The most underused, chemical-free, safe and effective therapy available for entrepreneurs
This is my last newsletter of the year. My team and I have been strategizing our winter break since September, and planning projects around everyone’s holiday schedules.
Three days to go, and I’m off until January.
Three blissful weeks of laying by the fireplace reading books like Midnight At The Christmas Bookshop and Shopaholic Christmas, eating entire boxes of clementines all by myself, and shredding what limited powder we get here in Southern Ontario ⛷️.
It’s been quite a year, holy moley. I’m sooo ready to start winter break.
And I’m not the only one who feels like they’re crawling toward the finish line. Many of my clients are saying, “I’ve got about thirty minutes of productivity daily, I think there might be something clinically wrong with me.” Not because business is bad – some of my mastermind members have had their most profitable years ever, including one member whose revenue is up just shy of 100%. Our revenue is up a bit too.
…but everyone I know is so tired and ready to say “buh-bye” to 2025, and “hello” to an extended egg nog season.
This is your friendly reminder, as we head into the holiday season, to get very intentional about rest.
You were not built to be a factory of non-stop productivity. No matter what size business you have (even if it’s imaginary at this point), the FIRSTNAME factory cannot stay open 24/7/365.
If you’re inexplicably tired like me, if your productivity is slower than old molasses, if (especially if!) you feel anxious and like you can’t actually afford to rest, you are most likely suffering from a “rest deficit.”
In Dr. Saundra Daulton-Smith’s TedTalk The real reason why we are tired and what to do about it, she says, of our rest-averse world…
“The result is a culture of high-achieving, high-producing, chronically-tired, burned out individuals. Many of us are suffering from a rest-deficit because we do not understand the power of rest. Rest is the most underused, chemical-free, safe and effective therapy available to us.”
I challenge you, instead of blowing past this email and tackling the next thing on your to-do list, to take a second and add three (yes, three!) intentional rest options to your holiday schedule.
Here are some ideas you can steal from me, which are based on the seven types of rest outlined in Dr. Daulton-Smith’s TedTalk:
Social Rest
>> asking my barber for a no-talking haircut
>> spending Wednesday nights with my single self (I miss her!)
Sensory Rest
>> shoveling my driveway without earbuds in
>> taking a year off Candy Crush—one of my biggest victories of 2025
Spiritual Rest
>> going to an al-anon meeting for people who’ve experienced loss
>> sitting on my kitchen floor and trying to sing the harmonies in songs like this one
Physical Rest
>> hitting the slopes solo — two birds, one seed ‘cuz it’s social rest, too!
>> doing a maximum lazy workout at the gym (still counts!)
Creative Rest
>> hosting a family game of Texas Hold-Em
>> playing “guess which part of my body I’m drumming with” with my 6yo (I always win this game, except for the time Mo farted on my drum which not even my well-trained ear could guess!)
Mental Rest
>> reading paperbacks with “Christmas” in the title
>> listing to the entire Jesus is King album in a single sitting
Emotional Rest
>> taking time off reading the news
>> reading poetry by Andrea Gibson
If you want to go deeper on this topic, you need to subscribe to Maegen Megginson’s Deeply Rested newsletter and podcast of the same name. Maegan tuned me into the idea that rest can include a lot of things that aren’t “sit quietly and do nothing.” Thank God, because that is not within my skillset.
If it would be helpful, hit “reply” and tell me one restful thing you do that doesn’t quite fall into the category of rest but truly nourishes you.
That’s a wrap on 2025! Back in your inbox in January. I would love to end this email more gracefully but unfortunately I’ve used up my annual allotment of graceful endings.
Wishing you peace and rest this holiday season,
Tarzan
Tarzan Kalryzian [she/they]
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Links to Love
Allyn Miller at Child Connection created this 12 Days of Centeredness series on YouTube. She shares 12 different techniques for feeling calmer despite the holiday hustle.
I loved my session with Madre Ixchel. Her Tonalli Session is a spiritual cosmogram reading rooted in the Nahua tonalpohualli, a sacred Indigenous calendar that determines your unique energy design based on your birthday. I left my session with clearer self-understanding, practices to do at home, and tools for self-care and even business alignment. Holiday pricing ($111) is available for a limited time. Book yours here →
New Media Summit is where New Media creators (you, me, all the cool people who write newsletters) are gathering to network, swap tactics, and learn. It’s happening Feb 26-27 in Austin TX. Enjoy two days of strategy + networking with people who get your business. Use code TARZAN25 to save 25% off your ticket →
A dose of happiness in case you need it. This TikTok of animals choosing their humans is a must-watch.
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We need support for The Girlboss Apology Tour
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