The Mindful Marketing Podcast

Episode: The Power of Rest as a Marketing Strategy [REPLAY]

Host: Andréa Jones
Date: December 16, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Andréa Jones explores how intentional rest is not only a personal necessity but a critical and strategic part of marketing success. By framing marketing as a cyclical process mirroring the seasons of nature, she demonstrates the importance of planning breaks, reflecting, and aligning marketing activities with the natural ebbs and flows of energy and results. Through personal anecdotes, client experiences, and real-world business examples, Andréa makes a compelling case for viewing rest as an active, integral stage in any marketing strategy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rest as a Marketing Tool

• Opening Analogy: Andréa likens marketing to gardening—both require different seasons of activity and periods of rest to thrive.
• Quote:

  "Intentional and strategic rest is one of the most strategic tools in your marketing arsenal." — Andréa (01:08)

• Rest is what replenishes both the marketer and the business, preventing burnout and creating the space for future growth.

2. The Four Seasons of Marketing

Andréa breaks down marketing into seasonal phases:

Spring: The Hustle & Planting Phase (04:44)

• Planting seeds, launching campaigns, and setting foundations.
• A necessary time for hustle and strategic preparation.
• Quote:

  "I like to help people find the space between hustle and the soft life." — Andréa (05:17)

• Suggestions: Batch content, schedule ahead, set up systems to support the coming seasons.

Summer: Cultivation & Optimization (07:58)

• A period of patience, consistency, and optimization.
• Cultivate the results of spring’s efforts, prune what's not working, and refine processes.
• Quote:

  "If you find a lot of resistance...then it’s time to prune and find a different way." — Andréa (13:57)

• Andréa shares personal and client examples (e.g., resisting TikTok, batching podcast episodes) to show how self-awareness and sustainability beat shiny, unsustainable strategies.

Fall: Harvest & Reward (16:09)

• Reaping the rewards—sales, engagement, and visible results.
• This is a time of hustle with instant gratification.
• Quote:

  "If business owners could stay harvesting all day long, we would live here." — Andréa (16:20)

Winter: Rest & Reflection (17:25)

• A season often overlooked: intentional rest, analysis, and reflection.
• Essential for avoiding burnout and preparing for future cycles.
• Utilize this time for audits, experimenting, and learning new tools (like AI).
• Quote:

  "Winter is so important because it is a season of reflection…If we don’t take the time to sit down and prepare for future seasons, we will guarantee burnout." — Andréa (18:42)

3. Personal & Client Stories about Seasonal Marketing

• Andréa’s struggles with tomato gardening: Demonstrates how repeated mistakes stem from not resting or analyzing.
• How individual preference and circumstances (location, energy, business model) mean every business has a different “seasonal” rhythm.
• Quote:

  "You can take the same marketing strategy and apply it to one business and apply it to another and have different harvests." — Andréa (23:07)

• Client example: Encouraged a client to pivot from social media to podcast guesting and speaking because her audience wasn’t on social media.

4. Big Brand Examples of Strategic Rest

• Chick-fil-A: Closes every Sunday for rest, yet maintains strong loyalty and sales.

  "Chick-fil-A, great example of building rest into their business plan." — Andréa (28:05)

• Glossier: Fewer launches, more quality—listens to community, plans “winter” periods for strategic experimentation and reflection.
• Patagonia: Temporarily pauses marketing campaigns for environmental advocacy, strengthening brand loyalty.

5. Tactical Applications—How to Build in Rest (34:05)

• Schedule both regular and long-term breaks (e.g., weekends, holidays).
• Use automation tools, batch record content, and repurpose older content (especially during busy or low-energy times).
• Example: Andréa doesn’t post on weekends, silences notifications after 9pm, and for her podcast, repurposes interviews during December.
• Quote:

  "All of these things are tactical applications of rest." — Andréa (35:59)

6. Your Winter Challenge

• "Plan your winter season": Deliberately schedule pauses for reflection and learning.
• Use moments of rest to reassess strategies, learn new tools, and ensure your work stays aligned with your goals and energy.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There’s so much nuance to [marketing] that I think is missing in the short little quippy one-liners we post on social media.” (03:30)
• “If you keep using the same soil over and over again, the nutrients deplete… sometimes you just got to let it sit.” — On the necessity of pausing for rejuvenation (18:00)
• "Your circumstances have a huge impact on the outputs and inputs that are happening in your marketing." (23:49)
• "Strategic rest not only replenishes you but gives your business and marketing efforts a critical edge." (overarching theme)

Important Timestamps

• 01:08 – Introduction of rest as a marketing tool
• 04:44 – Spring: Defining the hustle season
• 07:58 – Summer: Cultivation phase and energy management
• 16:09 – Fall: The satisfying season of harvest
• 17:25 – Winter: Why rest matters for sustainability and innovation
• 23:07 – Individual seasons and the folly of comparison
• 28:05 – Real-world brand examples (Chick-fil-A, Glossier, Patagonia)
• 34:05 – Tactical recommendations for scheduling rest
• 35:59 – The challenge: Plan your own winter

Conclusion

Andréa encourages listeners to reframe their thinking—viewing rest as not just a break but an intentional, productive, and necessary part of effective marketing. She closes with a call to plan for “winter” in your business, using it as an opportunity to reset, reflect, and come back refreshed and innovative.

Resource Mentioned

• Free Reset Challenge: onlinedrea.com/reset — A 5-day free resource to help you reset your relationship with social media and plan for rest.

This summary captures the heart and wisdom of Andréa Jones’s approach: growth comes from cycles, not constant hustle. Strategic rest may just be your most powerful marketing strategy yet.