Do you struggle to just stop and rest? I don’t mean resting at bedtime each night.
Intentionally slowing down and taking a day of the week to rest, to do things that bring you joy, and are not related to work?
Even if you don’t think you have the time, you might be surprised just how much more productive you are the others days of the week.
This is counter cultural to our society that is always producing, always hurrying, and always on the go.
Slowing down and taking a day to rest is counterintuitive. We may not feel like we can rest because our bodies and spirits are not used to slowing down like this.
Taking a day to rest doesn’t mean you’re just lying around doing nothing. Resting may be spending time catching up with friends. Or doing things you enjoy like gardening or reading or painting or any number of things that aren’t related to your work.
As we incorporate this practice into our weekly rhythms, over time we will realize how transforming it can be. It can impact our bodies and spirit throughout the rest of our week helping us to find more inner peace and calm. It can help us delight in the everyday things we never noticed were so extraordinary before.
And it can help us to prevent overwork and burnout.
How do you start a practice of rest?
- Look at what you can cut out. Do you really need to do that extra thing?
- Plan ahead and see if you can shift smaller tasks, chores, etc to other days.
- Meet yourself where you are. Does a full 24 hours feel too intimidating? Start with half a day.
- Notice any resistance and ask questions of why you are resisting it. Keep peeling back the layers of why.