How do you manage to relax without feeling guilty for doing that?

You should never feel guilty for relax yourself. Without relax and rest there is no progress and creativity.

What helps me is consciously designating time for that. When I look at a week, I know that it is smart to get some high quality relaxation. So I might say: Tuesday evening starting from 8PM is ONLY for relaxation. When Tuesday evening comes I know that I made that conscious decision to relax and that I felt it would be a good thing to do when I made that decision, so I won't feel guilty.

I measured my progress during the days where I didn't allow myself to relax and during the days where I did. As soon as you realize that some brief relaxation is a necessary part of peak performance, the mind starts to see it as a means to get you to the desired result.

I'm in the boat of full-time job and side project that eats most of my free time. I try to set small goals and reward myself with a day off after finishing a goal if I start feeling a bit word down.

Keep telling yourself that you deserve it. If you're not taking care of your self, how can you take care of your family, work, side projects? The best version of you will yield the best output of you into the World.

I normally take one hour before I go to sleep where I only do stuff that relaxes me and that I really like to do - f.e. listening to a podcast, read a book, take a shower to wash off the day or stretch a little while I focus on my breath. And sometimes it really helps to sit in the dark and just stare out the window :) I like that a lot

I am random, as some days I am super productive, and others I am fighting against the waves. So. Many. Factors. Can't A/B test. Cry in shame. But on a serious note, I each person is unique and some days when you are on a 'roll' you have to, well, roll with it! Then other days learn to accept that it's not your day and use some time to relax. I just found that trying to create a ridged schedule did not work for me, but I think a daily commitment is realistic for most people for X hours, just don't beat yourself up when you stray from the schedule!

I can definitely relate to those feelings of guilt. A switch I have made recently that seems to be helping is narrowing the scope of the side projects I am working on. Prior to this I would be working on up to five side projects at any given moment. I whittled this down to one and have intentionally restricted myself from working on anything. Thus far the narrower focus and intentionally acknowledging that I'm not going to be able to get everything done has helped.

Plan your breaks and relaxing times in advance. Make a week plan. That will give you confidence when you are all the way into working mode. Check out daycaptain.com which we built for doing this. ❤️ I also wrote a blog post on this: daycaptain.com/entries/why-planning.html

Nope, never ever feel guilty for 'me time'. For side projects, assign the time you are able to give to that project (Thursday nights for example), maybe it's between 6am and 8am before work? But never ever compromise on 'you time'. Seen it happen, for your mental and physical health look after it.

Ooh I was going to ask this here last week since I struggled with this. I found a solution that works. 1) Set designated work times and off times. I only work on weekdays and Saturday (or whatever you want) and set timings. Work during these hours so you don't feel guilty during the off hours. 2) Give yourself permission to take a break and relax. This is important. It will not work if you don't give yourself permission. 3) Be mindful of what you do when you work. Do not take in more than you can handle. It's a marathon not a sprint.

Creativity is a byproduct of relaxation bordering boredom. If you are not relaxed, you will feel a lot more guilty at an older age without knowing the reason why.