Rest As Strategy: Why we need to stop to keep going

Let’s start with a truth bomb: rest isn’t laziness. It’s not indulgence. And it’s definitely not optional if you’re building a long-term creative life.

In the arts, we’ve normalised overwork and burnout as “part of the job” but the data tells us it’s not working. For our health, for our industry, or for our art.

So, what if instead of pushing harder, we made rest part of the plan?

🧠

Rest Is Brain Fuel

Research shows that downtime isn’t just good for us—it’s essential for cognitive performance and creativity. A 2012 study from the University of California, Santa Barbara found that participants who took breaks and let their minds wander showed a 41% improvement in creative problem-solving compared to those who didn’t rest at all.

Let that sink in. Doing nothing made people more creative.

Another study from the Association for Psychological Science found that sleep specifically helps the brain make remote associations and novel connections a key part of the creative process. Translation: your next big idea might come while you’re asleep, not while slogging through one more task.

🔥

Burnout in the Arts Is Real (And It’s Measurable)

If you’re feeling drained, you’re not imagining it. A 2023 report by the Australia Council for the Arts (now Creative Australia) showed that 54% of creative workers report moderate to severe levels of psychological distress more than double the national average.

Let’s call that what it is: a crisis.

The 2020 “Making Art Work” study found that:

• 82% of artists earned below the national minimum wage

• 1 in 3 had no access to superannuation or paid leave

• Most worked across multiple jobs just to make ends meet

When you’re hustling just to survive, rest becomes a privilege instead of a right—but that’s exactly why it needs to be reclaimed as strategy, not an afterthought.

🎯

Rest Boosts Productivity (Seriously)

Here’s where it gets spicy: rest isn’t just good for you it’s good for your output. According to research from Harvard Business Review, taking time off:

• Increases productivity by 31%

• Boosts creativity by 33%

• Improves happiness by 37%

And yet, Australia consistently ranks high for “leave unused.” We’ve got a culture of burnout but it’s not serving anyone.

✊

Rest as Resistance

For many creatives especially those who are First Nations, disabled, neurodivergent, or from other marginalised communities rest is more than self-care. It’s political.

These communities have historically been expected to give more, work harder, and produce under systems not designed with their wellbeing in mind. The pressure to constantly “prove” value, be hyper-visible, or outperform to be seen as “worthy” of funding, stage time, or support—is exhausting.

In her powerful work, Tricia Hersey, founder of The Nap Ministry, puts it plainly:

“Rest is a form of resistance because it disrupts and pushes back against capitalism and white supremacy.”

While her work is grounded in the context of Black liberation in the U.S., her message resonates across borders: rest can be a radical reclaiming of time, agency, and personhood, especially in systems that value production over people.

In the Australian arts sector, this lands alongside ongoing conversations around cultural load, ableism in rehearsal and touring schedules, and the structural inequities that shape who gets to rest—and who doesn’t.

Rest, in this sense, becomes refusal. Refusal to measure your worth by your output. Refusal to internalise grind culture as the default. Refusal to sacrifice your wellbeing just to stay in the game.

Reclaiming rest is reclaiming your body, your time, and your creative power.

💬

So What Does Strategic Rest Look Like?

It might look like:

• Blocking one day per week where no work-related activities are allowed

• Using “quiet hours” in your calendar to protect thinking space

• Saying no to back-to-back gigs with no recovery buffer

• Scheduling a week per quarter for decompression, creative recharging, or just… being

It’s not about checking out forever. It’s about making sustainable work possible.

🧰

At Hey Mate, We Design for Recovery

We’re not just talking about bubble baths and downtime (though we love those too). At Hey Mate, we build rest into systems:

• Mental Health First Aid training that prevents emotional burnout

• Peer-to-peer support programs that normalise taking a break

• Workshops and toolkits that help artists navigate boundaries, stress, and overwork

Because we know: a thriving arts sector isn’t one that runs on empty.

👋 TL;DR: You Don’t Have to Earn Rest

You are not a machine. You are not your output. And despite what the hustle might whisper in your ear at midnight, you do not need to burn out to prove you care.

Rest is a strategy. Rest is sustainability. Rest is survival.

You deserve it… always.