Why Is Rest So Tricky? 😴

If you’re anything like me, downtime doesn’t come naturally. I get the value of stepping away from work and yet I still find myself filling open space with something productive. Over the weekend I found myself filling downtime with re-organizing the pantry. And when I say downtime, I mean the kind of pause that has nothing to do with goals, perfectionism or making things better.

Does anything feel better than an organized pantry?

Years ago, after I’d started a new gig, I headed into winter break with a plan to “catch up.” My big idea was to read and evaluate more than twenty books to decide whether any might make good film or television projects. That meant more than a book a day. I convinced myself it was reasonable. Predictably, it wasn’t. I didn’t hit the goal, and the pressure I put on myself wiped out any chance at rest. I came back to work depleted and annoyed with myself for what I called “wasted time.”

Over the past few years, I’ve been experimenting with real breaks. A winter break. A summer break. A solid two to four weeks of nothing to do with work. Some days I get bored. Some days I get ideas I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t slowed down. It’s truly a practice, not something I’ve mastered. In fact I would say I’m a lowly apprentice.

The reminder to keep practicing landed again recently. Our youngest daughter was diagnosed with a chronic medical condition, and my husband and I met with her care team. Two things came up that stopped me in my tracks.

One: stress and anxiety make her symptoms worse. There’s nothing surprising about that on the surface, but the next part mattered. To release the stress and anxiety, she needs fun. She needs play. It works better than pain meds for her.

And two: my stress and anxiety affect her too. That one hit harder. I’ve always known kids absorb what’s in the air, but hearing it framed as part of her treatment plan made me rethink how I’m living. If rest and play help her body stay steadier and reduce the pain, then rest and play can’t be optional for me either.

So here’s where I am as we close out the year. I’m stepping into my winter break and will be back January 12. There won’t be a post on January 5, and that’s intentional. I’m giving myself room to breathe, to reset, and to model the things I want for my daughter and for myself.

If this topic speaks to you and you’d like to sit with it a bit more, I’m sharing a great article from @Alli Kushner about Why Doing Nothing Is A Hidden Driver of Career Growth. It’s a smart, thoughtful look at how stepping back can move your work forward in ways constant effort never does.

So here’s to closing out the year with a little less hustle and a little more breathing room. I’m calling it progress if I don’t re-organize another drawer or closet … until January 12.

If someone came to mind while you were reading this—please send it their way. You never know the impact a well-timed message can have.

Related Content

• Rest Is Not A To-Do Item

• Why Is Rest An Ethical Responsibility?

• Are You A Workaholic?

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Journal Prompts

Here are three journal prompts for paid Moonshot Mentor subscribers. These questions invite you to look at your relationship with rest, play, and the pressure to stay productive, especially as the year winds down.