As Black women navigating executive roles, we’re often told that to succeed, we must constantly work harder, smarter, and longer. While resilience and hard work are important, there’s a vital tool often overlooked in our pursuit of excellence: rest as a productivity tool.

Rest isn’t a luxury. Rather rest is a productivity tool that can elevate your performance, enhance your creativity, and improve your overall well-being. Today, we’ll explore why rest matters, how it drives success, and how you can prioritize it without guilt.

The Myth of Hustle Culture

Hustle Culture and Its Impact on Rest

For many Black women executives, the pressure to overachieve feels embedded in our DNA. We’ve been taught to go the extra mile, show up twice as prepared, and work twice as hard to combat stereotypes and biases.

I remember a time early in my career when I worked 50 and 60-hour weeks to prove I could handle the demands of a leadership role. I stayed late and skipped vacations, believing that my constant availability would make me indispensable. What it really made me was exhausted. Instead of thriving, I found myself making small mistakes that could have been avoided if I had rested.

The Cost of Overworking

Burnout isn’t a badge of honor. It’s a huge warning sign. Overworking can lead to poor decision-making, decreased creativity, and even serious health issues like hypertension, anxiety, or depression. Prolonged stress also triggers the release of cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone. While cortisol is helpful in small doses to handle acute stress, chronic overworking can cause cortisol levels to remain elevated, impairing cognitive function, reducing memory retention, and even contributing to inflammation in the body.

This stress doesn’t stay at the office. It follows you home and bleeds into your personal life, straining relationships and impacting your overall well-being. For Black women, who often face additional stressors such as microaggressions and workplace isolation, these risks are compounded. Making it even more essential to prioritize rest and recovery.

If you’re constantly exhausted, you’re simply not operating at your best. Hustle culture might feel empowering in the short term, but it’s unsustainable. And, quite frankly, unnecessary. Rest, however, is a sustainable productivity tool that you can rely on.

How Rest Drives Productivity

Rest is a Productivity Tool That Fuels Creativity and Clarity

When you’re well-rested, your brain has the energy to think strategically and solve complex problems. Research shows that downtime helps your mind consolidate information, which is crucial for decision-making and innovative thinking.

Have you ever had a brilliant idea come to you in the shower or during a quiet moment of reflection? That’s no coincidence. Rest creates the mental space for insights to emerge. For me, some of my best strategies for coaching clients come during my morning walks.

The Science Behind Rest

Rest isn’t just about sleep (although that’s important). It’s about allowing your mind and body to recover. Studies show that rest helps reduce cortisol, the stress hormone, which can otherwise impair cognitive function. By resting, you’re sharpening your focus, enhancing your memory, and boosting your ability to manage emotions.

When you’re rested, you’re more effective, confident, and composed—qualities every executive needs to lead. That’s what makes rest an essential productivity tool.

Productivity Tool: The 7 Types of Rest Every Executive Needs

According to Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith there are seven different types of rest. It’s not just about getting enough sleep at night. Let’s talk about how to rest in a way that supports your role as a high-performing executive.

1. Physical Rest

This is the type of rest most of us think about—adequate sleep, naps, and downtime for your body to recover. It also includes simple practices like stretching, yoga, or even deep breathing.

When I started prioritizing physical rest, I noticed a dramatic difference in how I showed up at work. I no longer felt groggy during morning meetings or relied on those Snicker bars to power through.

2. Mental Rest

Mental rest means giving your brain a break from constant decision-making and problem-solving. This can be as simple as stepping away from your desk for five minutes or journaling at the end of the day. 

Rest allows your mind to reset, making it a powerful productivity tool.

3. Emotional Rest

Navigating microaggressions or feeling unheard in the workplace can take a toll. Emotional rest involves creating safe spaces to release these stressors—whether that’s through therapy, coaching, or spending time with people who uplift you.

4. Social Rest

Not all relationships are energizing. Social rest means limiting interactions with people who drain you and focusing on connections that bring joy and support.

5. Spiritual Rest

This type of rest helps you reconnect with your sense of purpose. For some, it’s prayer or meditation; for others, it might be spending time in nature or practicing gratitude.

6. Sensory Rest

Our screens are always demanding our attention. Sensory rest is about unplugging from overstimulation—turning off notifications, reducing screen time, and enjoying quiet moments.

