, ate peanut butter chocolate ice cream cake and laughed with my sisters until our stomachs hurt.

I’m glad I took this weekend to experiment with how I can balance work life with my personal life when, as a blogger, the two are already so intertwined. Turns out for me, shutting off means shutting down. And only then can the doing nothing begin. 

Wearing:

Under Armour Threadborne Slingflex Running Shoe

Under Armour Threadborne Train Long Sleeve

Under Armour Threadborne Seamless Heathered Crops

Under Armour Perfect Headband 2.0