The Productivity Secret No One Talks About

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Ever feel guilty for taking a break? That nagging voice saying you should be folding laundry instead of closing your eyes for ten minutes? You're not alone.

This episode dives into the radical concept that rest isn't laziness, it's an essential component of productivity, especially for busy parents. Drawing from personal experience battling illness while juggling four kids and dealing with my father's recent cancer diagnosis, I share why prioritising rest before exhaustion hits is crucial for sustainable energy and wellbeing.

Think about how you treat your phone. Most of us don't wait until it's completely dead before charging it, yet we push our bodies and minds to absolute depletion before allowing ourselves to rest. This mindset shift (seeing rest as preventative rather than reactive) can transform how you approach your daily rhythms and ultimately help you show up better for everyone who depends on you.

For fellow mums who struggle with the guilt of screen time or leaving housework undone, this episode offers permission to prioritise your health. Those clothes can sit unfolded a bit longer if it means preserving your wellbeing. The house doesn't need to be perfect when you're running on empty. Remember: you can't pour from an empty cup.

Ready to rethink rest? Listen now and discover how intentional breaks can actually make you more productive, present and purposeful in all areas of life. Your family deserves the best version of you and not the exhausted, depleted one.

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Episode Transcript

Mel (00:18):
Welcome to Beyond Organised , the podcast that helps you
simplify your life and amplifyyour purpose.
I'm Mel Schenker, life coach,speaker, founder of She's
Organised and, more importantly,a wife and mom of four little
kids.
If you've ever felt overwhelmed, like you're constantly
juggling everything but neverquite catching up, this is the
place for you.
Here we go beyond just thetidying up and creating systems.

(00:42):
We're talking about real lifestrategies that bring order to
your life, but also we talkabout the things beyond the
organising, the things thatreally matter, like your
parenting relationships and somuch more.
So grab your coffee and let'sdive in.
Welcome back to another episodeof Beyond Organised.

(01:03):
Back to another episode ofBeyond Organised.
As you can probably hear, I amnot 100%, so I am going to
actually just do a short episodefor you.
Today.
I actually wanted to talk aboutrest, so I thought that's
something that's on my mind atthe moment, as I've been
focusing on my own health.

(01:24):
We're coming into winter herein Australia and it's getting
pretty cold, and I caught a coldand it's been a bit hard to
shake it, unfortunately.
But I have also had a lot ofother things going on too.
Unfortunately, the last coupleof weeks my father has been
quite unwell and in hospital andjust got the diagnosis of

(01:47):
cancer.
So you know, been dealing withall of that as well and
sometimes life can just throw alot at you.
And so I wanted to talk aboutrest because I think for mums in
particular, we can go, go, goand then we're done and we've

(02:09):
got nothing left and we can besick and we still can't rest.
So, like for me the other day,I was just so exhausted.
Baby went down for a nap.
I still had my toddler aroundand I just closed my eyes for 10
minutes and I literally likeconked out.
I just I was out.
It was only 10 minutes, but Iwoke up to this deafening

(02:32):
silence which anyone that's hada toddler or has one knows that
that can be actually quiteterrifying, but thankfully she
was right where I left her infront of the TV.
Now I would love to be one ofthose mums that you know does
all the homeschooling and hasveggie gardens and you know the

(02:56):
kids are never on technology andjust play with wooden toys and
stuff.
I think that is so cool and Ithink if you're one of those
mums, good on you for being ableto live that life.
But that is not me.
I am a working mum, my kids goto school, but also because I do
not trust their future withwhat I could teach them

(03:18):
educationally and I am someonethat will use TV or an iPad or
something every now and then tolike I will shove it in front of
them just so I can have a bitof a break.
Now, I don't do it all the timeand I, you know, try not to,
but when you're sick, I'mtelling you you have permission

(03:41):
that if you need to put on a TVto give yourself even half an
hour or an hour of downtime,then I say, do it.
You have permission because weare juggling so much as mums
every day, trying to do what'sright, taking in all the

(04:03):
feedback of what everyone elsesays our family, our friends,
society and when it comes downto it, there is so much part
onto us that rest has becomesomething that is frowned upon
and is seen as an ugly thing.
You should feel guilty, all thatkind of stuff.
And it's just.
It's so much further from thetruth.

