How Rest Fuels Self-Worth and Boosts Productivity

Happy new week dear friend!

Last week, I had to take some time off to rest and as I sat down to write this week’s newsletter I thought I’d share more on the importance of rest on productivity. So, in today’s article and in the next couple of weeks, I will explore why we need to prioritise our rest and give some tips as to how we can go about this.

If you are like me, resting whilst you have a lot on your to-do list is hard but I am constantly reminded that rest is very important more than I care to admit.

For as long as I can remember, I equated productivity with my self-worth and you might be too. If I wasn’t constantly busy, pushing through task after task, I felt like I was wasting time. My worth, in my own eyes, was directly tied to how much I could accomplish in a day. To rest was to fall behind, but over time, that mindset began to take a toll on me, both physically and mentally.

I have written about how I have been naturally forced to take time to rest, in the past but these days I am being good at detecting when I need to take those breaks. About 2 years ago, I hit a serious burnout that truly got me to understand the importance of rest. This period started with me feeling extremely fatigued and not being able to sit behind my laptop for a good 30 minutes straight. I was struggling to maintain my concentration for even 15 minutes.

Even though I was getting things done, it felt like I was moving through quicksand—completely disconnected from it all. One day, after pushing myself far too hard for far too long, I was getting worried so I phoned my GP and after some tests, I was told to have some serious rest.

I took some days off work but I felt guilty at first however, I gave myself permission to rest because this time my health depended on it. This has kept me on my toes and I have been paying attention to my body but last week was one that sneaked up on me. It seems I had still been burning the candle at both ends so when I had to cancel appointments my partner and I had made with others because I was too tired, I knew I had to stop and reevaluate my routines.

I gave myself a - No Socialising weekend and made sure to rest as much as I could. Yes, I could afford to do so the whole weekend but if you are not able to do the whole weekend take half a day or some hours where you do nothing tedious but things that will relax you. Relaxing can take many forms so find what works for you.

Having reached the point where I had to cancel appointments meant I was not prioritising my need for rest again. This meant disappointing friends and missing opportunities that we were looking forward to for a long time. I am not a newbie to this and so I knew I had to make those choices because a few hours wasn't enough.

My point is if I had been consistently keeping my me-time and taking breaks not only when I needed them but also in between, I wouldn’t have overworked myself that much. I know it’s hard and I appreciate that sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in a day but I would like to encourage that we do find and make the time to rest because when we are forced to rest we end up using more time to recover than we would want.

As we start the week I would like to urge you to listen to your body when it speaks to you and give it the rest you deserve. You don’t have to fall ill before you rest and remember in order to be at your best performing self you need to rest that is the only way the brain can perform at its best. I would like to know how you are prioritising rest in your busy life so do share your thoughts in the comments.

Have a great week ahead and remember to take time to rest.

Love and light

Sheila daisy