For many small business owners, weekends are not truly weekends.
They are just quieter workdays.
That was true for me for a long time. If I was sitting in my recliner, my laptop was usually nearby. If I was supposed to be watching TV, part of my mind was still working on the website, answering emails, checking orders, writing blog articles, or thinking through the next project.
I was not fully working.
But I was not fully resting either.
I had created a habit of half-working all the time.
Seven days a week, there was always some temptation to check one more thing, fix one more page, answer one more email, or look at one more report. Even vacations were not safe from it. I was one of those people who brought work with me “just in case” a chance came up to sneak in a couple of hours.
Looking back, I can see how unhealthy that was.
At the time, I probably would have called it dedication.
Now, I am not so sure.
The Vacation Where Work Was Prohibited
This past Fourth of July was the first vacation I can remember where work was 100% prohibited.
No laptop.
No checking emails.
No checking website orders.
No sneaking in a few hours.
No “I’ll just handle this real quick.”
Work was off limits.
That may not sound radical to some people, but for me, it was a major change. It connected closely to something I wrote about in another blog, “The Small Moments Matter.” Sometimes the biggest changes in life are not dramatic. They are quiet decisions to be fully present where God has placed us.
That Fourth of July trip was one of those moments.
But the motivation for that decision actually started about six months earlier.
What Started the Sabbath Experiment
About six months ago, I read a book about honoring the Sabbath.
At first, I was curious.
Then I was challenged.
Then, honestly, I was skeptical.
As a small business owner, the idea of taking a full day every week with no work felt almost irresponsible. No emails. No social media. No checking sales orders. No website updates. No planning. No catching up. No business. Nada.
Just rest.
Just worship.
Just reflection.
Just family.
Just time to step away and trust that everything did not depend on me keeping my hands on it seven days a week.
That was harder than I expected.
Not because the rules were complicated, but because my habits were so deeply wired. I had become used to being available, connected, and mentally engaged with the business all the time.
Even when my body was home, my mind was often still at work.
What Sabbath Looks Like for Me Now
For me, honoring the Sabbath means creating a real boundary around work.
No checking email.
No checking orders.
No social media.
No working on the website.
No blog writing.
No business planning.
No “just one quick thing.”
Instead, the day is set aside for worship, reflection, family, and restoration.
One of my favorite parts has become hiking with our dogs, Newton and Winnie.
Newton is our four-year-old rescue black Lab mix. He is about 75 pounds. Winnie is our one-year-old rescue Great Pyrenees. She is about 80 pounds. Most Sabbath days, we take them on a five- to seven-mile hike using a tandem leash.
At 58 years old, let me tell you, that is a workout.
But it has become one of the most refreshing parts of my week.
There is something about getting outside, moving, breathing, praying, and stepping away from the constant pull of business that resets more than just your schedule. It resets your mind.
The Data Surprised Me
I wear a WHOOP device to track my health, recovery, sleep, and strain.
After six months of honoring the Sabbath, the evidence — at least for me — has been hard to ignore.
My stress is consistently lower on Sabbath days.
My resting heart rate is lower.
My sleep score is usually better.
My recovery is often higher than other nights of the week.
I want to be careful here. I am not making a medical claim, and I am not saying everyone will experience the same results. I am simply sharing what I have seen in my own life and my own health data.
For me, the pattern has been pretty clear.
When I truly stop working, my body seems to know it.
And it responds.
Rest Did Not Make Me Less Productive
One of the biggest fears I had was that taking a full day off would make me fall behind.
I thought I would lose momentum.
I thought I would be less productive.
I thought I would spend Monday digging out from everything I did not do over the weekend.
But something surprising happened.
I started waking up earlier.
I had more clarity.
I became more productive through the week.
I found myself approaching work with more energy and less resentment.
I was not dragging the same mental fatigue from one day into the next.
In a strange way, stopping one day helped me move better the other six.
That has been one of the biggest lessons for me.
Rest is not the enemy of productivity.
Rest may actually be part of what makes healthy productivity possible.
The Temptation to Always Be “On”
Small business ownership can create a dangerous mindset.
You begin to believe that if you are not working, something is falling apart.
If you are not watching the orders, you are being irresponsible.
If you are not answering emails quickly, you are failing customers.
If you are not using every spare hour to build something, improve something, fix something, or promote something, you are falling behind.
That mindset can feel noble.
But it can also become a trap.
There is a difference between diligence and constant striving.
There is a difference between stewardship and control.
