Recovery is more than rest.

Why more self-care alone isn't the answer when you're a leader.

As I write this, I notice how tired I am.

I mean deeply tired. In-my-bones kind of tired.

Conventional wisdom gives us the prescription to “rest more” and “do more self-care.”

Yet I personally have never quite found that alone to fully work for me...

I noticed this particularly, this week, as I'm emerging (slowly) from my hole after our recent rebrand to Canopy.

Over the weekend, I did what the doctor had prescribed:

Slept in. Got a massage. Went for a run. Did some sketching. Had meaningful conversations with family and friends...

Rest, check. Self-care, check.

Yet Monday hit me like a brick wall. Tuesday was slightly better, but still arduous in a way I didn’t expect…

Was it really “more rest” that I needed? Maybe.

Or maybe it was lack of buffer. A lack of transition from one mode to the next.

I realized that recovery as a leader is NOT just about getting away from the work. True recovery as a leader is about our orientation when we return back to our work.

Recovery is not just rest. Recovery involves reentry.

When we return back to our work, we must take a beat. A moment to reassess the work in front of us. To check in with our own energy levels and be realistic about how those meet the expectations of the work.

Pause, observe, readjust, reset, recalibrate.

Notice what’s working and not, how you’re feeling and your team is feeling – and adapt.

Recovering from a big project, draining season at work, is more than just getting away from work. It’s about choosing to reenter that work mindful of where you’re at and your team is at.

Don’t just rest to recover as a leader:  Be intentional with your reentry.

I’ll be noting this for myself, for next time.

This is the first post of our brand new Canopy Newsletter, where I share on-the-ground learnings of leadership, working with 30,000+ leaders, and my own personal learnings running Canopy as its CEO Claire Lew. To stay updated on what I write, subscribe for free below…