Prioritizing Rest

Rest. We all need it and most of us feel like we never get enough of it, and we aren’t wrong. As members of a society that equates what we produce to what we are worth, we are always squishing in the rest that we so desperately need. Plus, we treat rest as a reward for our daily adulting, rather than prioritizing it, so that we can sustain adulting for longer periods and with more success.

As someone who prioritizes fun, leisure, joy, and rest, this idea that rest is a reward makes my logical brain spin. In fact, I think that everyone who is rushing around trying to earn rest with production, has seriously lost their marbles. It is clear that folks have their priorities so out of whack that they now live a life where the need to truly rest is never met. Instead, rest is treated as something to be squeezed into their lives just before they crash and burn.

That is a giant mistake. The real truth is that rest is a necessity and non-negotiable. In fact, it is so essential that it must be as much a priority in your life as eating and breathing. It cannot be simply squeezed into your life when you are desperate for it. Rest isn’t a reward, and it isn’t an option. It isn’t a prize you win because you finished your to-do list or something you deny yourself because you didn’t push yourself to your breaking point.

But there is more to rest than just laying down and closing your eyes. The concept of rest is bigger than that. Rest does not just mean sleep. It could be listening to music, watching a movie, taking a walk, time with a pet, or even cooking a meal. Rest comes in many forms and is often disguised as our joys. The only rule around rest, is that when you do it, you commit to it fully.

Ready to prioritize rest? Here 5 great tips to get you started:

1. Schedule Resting Time: Many of us go-go-go, taking rest as we can get it. Big mistake. Rest is essential and a priority among the most successful among us. It is so important that is deserves a permanent slot in your calendar. Yup, stick it right in there with grocery shopping, laundry, and your meetings.

2. Rest Does Not Mean Sleep: That’s right! Rest and sleep are not the same thing, so stop using them that way. Rest can be any number of activities that you do with eyeballs open. Rest means taking a break from your responsibilities and just being. This can include, reading, watching tv, a walk in nature, listening to music, gardening, and, yes, napping. It’s a time when your brain gets to be off duty and wander on its own.

3. If You Are Resting, REST: If you have chosen, scheduled, or just happen to have the time to rest, just rest already! Meaning, don’t decide to rest and then spend the entire time feeling guilty for it. Don’t take a day of rest and then fill it with little chores. When it’s rest time, dedicate yourself to the rest. Otherwise, you aren’t really resting.

4. Let Your Mind Wander: When we truly rest, our mind gets to just wander. In the wandering, we often find solutions to issues we have put on the back-burner. Rest allows our brain to catch up on processing while our body is otherwise occupied. You will be pleasantly surprised by the solutions and the ideas that move to the forefront when you allow yourself to rest.

5. Rest to Regulate: Rest allows our body a brain some much needed regulation time. A regulated human finds it easier to have a positive attitude and to see the good things going on even in the midst of a challenge. When we are unrested and dysregulated, it is impossible to see the good. Do yourself a favor and make it easier to feel good by making rest the priority it should be in your life.

At some point society decided that we had to earn the rest that our bodies and brains need to function. The almighty “they” pronounced rest to be for the weak, and we all bought in. The truth is rest isn’t optional, and we are more than our production value. We live in a world where rest is treated as a well-earned prize that we win for playing well but the truth is rest is a necessity for us to be able to play at all.