How to Rest Without Guilt to Prevent Burnout

Why resting feels uncomfortable, and what to do about it

It feels icky to admit this, but I used to wear my tiredness like a badge of honour.

When I was a Personal Trainer, I enjoyed being asked when I’d been working since that day. I got satisfaction from telling my evening clients that I’d been up since 4:20am and would be working until 8:30pm, (wince).

Being busy made me feel important.Working relentless hours made me feel ambitious.Being seen to be busy made me feel appreciated. Needed. Useful. Envied. Like I was doing something right.

After working in a corporate environment for so long, being self-employed as a Personal Trainer was a breath of fresh air. I loved it so much that I didn’t realise I was constantly bargaining with myself:

"When you have more clients, you can choose your working hours."

"When you’re successful, you can take bank holidays off."

"If you spend your breaks making social media content and creating programmes now, you’ll eventually earn enough money to take breaks."

I’m screaming at my past self as I write this!

Because as you can imagine, the list never ended. The pressure never eased. The bar kept raising, and I’d never achieved enough to slow down.

And the rest I was working toward? It always came too late.

Here’s what I know now:

Burnout doesn’t come from being busy! It comes from abandoning your needs over and over again in the name of feeling ‘good enough’.

Why you keep waiting for permission to rest:

Let’s be honest…

If you find it hard to truly rest, even when you're wiped out, it's not because you don’t have time to rest, it’s because of what rest represents.

Here’s what I hear from clients all the time:

• “If I stop, I’ll fall behind.”

• “I don’t deserve a break unless I’ve earned it.”

• “I don’t know how to rest without feeling guilty.”

If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. And you’re not broken.

You’ve been taught that productivity = worth. That rest is something you earn after you’ve given enough to others. That slowing down means you’re not trying hard enough.

But none of that is true.

In fact, the most sustainable and successful people I know are the ones who rest on purpose, not when they’ve hit breaking point.

Here are a few ways to start shifting the script…

How to stop treating rest as a reward

1. Schedule rest like a meeting

This might sound sad, but if resting doesn’t come naturally, you need to treat it like work. Schedule it, even if it’s just 20 minutes. Put it in your calendar. Protect it.

You don’t cancel on your boss or clients. Don’t cancel on yourself.

2. Make a scene

Eating your lunch at your laptop isn’t a lunch break. And drinking tea while scrolling isn’t a tea break. Make your rest be so obvious that it looks like rest - close your laptop, leave your desk, change the environment, abandon technology.

3. Redefine what rest looks like

Rest isn’t always napping or meditation.It can be anything that helps your nervous system feel safe again.

That might look like:

• Creative hobbies

• Walking without your phone

• Tech-free evenings

• Music, movement, or quiet

Ask yourself: “What makes me feel more like me?” That’s rest.

4. Interrupt the guilt loop

When the guilt creeps in, (which it will), don’t power through it, pause and ask:

“What am I afraid will happen if I rest?”

Often, it’s about fear of falling behind, being judged, losing control, or not being worthy. Naming the fear helps you unhook from it.

5. Build in micro-recovery

Don’t wait for a holiday. Your body and mind need daily recovery.

This can look like:

• A 5-minute body scan after work

• A nourishing lunch away from screens

• A moment of stillness before bed

The little things compound.

A final note

Rest is not a reward that you get when you’re successful, it’s a necessary component of creating success.

Because when you give yourself what you truly need, you don’t just avoid burnout, you reconnect with yourself.

And if you’re wondering where to start?

Start here.

Ashley x

👉🏼 Are you ready to burnout-proof yourself?

Click here to take my FREE Burnout Archetype Quiz to discover which hidden pattern is putting you at risk of burning out, and what to do about it.