“I took a 29-hour break from writing to rest and recharge. In this reflection, I explore how stepping away helped me find clarity, face uncertainty, and rethink creativity sustainably.”
The Mental Reset Hit Me Hard
A day ago, I finally followed through on a challenge I had written about in three previous posts:
- Challenge Unlocked: Taking a 24 Hour Break From Writing (and My Blog Stats)
- The Archive Impulse: Why I Keep Writing Even When I Should Rest
- More Than Muscle: Living on the Edge of Sleep
I was to take 24 hours away from writing and let my mind and body rest. I had ignored my own advice before, rushing back to my blog the second I posted, thinking every second offline was wasted.
This time, I made it work. I rested. I spent time with my family. I cleaned, I laughed, I ate a proper meal, I even napped. And yes, I went 29 hours instead of 24. But that extra five hours didn’t just extend the challenge — it shifted something in me.
After publishing my reflection, I found myself staring at my iPad while eating leftovers and thinking:
“I have no idea what I want to talk about now…”
Facing the Blank Space
“But Archivist,” you might ask, “didn’t you already write a reflection?”
Yes, I did, my pantomiming reader that’s not speaking in my voice. But that was the short-term reflection. Today, in the quiet aftermath, I’m staring at the long-term questions: What comes next? Tomorrow? This week? Next month? Later in the future?
It’s disorienting. I could keep looking at the next post like a ticking clock, but I don’t want to. I want to feel my way into what matters next — without forcing it.
Something Unexpected Happened
What I realized is that rest isn’t just about stepping away. It’s about creating space to notice what you haven’t been seeing. In those 29 hours, I:
Rediscovered the pleasure of cleaning my own space. Ate without distraction. Spent uninterrupted time with family. Fixed small hazards I’d been ignoring, like moldy shower curtains.
And in doing all of that, I noticed something bigger: stepping away recharges more than your body. It clears the mental fog that makes even your own words feel heavy.
The Long-Term Challenge
So now I’m staring at the future — at the blank screen of tomorrow. And that’s okay. The uncertainty isn’t failure; it’s possibility. It’s permission to explore, experiment, and figure out what resonates, both for me and for the people who quietly follow this corner of the internet.
I don’t need to have the answers today. I just need to keep showing up — sometimes writing, sometimes resting, sometimes reflecting — and trusting that both the quiet readers and the new ones will find value in the journey.
Reflection & Call to Action
Maybe you’ve felt the same way: the fatigue, the pressure to produce, the moment where even your own passion feels foreign. You’re not alone. Rest isn’t giving up. Uncertainty isn’t failure. Both are part of creating sustainably.
If this resonates with you, drop a comment, share your own experiences, or subscribe to follow along. Every interaction helps others find this little corner of the internet, and reminds us that creativity, rest, and reflection can coexist.
Keep showing up. Keep exploring. Keep letting the blank pages teach you what matters next.
My Thanks to All Who Found Themselves Here at the End
Thank you for taking the time to read this post from the beginning to end. You could have spent your time doing anything else, but you chose to spend it here in this little pocket of the internet with me.
I’d like to share with all you readers a few things that I’ve made that you can check out at anytime curiosity strikes.
No pressure, no guilt, just for whenever you feel like looking into the gifts I’ve prepared here.
- The Stratagem’s Manifesto 1.0
- The Stratagem’s Manifesto 1.5
- Two Manifestos + A Gift (For Fellow Archivists)
- Letters from the Void Newsletter
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