(04:26):
And for those of you who readyour Bible, understand scripture
and things like that, you knowwhen I think about how God
rested on the seventh day.
I don't think he rested becausehe was tired, like I mean he
created all of life as we knowit in six days.
I get that, but I believe hewas more modeling that structure

(04:51):
for us.
So I wanted to emphasize todaythat rest is a critical part of
your productivity system.
It's not something that shouldjust be an afterthought.
It's something that actuallyneeds to be intentionally
focused on throughout your day,your week, your month, your year

(05:13):
.
It's not an afterthought.
Think of it like you've gotyour phone.
Do you wait till it goes flatbefore you charge it?
Most people don't.
If you're like my husband,maybe you do, but then you're
without a phone for a bit.
Most people will charge thatphone before it gets flat.
Now, sometimes you might leaveit down to like one or 2% and

(05:36):
you are taking big risks, or youjust plug it in overnight while
you're sleeping.
The same goes for us.
We are better off plugging in,recharging, resetting before
we're completely drained,because then you're out of
action for a while and you're nogood to anyone.

(05:57):
So I want you to start seeingrest as not something to feel
guilty over, not something tofeel is a weak thing, nothing
like that.
Actually seeing this as aproductive part of your cycle.
It's critical, and the morethat you have going on in your
life, the more critical it is tomake time for it.

(06:21):
I don't care if you need toschedule it in or if you're
someone that's just spontaneousand takes it willy-nilly.
You need to make it happen,though, and for me, I've been
quite intentional with takingsome time to rest, and I still
got unwell.
But life can throw a lot ofthings at you and you can end up
with a lot of unexpectedstresses, like with my dad that

(06:45):
you don't necessarily see coming.
That literally happenedovernight, kind of thing that
came out of nowhere for us, soit's been quite a big adjustment
.
It's been quite unwell withother health things as a result,
and so you know, as a family,we are processing that and
working through that, but I needto be able to look after myself

(07:07):
first, so then I can show upfor my dad, for my mum and
sister, but also my kids and myhusband, my friends, my business
, my work, all of it.
So I wanted to encourage youtoday that, if you're feeling a
little bit low and maybe you'vegot kind of the wrong perception

(07:33):
on rest, I want to encourageyou to start rethinking it,
start seeing it as an actualaction, that it's not a weakness
, that it's not something thatwe do when we're at the end of
our rope.
It's actually something that weshould be doing little bits
daily and being intentionalabout it.
So it does make things a loteasier for me to rest when I

(07:57):
know my house is in order andeverything else is in order.
But I can tell you even latelymy house has not been as
organized as I would like.
I have not been able to keep upwith the washing and things
like that as much as I wouldlike, and I can tell you now
that even not that long ago Iwould have gone too far, to the

(08:21):
point where I would have got thewashing done and I would have
kept cleaning and I would havepushed myself to the point where
I was just completely done andI would be no good to anyone for
days.
But you know what?
At the moment there's even alittle bit of washing sitting on
my couch.
There is.
You know, the dishwasher gotturned on in the morning instead

(08:42):
of the night before because Iactually have been prioritizing
rest and now in this case it isactual physical sleep, rest to
try and get better.
But even if you're not sick andall of that, you are allowed to
rest.
In fact, I'm encouraging you torest before you get sick to
prevent getting sick.

(09:03):
And if that does mean that loadof washing sits on the couch or
the table for an extra 12 hours, for an extra 24 hours and it
just means a little bit morecatch up the next day when
you're actually feeling a bitbetter, then I'm actually giving

(09:24):
you that permission to do that.
Now I'm not saying leave itthere for a week and everyone
picks off their clean clothesfrom the pile on the couch and
that.
But at the same time, if youare sick and if you are feeling
quite low, then you do what youneed to do because, at the end
of the day, you're the oneliving your life.
No one else is living it foryou.

(09:46):
No one else is coming around tohelp you with these things.
Well, they might, which isfantastic, but for most of us,
no.
We are dealing with ourhousehold chores and all of that
, and we're dealing with ourkids and everything whilst we're
sick.
So we need to be smart and weneed to be wise in how we

(10:06):
actually make the most of thattime, because you are better off
going.
I'm feeling a bit burnt out, I'mfeeling quite worn down.
I feel like I might have a coldcoming on, whatever it is, and
actually go.
I need to stop and I need tojust take a few minutes for
myself, or an hour for myself,or whatever it is, however you
do it, so then you can get backon and you're not taken out for

(10:30):
days or weeks.
So I really wanted to encourageyou today on rest and I hope
that this shorter episode hashelped you in being able to
prioritize that a little bitmore and give you that
permission.
If you love this episode, don'tforget to hit subscribe so you

(10:50):
don't miss what's coming next.
And if you want to continue theconversation, you can connect
with me on Instagram at @shes.
organised, or, for some freeresources, head over to
beyondorganised.
com/ toolkit.
Remember, organising is a toolto live the purposeful life
beyond it.
See you next time.