7. Creative Rest

As an executive, you’re constantly solving problems and brainstorming ideas. Creative rest replenishes your ability to innovate by exposing yourself to beauty and inspiration, such as art, music, or nature. This is particularly useful as a productivity tool when you need fresh solutions to challenges.

Why Black Women Need This Productivity Tool More Than Ever

Facing Unique Challenges

As a Black woman in leadership, you’re not just managing your team or meeting deadlines. You’re also navigating biases, proving your worth, and often carrying the unspoken weight of being a role model for others who look like you. These unique pressures make rest even more critical for maintaining your mental and emotional well-being.

Breaking the Superwoman Complex

Many of us struggle with the idea that we have to “do it all.” But the truth is, no one wins when you’re running on empty. Not you, not your team, and certainly not your family. Embracing rest is about giving yourself permission to step back and recharge so you can show up as your best self. Rest, when used intentionally, becomes a productivity tool that helps you perform better without the risk of burnout.

How to Incorporate This Productivity Tool Without Feeling Guilty

Redefine Rest as a Power Move

Rest isn’t about laziness. It’s about sustainability. When you prioritize rest, you’re investing in your productivity, creativity, and longevity as a leader. Think of it as your ultimate productivity tool for thriving in high-pressure environments.

Practical Productivity Tool for Busy Executives

1. Schedule It: Block time in your calendar for rest just as you would for an important meeting.

2. Start Small: Begin with 5-10 minutes of rest during your workday, whether it’s stepping outside for fresh air or practicing mindfulness. With the goal of reaching 20-30 minutes. According to a study by Frontiers, when you spend 20-30 minutes in nature, it reduces your cortisol levels by over 20%.

3. Delegate: You don’t have to do everything yourself. Trust your team to handle tasks so you can focus on what truly matters. Read my blog, 5 Simple Delegation Strategies That Empower Teams, for a detailed look at delegation strategies that work.

Overcoming Barriers to Rest

Letting Go of Guilt

One of the biggest challenges is the guilt associated with resting. Society often makes Black women feel like rest is indulgent, but it’s not. Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Rest is a productivity tool that helps you serve others more effectively. Read my blog, Breaking Free from the Guilt Trap: Prioritizing Self-Care as a Black Woman Leader, for more information getting rest and self-care without the guilt.

Setting Boundaries

Be clear about your availability and protect your downtime. Communicate your boundaries to colleagues and loved ones, and stick to them.

Real-Life Transformation: Rest as a Productivity Tool

I once coached a senior executive who was on the brink of burnout. She felt like she couldn’t slow down because her team depended on her. Together, we created a rest routine that included 15 minutes of mindfulness daily and two evenings a week completely unplugged from work. 

Within a month, she reported feeling more energized, creative, and focused. And her team noticed the difference. Rest became her secret productivity tool.

Final Thoughts

Rest is your secret weapon for sustained success. It’s not just about feeling good. It’s about showing up as the visionary leader you are. When you prioritize rest, you’re not only investing in your well-being but also setting an example for others to do the same.

Take Action

Are you ready to make rest a part of your productivity strategy? Download my free “Make A Living, Make A Life“ eBook to get started. Let’s redefine success together—because you deserve to thrive, not just survive.

I’m an ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and a certified executive coach for Twanna Carter Professional & Personal Coaching, LLC. I flubbed my first career transition from the military so badly, it took me the next 10+ years to build my confidence and  recover. I know what it feels like to struggle with imposter syndrome and uncertainty about my leadership skills in the workplace. It’s why I am dedicated to empowering Black women. Helping them navigate career challenges and uncertainty by providing them with the tools and strategies they need to be successful. Schedule a V.I.P. Roadmap session today.

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Curated Reads: Essential Books to Add to Your Personal Library 

1. Melaninated Magic: 180 Affirmations to Nurture Your Soul and Unleash Your Black Girl Joy by Twanna Carter, PhD
2. Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity by Saundra Dalton-Smith, MD
3. I’m Not Yelling: A Black Woman’s Guide to Navigating the Workplace (Successful Black Business Women), Elizabeth Leiba.
4. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler.
5. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini.
6. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
7. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg.
8. Dare to Lead by Brene Brown.
9. The Memo, by Minda Harts.
10. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by James Clear
11. Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life, by Jamie Kern Lima
12. 33 Tools to Remake Your Career by Paul Gabriel Dionne