I love to work. There’s almost nothing that makes me happier than doing things that move me closer to where I want to go. To me, a moment wasted feels like a moment of treason against my business.
But here’s the thing:
Not every moment of rest is a wasted moment.
Sometimes doing absolutely nothing is exactly what I need.
The trick is knowing the difference between something that actually recharges me and something that just feels good for a few hours and leaves me worse off afterward.
Sometimes Doing Nothing Is the Right Move
I remember one Saturday when I took the entire day off from practically every productive activity on the planet.
I went tanning in the morning, ordered some calorie-dense Uber Eats, planted myself on the couch, and watched the entire Blade trilogy.
No gym. No reading. No writing.
Nothing.
My body was fried from training and my brain was fried from being “ON” for too long. I knew if I dragged myself to the gym, the workout would suck. If I forced myself to write, there wouldn’t be any fire behind it. I’d just be working so I could say I worked.
So I did nothing.
And it was glorious.
Was that day hurting my goals?
Hell no. It was helping them.
By the time my day off was over, I wanted to work again.
That’s what I want from rest.
Some “Rest” Isn’t Rest
Now let’s look at the opposite.
For me, masturbating or hooking up with some random Tinder girl, going to a bar, drinking, or spending hours playing competitive video games might sound like taking time off.
But those things don’t recharge me.
They drain me.
I know because I’ve done enough of them to recognize the pattern.
Sexual energy gives me drive, and these days I’d rather put that energy into training, writing, business, and creating something.
Social events can drain me too. I’m naturally introverted, and after enough socializing I sometimes need another day just to get back to normal.
Alcohol is even easier. It screws with my sleep, lowers my inhibitions, and makes every other bad decision more attractive. Suddenly I want to smoke, vape, eat garbage, chase women, and stay up until 3 a.m.
One drink starts recruiting accomplices.
And then there are video games.
I know myself well enough to know I don’t casually play competitive games. I get invested. If I win, I’m flying. If I lose, I’m pissed.
Eventually I had to ask myself:
Why am I giving a bunch of pixels on a screen control over my mood?
So I stopped pretending those things were helping me relax.
And I came up with a pretty simple rule:
If I need another day to recover from my day off, it wasn’t a day off.
You Have to Know Yourself
This doesn’t mean you need to quit drinking, stop playing video games, or spend your Saturdays watching Blade.
I’m telling you what works for me.
That distinction matters.
Maybe going out with friends leaves you feeling great. Maybe playing a game for an hour genuinely helps you relax. Fine.
But you need to know the difference between what actually restores you and what you keep calling “rest” because you enjoy doing it.
I figured mine out by paying attention.
How do I feel afterward?
Do I want to work the next morning?
Am I relaxed or overstimulated?
Did this give me energy or take it away?
Do that long enough and the patterns become pretty obvious.
Maybe your problem isn’t alcohol or video games. Maybe it’s scrolling Instagram for three hours. Maybe it’s arguing about politics online. Maybe it’s spending all afternoon around people who do nothing but complain.
Whatever it is, the question is the same:
Does this actually recharge me?
If the answer is yes, enjoy the hell out of it.
If it consistently leaves you tired, distracted, irritated, or unmotivated, stop calling it rest.
Take the Damn Day Off
You don’t have to grind seven days a week.
Sometimes the best thing I can do for myself and my business is shut the laptop, skip the gym, order some food, put on a movie, and do absolutely nothing.
I don’t feel guilty about that anymore.
Because the purpose of a day off isn’t to prove how disciplined I am.
It’s to come back with more energy than I had when I left.
So sleep. Eat. Watch movies. Lie around. Go outside. Do whatever actually puts something back into you.
Just don’t spend your day off doing something you’re going to need another day off to recover from.
Rest hard. Come back hungry.
— Uncle Blayde