Apathy is the enemy of creativity. As the summer season kicks in it is all too easy to find ourselves on autopilot. Whether boiling our brains on the Northern Line, or navigating the mental gymnastics of summer childcare logistics, summer can be a difficult time to maintain momentum. For creativity and curiosity to thrive we need rest and inspiration. Be it recommending a book, a breathing method or developing a craft, this summer BITE is asking leaders to share how they are making the space to nurture their creativity and find their pace.

Chris Jefford, CEO & Co-Founder of Truant, talks about the importance of rest to keep energy and inspiration high.

Summer is generally a busy time for us at Truant, and this year doubly so, with it being the first year of us delivering a full UK-wide festival activation programme for Rockstar Energy. And whilst the team have been bringing the energy to music crowds around the country, they are themselves expending a shit tonne of their own, so rest and recovery is key.

Everyone works incredibly hard, and life at Truant is a relentless quest for new and better, but we know that our team can only function at an elite level with the requisite amount of rest – not just through the summer slump, but as and when they need it.

So, we’ve sought to create a culture where rest is not only encouraged but mandated. In 2021, we introduced a minimum holiday policy that has only one, simple rule – take at least 5 weeks off every year, no upper limit – designed to ensure that our squad are able to find the time to recharge, find inspiration elsewhere, and spend quality time connecting with friends and family. 

And as one of the founders of the business, I’ve always thought it’s important to model my own behaviour according to the culture that I want to see at the agency. So, this year, I’ll be living up to my part of the bargain by taking an extended trip away to explore Japan for the summer.

The reason for this is threefold.

Firstly, with my agency hitting its 13th year, my eldest is approaching her first year at secondary school. I was struck by how fast time has gone, that in many ways growing the business and growing my kids have always been intertwined, and before she accelerates into and through her teenage years, I wanted to separate the two for a month, and spend some off-the-grid time together as a family.

Secondly, the intensity of running a business takes its toll, physically and mentally. Summer is often not the time I feel the slump most acutely, but even so it’s really important to acknowledge that both body and mind need an often-significant rest from it to properly recover and be ready for whatever curve ball comes next.

And finally, Japan is the perfectly Truant-shaped culture to go explore, with inspiration at every turn. From the world’s most populous capital city to the majesty of the Japanese alps, from robot hotels to ryokan hot springs, the country will I’m sure deliver on all levels over the month, a month that will I’m sure create memories that we’ll treasure forever and provide the fuel I need to push our business forward through 2024 and beyond.

Because the need to recharge and reset is real, the burnout is real, the slump is real.

And rest should never be seen as a 4-letter word.