The Day I Rebelled........(and no one died!)

PLEASE NOTE that this is an old blog post and we no longer provide a sewing service!

A few days ago, I did a really rebellious thing that was so outside my comfort zone ………..... I finished work for the day at 3.30pm!

Now, you may not think this is a big deal, but I have spent over 25 years in business, trying to prove to the outside world that I have a legitimate business & have been religious with my work hours. My business was open between 9-5 like a “real” business (of course, I worked many more hours than that, but that’s another blog post!). Deliveries & pickups were between these hours & emails were only answered then.

So what lead to me being so insubordinate & defiant……

An extremely busy 3 months in my business was leaving me feeling a little like a hamster on a wheel. I honestly can say that I have always loved my job & strangely to other people, I love Mondays as much as I love Fridays! But lately, I’ve been a bit deflated.

So with this existing underlying feeling, I then had an uncomfortable conversation with a customer who was quite annoyed that I wouldn’t continue to hold her hand & virtually do all the work for her setting up her clothing business. I explained that we were sewers & manufacturers & were not paid to adjust patterns, source fabrics & spend hours discussing whether or not a t-shirt should be topstitched! This is the role of the business owner & if more help is needed, find a suitable business coach or mentor.

Anyway, this particular afternoon, I decided I needed a break. The sewing machines were unplugged, answering machine turned on & live chat went offline.

I then did something crazy….. I shut the door of the workroom & went out into the garden. I spent the next 2 hours out with nature & then enjoyed cooking a delicious meal. This was not my usual quick go to stir fry but a meal I actually had time to cook & enjoy the process. Because I was relaxed & my day was running earlier than usual, I went to bed earlier that night & caught up on much needed sleep.

And the result? I turned up to work the next day with an amazing burst of energy, ready to take on any problems that might have come my way that day. I tackled some orders that were a little difficult & breezed through them.

And you know what? Nobody died because I wasn’t at work for 1 &1/2 hours the afternoon before!!!! There was no worldwide catastrophe or even an email that needed to be answered before the morning. The world kept turning while I was replenishing my soul in my garden. The only thing that changed was me! I came back to work with a spring in my step- all because I decided to take a couple of hours for myself.

It sounded totally counter intuitive when I was extremely busy to take some time off but it was exactly what I needed. You should try it sometime!