There is a difference between working hard and refusing to rest.
For years, I blurred those lines.
The Sabbath has helped me see them more clearly.
Learning to Trust
Honoring the Sabbath has become more than a schedule change for me.
It has become an act of trust.
Trust that God is still working when I am not.
Trust that the business does not depend entirely on my constant attention.
Trust that rest is not laziness.
Trust that obedience matters, even when it does not make perfect business sense at first.
That may be the hardest part for many entrepreneurs.
We are used to solving problems. We are used to pushing through. We are used to carrying pressure. We are used to figuring things out.
But Sabbath asks a different question:
Can you stop?
Can you trust?
Can you receive rest instead of trying to earn it?
That has not been easy for me, but it has been good.
The Health of the Leader Matters
One thing I have learned over the years is that the health of a small business is often closely tied to the health of its leaders.
When I am stressed, tired, distracted, or overwhelmed, it affects more than me.
It affects my marriage.
It affects my patience.
It affects my creativity.
It affects my decision-making.
It affects how I teach.
It affects how I serve customers.
That is one reason this Sabbath practice has become so important to me. I do not want to simply work harder. I want to lead better. I want to serve better. I want to be more present with Tanya, our family, our team, and our customers.
A worn-out leader may still get things done.
But that does not mean he is leading well.
I Actually Look Forward to It Now
At first, honoring the Sabbath felt restrictive.
Now, I look forward to it.
That may be the strangest part of all.
The day I once feared would make me less productive has become one of the most important parts of my week.
I look forward to the quiet.
I look forward to worship.
I look forward to the hike.
I look forward to not checking my phone.
I look forward to giving my mind permission to stop chasing the next task.
I look forward to remembering that I am more than what I produce.
And honestly, I am curious to see what happens over time.
Will the health benefits plateau?
Will they continue to build?
I do not know.
But after six months, I can say this: honoring the Sabbath has changed the way I think about work, rest, stress, and productivity.
What This Means for KolorMatrix
KolorMatrix is built on the belief that business should be a blessing to the people we serve.
That includes our customers, our team, our family, and the printing community around us.
We believe in creating value through education, honest guidance, practical support, and products that help printers grow stronger businesses.
But if we want to serve well, we also have to live well.
That does not mean life is perfectly balanced. It does not mean we have everything figured out. It does not mean the pressure of business disappears.
It means we are learning.
We are learning that rest matters.
We are learning that faith must shape more than what we say. It must shape how we live, how we work, how we lead, and how we stop.
We are learning that sometimes the most productive thing a business owner can do is close the laptop, put the phone down, worship, walk, breathe, pray, and trust God with what remains unfinished.
The Lesson I Did Not Expect
When I started honoring the Sabbath, I thought I was testing whether rest would give me a positive return in life and business.
I wanted to know if it would help my stress.
I wanted to know if it would improve my health.
I wanted to know if I could still be productive while taking a full day away from work.
After six months, I have found something deeper than a productivity lesson.
I have found that rest is not something to squeeze in after everything else is finished.
Because everything is never finished.
There will always be another email.
Another order.
Another page to update.
Another project to start.
Another problem to solve.
Another opportunity to chase.
If I wait until everything is done before I rest, I will never truly rest.
The Sabbath reminds me that rest is not earned by finishing everything.
It is received by trusting God.
And for a small business owner who spent years half-working seven days a week, that has been a powerful lesson.
Still Learning
I am not writing this as someone who has mastered rest.
I am writing this as someone who needed to learn how to stop.
I still feel the temptation to check in.
I still have ideas that try to pull me back into work mode.
I still have moments where I wonder what I am missing.
But I am learning that obedience often produces fruit we did not expect.
For me, honoring the Sabbath has lowered stress, improved recovery, helped my sleep, increased my productivity, and reminded me that my identity cannot be built only around work.
It has helped me become more present.
More rested.
More grateful.
More aware.
And hopefully, a better husband, leader, teacher, and servant to the people God has placed in my life.
That is a return worth paying attention to.
Related Reflections from KolorMatrix
If this reflection connected with you, here are a few more pages that share more about who we are, why we teach, and the heart behind KolorMatrix.
- Our Story — the story behind KolorMatrix, Tanya’s journey, and our commitment to serving printers like family.
- Why We Teach — why education, hands-on training, and helping printers succeed are central to what we do.
- Women in Print — a look at the women helping shape the print industry and the heart behind our work.
- The Small moments matter - Choosing presence over distraction on vacation