How many times have you said, “I’ll rest when I’m done”?
While this way of thinking is common, it’s not necessarily the healthiest. Studies have shown that taking breaks and interrupting work for integration time allows for a more productive workflow, better information retention, and reduced stress (yes, even in office settings). It turns out that putting down our work intentionally gives us a chance to recognize how much we’ve accomplished and realign before moving forward. This is why having sacred moments of recalibration is a key component to our health, happiness and success.
The competitive undercurrent of today’s society has made most of us feel like robots on a conveyor belt, being pushed from one task and accomplishment right to the next. We were conditioned to believe our output had to increase. Otherwise, our work was replaceable. That we were replaceable. The boom of hustle culture suddenly made everyone seem like an opponent.
Only now are we realizing how unsustainable this way of working is. Burnout has been at an all-time high in recent years as mental health hits an all-time low. Perhaps this is why the wellness industry had an even more recent boom. We’ve realized there’s a deep need for not only better work-life balance, but better emotional well-being, stress management, and all-around wellness.
Rest isn’t a reward. It’s a human right.
Keep an eye out for signs your body and brain are asking you to rest. The sooner you catch your energy fading, the sooner you’ll be able to recover while preventing burnout in the long-term.
Turning rest into a recovery ritual is a surefire way to make sure it happens.
There are countless ways to rejuvenate ourselves. Reading, writing, meditating, taking a nature walk, or simply counting stars in the backyard. However you decide to take a break, the point is that you are choosing yourself. You choose to trust yourself enough to know that you will get back to work when you are ready. But for right now, in this moment, stillness is enough.
Maybe this feels foreign to you at first. There are still times when I feel guilty for indulging in these self-care practices. But taking a break isn’t laziness. It’s burnout prevention, prioritizing your mental health, and reminding yourself that your worth isn’t tied to your productivity.
Who you are and the heart you share with the world is what defines you. Not your work output, how many sales you close or how quickly you can finish writing the book. So step away from the laptop and look out of your window. Remember, you are as much a part of nature as the trees you may see. And even they need time to rest before growing again.
For more ways to pour into yourself poetically, check out Vitality in Verse: Poetry for Your Self-Care Ritual