As a freelance web designer, balancing work and personal life can feel like walking a tightrope. On the one hand, I love what I do, crafting unique designs and solving problems for clients. On the other, there’s the constant pressure to be “on” all the time. Late-night emails, weekend revisions, and the inevitable thoughts of projects that sneak into my mind just when I’m about to relax.
When I picked up Rest Is Resistance by Tricia Hersey, I was not exactly the target audience, but her message of reclaiming rest struck a chord.
Hersey’s manifesto calls for us to see rest as more than just a way to recharge. She argues that rest is a form of resistance, especially for marginalised communities, against a world that equates our worth with our productivity. While my own experience as a web designer might not carry the weight of systemic oppression, I certainly feel the cultural expectation to be productive at all costs. There’s a nagging sense that if I’m not working, I’m falling behind.
The positives: a wake-up call
One of the most powerful takeaways from Rest Is Resistance is its reminder that rest is not just about getting more energy for work. It’s about stepping off the treadmill entirely, at least for a little while. For someone like me, who often feels like work spills over into evenings and weekends, this changes things. Hersey’s message feels like permission to stop and actually enjoy time off, guilt-free. I’ve found myself rethinking my approach to “downtime.” It’s made me realise that my evenings are not a space to squeeze in “just one more thing” or polish that final bit of code, they are for rest.
The idea of leaving work at work sounds simple, but in reality, it’s incredibly difficult. Hersey encourages readers to honour the need for rest, which has helped me start drawing clearer lines between my workday and personal time. It’s a struggle I’ve had for years, often feeling like I need to answer that client email at 9pm or open my laptop on a Sunday morning because of a looming deadline. The book helped me see this as part of a larger culture of overwork, something we’ve all been conditioned to accept as normal. But, as Hersey suggests, it’s not sustainable.
The negatives: a hard pill to swallow
Despite its empowering message, I found some of the ideas in Rest Is Resistance challenging to apply. Hersey’s call to rest often feels radical, almost too radical for someone who makes a living as a freelancer. The idea of completely switching off from work can be anxiety-inducing when you know clients expect you to be reachable, even outside “normal” hours. There’s a fear that taking more time to rest might mean losing business or missing out on opportunities.
Another hurdle is the sense that, in creative fields like web design, work and play sometimes blend together. Inspiration does not always follow a 9-to-5 schedule. There are times when an idea will strike late at night, or I will come across a design trend over the weekend that I want to explore. Is it possible to rest fully when creativity itself does not have boundaries? This is where Hersey’s message can feel a little at odds with the reality of freelance life.
The ongoing struggle of balance
While Rest Is Resistance offers some valuable insights, the tension remains. It is still a challenge to leave work behind when it’s always just a screen away. The book has helped me realise that rest is not something I need to “earn” after finishing a project, but something I should value in its own right. However, actually implementing this in a way that fits my workflow remains a work in progress.
What has changed is my relationship with weekends and evenings. I’m starting to protect that time more fiercely, even if it means turning down last-minute requests or resisting the urge to check emails before bed. It is not perfect, and sometimes work still encroaches on personal time, but the awareness alone has been a step forward.
My personal takeaway
At its heart, Rest Is Resistance is a reminder that we are more than what we produce. For me, the book has underscored the importance of leaving work at work, even when work is always within reach. The struggle to switch off is real, and Hersey does not offer a magic solution. But her words have given me a framework to think about rest as something sacred, a space to reclaim from the constant pressure to do more.
For any other freelancers or web designers out there, I recommend reading Rest Is Resistance, not because it has all the answers, but because it forces us to ask the right questions. How much are we giving to work? And how much are we keeping for ourselves? I am still figuring it out, but I am learning that rest, like anything worth having, takes practice.
