The A La Carte

Today I’m dog sitting again. There are lots of paws on the floor, snores on the couch, and I’m doing that thing where I try to both rest and work and catch up on my whole life… all at once.

(Spoiler: it doesn’t really work that way.)

I’m also trying to ward off burnout for the eleventy-billionth day in a row. That heavy-limbed, foggy-brained kind where everything feels slightly too loud and slightly too much.

As business owners, we know we need time off. We’ve read the articles, heard the podcasts, even said the words out loud: “rest is productive.”
But do we actually listen? Do we build our lives and businesses in a way that honors that or even puts it in our schedules?

Or do we, like me, stack our “time off” with side gigs, pet sitting, emotional labor, and that ever-looming “should” list?

Even when I’m watching dogs I love (and these two definitely fall in that category), I’m still on in a way. Still responsible. Still unavailable to myself fully.

And then there’s this weird kind of energetic trickery that happens…

You know those days when you’re deep in work or chaos, and suddenly your brain is like, “Let’s organize the whole house!”
Except you can’t, because you’re not there. Not physically, not mentally, not logistically. (Oh, is this just me and my ADHD?)

And when you do finally get to the space, when the timing aligns… the energy is gone. Burnout takes its place.
What could’ve been joyful becomes just another thing you’re too tired to do.

It’s a frustrating pattern.
And I don’t have a solution. Just a noticing.

Maybe part of the work is learning to trust that the right energy will return when it’s time.
Maybe it’s learning to rest anyway, even if there’s something undone.
Maybe it’s forgiving ourselves for not doing it all perfectly.

Or maybe it’s just making a cup of tea while the dogs snore (or currently wrestle in the other room) and writing those thoughts down here.

Either way, I’m glad you’re here.

xo,
Ande

P.S. Part of the reason I am opening up the A La Carte umbrella, is to make some of these side hustles more a part of the main hustle, so I can be my full authentic self more often.