[#022] The True Simplifying Power of Rest

A few weeks ago I wrote about the ancient productivity hack nobody talks about. The Sabbath principle. Rest one day in seven.

I talked about how the business world is slowly rediscovering what Scripture commanded thousands of years ago. How we're not machines. How margin isn't laziness - it's wisdom.

But here's the thing about writing advice. It's easy to write. Harder to live. So, this weekend, I lived it. Properly.

The Forest of Dean

I'm writing this on Monday morning. Still a bit groggy. In the best possible way.

Three days in a lodge with good friends. Open fire. Hot tub under the stars. And - here's the important bit - no mobile phone signal.

Yes, there was wifi. Yes, there was a TV. But the point wasn't total isolation. It was intentional disconnection from the constant pull.

No one checking their phone mid-sentence. No pings. No notifications. No "just let me quickly reply to this."

And something shifted.

Not a dramatic revelation. More like... remembering. Remembering what it feels like to be fully present. To have a thought and let it sit there without immediately acting on it. To laugh at something stupid without wondering if it would make good content or remembering to take a selfie.

From principle to practice

In my previous December newsletter, I asked you to protect space for less. To build margin into 2026. To ask yourself what you were going to protect.

I want to tell you what that actually looks like when you do it.

Saturday night by the fire, the conversation wasn't about revenue or strategies or funnels. It was about life. Family. Ridiculous stories from years ago. What we actually care about.

Sunday morning, I woke up without an alarm. Made coffee slowly. Sat outside in the cold air and just... thought. Not structured thinking. Not problem-solving. Just letting my mind wander where it wanted.

And now on a Monday morning, I have more clarity about the next quarter than I'd found in weeks of planning sessions.

That's not magic. That's how rest works.

The proof is in the pause

Your brain needs time to process. To connect dots. To let go of things that don't matter so it can grab hold of things that do.

When you're constantly switched on, you're actually switched off to the deeper thinking that moves your business forward.

Remember that Porto moment I talk about in my book, when I decided to shut down my agency and completely redesign my business? It happened while I took 4-days out of my schedule, on my own, away from everyday life - not while I was at my desk trying to figure things out.

The best decisions don't come from more hours. They come from more space.

What I noticed about my friends

One has a very demanding job. Watching him properly relax reminded me what we're working towards. Time with people you love. Experiences that matter. A life you don't need a holiday from.

If your work doesn't give you that, something needs to change, and the first change is usually carving out space to see clearly what that change might be.

The practical bit

It's 26th January. We're not even a full month into 2026.

In December I asked you to think about what margin you'd build in this year. Now I'm asking you, have you actually built it into your schedule?

Not vaguely thought "I should take some time off at some point." Actually blocked it out, marked it on your calendar, and are protecting it like you'd protect a meeting with your most important client.

When you do this the guilt fades, I mean the discomfort of switching off. What's left is exactly what I described previously - the space you need to filter through and think over the messages that connect, the offers that resonate, and the path forward.

Your year is still unwritten

Your calendar still has blank spaces. The habits you form now will carry through the next eleven months.

So, here's my challenge.

Open your calendar this week. Find three points in the next twelve months where you can take proper time away. Not half-days. Not "working remotely from somewhere nice." Actual disconnection.

Block them. Make them non-negotiable.

Then find one slot in the next month - even just an afternoon - where you can practice switching off. No work. No "productive" activities. Just being.

It might feel uncomfortable. That's normal. It's also evidence that you need it.

The word for 2026

SIMPLIFY. That is my word for this year in a BIG way. Maybe it's yours too.

Simplification isn't just about your tech stack or your offers. It's about your calendar. Your headspace. Your week.

A business that requires every hour of your week isn't a business. It's a prison. I said that in December and I really believe it. This weekend reminded me why it’s truth.

The version of you that is rested, clear, and present, that's the version of you that builds something that lasts.

Make those plans. This week. While January is still full of possibility.

Keep it simple,

Ant

P.S. If you missed the original piece about the Sabbath principle and why rest is built into how we're designed to function, you can read it here. It's the foundation for everything I've shared today. And if you're reading this thinking "I can't possibly take time off right now" - that's exactly why you need to. What's the first date you can block out?