I was chatting with a friend last week and she asked how work was going. I was honest with her.

“I’m not working a lot these days,” I said. I explained I had stopped almost all my marketing for the summer.

“Oh, so you outsourced! Good for you!” She said.

“Nope. I didn’t outsource. I just stopped doing it.”

Insert big gulps and slow blinks.

The content machine of newsletters, blog posts and social media has practically ground to a halt.

You see, I knew I wanted to slow down in summer to spend time with my kids, so I planned that into my business seasonally. But what I didn't know is that my kids would go through what seems like 12 months worth of illnesses in four weeks, just swapping them back and forth so someone’s always sick and mom is never working. When I am working, I’m solely focused on my existing members, which leaves zero space for chasing new business or big-picture strategy.

And do you want to know what's happened?

Absolutely nothing. I’m here to assure you:

Whether you’re conquering the world or just treading water, the only people who even notice will be your tightest circle.

So if I can choose to hold my son while he fights a fever or work on a piece of content a few potential clients might notice online, I know which one I’m picking.

So if you’re feeling some pressure to be in a pedal to the metal, burning the midnight oil, checking off all the to-dos season, here is your permission to pause. Not outsource, just pause.