Take Time to Recharge After Hosting Your Summit
If you're an experienced summit host, you know this feeling well: You just pulled off something incredible, and hosted a virtual summit that most people will never have the courage to attempt. Your event is done, your attendees are celebrating their wins, and momentum is building in your business!
So why do you feel... weird? Maybe a little directionless? Kind of bummed out even though things went well?
In this episode, I'm giving you the pep talk you probably need right now about why rest after a summit isn't just nice to have - it's absolutely essential for your long-term success, your creativity, and honestly, your sanity.
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Why You Actually Need to Rest After Your Summit
Summits Require a Lot of Energy
You've been in go mode for months. Even if you had an amazing team handling a lot of the work, even if you loved every minute of the process, even if everything went smoothly - your body and brain have been anticipating this big event that was going to change your business.
That mental energy, that emotional output, that forward-thinking planning... it all adds up!
The Post-Summit Blues Are Real
After the adrenaline and excitement from your event, there's often a natural crash. You might feel directionless for a bit, maybe even sad that it's over. Your business has momentum, your community is buzzing, people are engaging - but the event itself is done.
This is completely normal, and it's actually the perfect opportunity for a reset.
Did You Accidentally Train Your Body to Need Constant Projects?
It's so common for online business owners to constantly be moving from one project to the next. Did you know that you can actually train your body and brain to think they need a big project going on all the time? If you're used to being in "goal mode" all the time, you may have trained yourself to feel like you have to constantly have a new big project on the horizon, like it's not safe to slow down. If that's you, it might feel really strange to slow down and give yourself time to recharge after your summit, but taking time to rest and recharge first is so important.
Intentionally taking a break helps you break out of that cycle. Rest allows your nervous system to come down and reset, and it's what sustains you for longer-term success.
You Just Deserve It!
And beyond all of that, you just pulled off something incredible, and you deserve it! Full stop.
The Deeper Benefits of Post-Summit Rest
This didn't come naturally to me, but over time, I've really started to realize the deeper benefits of taking this time to rest after a summit. It's not just about giving yourself a break. It really goes so much further than that.
It prevents burnout. Rest keeps your creativity alive and helps you stay lit up and excited about your business.
It gives you perspective. Time away lets you reflect on how things went and what ideas you have for next time. If your summit went well, you get to actually sit in that and enjoy it rather than jumping to the next thing. If it didn't go as planned, you get time to reflect and reset without the emotional intensity of being right in the middle of it.
It reminds you what actually matters. I always have that moment when I step away where I think, "Oh wait, why was I so obsessed about my business? All of this is actually about what matters" - my family, my faith, the bigger picture. But we need to step away before we can have that reset.
It proves your business can run without you. Taking time off helps you trust your systems, trust your team, and trust the business you've created. Your business is not going to crumble if you take a week or two off.
If you want to hear more about how to avoid burnout during the summit planning process itself, check out Episode 284: A 6-Figure Summit Launch While Prioritizing Values and Avoiding Burnout with Steffeny Feld and Episode 188: Overwhelm is Optional: Resilient Time Management to Launch Your Virtual Summit with Stacy Brookman.
Building a Habit of Rest
I used to feel like I couldn't take time off. I'd go all year without doing much of anything beyond maybe a long weekend at a nearby water park. The end of the year was the only time I'd actually take time off, and I'd always feel so much resistance around giving myself a break.
It would take me a few days to settle into it. I wasn't instantly like, "Oh wow, this is so nice." I was more like, "Oh my gosh, I want to work" for a couple days. But then I'd settle in and suddenly not want to go back.
Now? I have one week off per quarter blocked in my calendar. Sometimes I have nowhere to go and nothing to do, but I take that week off anyway. And it feels so good to come back refreshed, open-minded, and ready to dive into what's next.
Building this habit has shown me it's safe for my business to run without me. It's shown me that I need this for myself, for my clients, for my team, for everything.
What My Breaks Look Like
I don't typically take off the week right after a summit because that's when we're launching our offers and supporting new clients. But I do take a full week off within two or three weeks of the event.
As long as I can tell I'm in a good place, I might let myself work on fun things - but as far as my clients and team know, I'm gone. Mostly, I'm crocheting, reading, going places with the kids, maybe doing some watercolor painting (which I'm not the best at, but it's fun).
One of my clients, Pam, stops everything after a summit besides her post-summit launch and keeps her schedule really light for the entire month following. She feels like it takes quite a while to recover from being so focused for those three months.
Look at what might work best for you and the way you work.
Using Your Rest Period Intentionally
If you are a reflective type, maybe you use this time to think about how you'll use the momentum you have now, what the summit showed you about your audience, or where you want to focus next.
If that sounds like a drag to you, I'm going to encourage you to just chill. Give yourself that space to rest and relax.
Rest Is Part of Your Growth Strategy
Even an enjoyable summit requires time to rest and recover. I really see rest as part of your growth strategy, as part of keeping your business sustainable.
You can celebrate and reflect and rest without losing momentum in your business. The calmer you are, the more reset you are post-summit, the clearer you're going to feel on your next steps.
Give yourself the space to prove that so you can believe it!
Resources
- Episode 188: Overwhelm is Optional: Resilient Time Management to Launch Your Virtual Summit with Stacy Brookman
- Episode 284: A 6-Figure Summit Launch While Prioritizing Values and Avoiding Burnout with Steffeny Feld.
- Summit Host Hangout® Facebook group
- Launch with a Summit Accelerator®
- 6-Figure Summits Workshop Bundle
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