Planning Your Rest
I know, I know. Weird title right? Planning your rest? Where’s the rest in that if you have to put it on your calendar?
Planning Your Rest
I used to think the same way- rest should come when I really need it. I should allow myself to take the night off if I really need it, even though I was supposed to use that night to get ahead on school work. Here’s what I’ve noticed, the more I allow myself to take spontaneous rest when I need it, the more guilty I feel about rest. Then even when I should be resting, I’m just stressed about all the things that I could be doing instead.
I read a research article recently that explains this whole idea in detail, but basically if you give yourself rest without giving your brian a heads up, it is likely that you are going to feel guilty about it. Instead, try to give yourself at least a 24 hour notice if you want to take a break. For example, if you know you have a lot of work this week and don’t want yourself to get burnt out, plan studying and work times into your calendar, but also an hour of rest here and there throughout the week so your brain knows it’s coming, resulting in you actually being able to enjoy that rest that you deserve.
Balancing Rest and Work
Maybe it’s just me, but I am usually really good at rest or really good at work, and it’s not supper common that the two are in balance.
I think the best advice to being able to create of balance in your life is simply to be aware of the fact that you need balance. Whenever I am aware of the fact that I need to make a change in my life, I find myself making more of an effort to do so. Even if I’m not perfect at it, being aware of the need for balance makes it more prominent in my every day life than it was beforehand.
Know Your Kind of Rest
With all this talk about rest, you may be thinking “Okay I know I need rest, but how do I know how to rest?”. Depending on you and your needs, you are going to reset in different ways than others. For instance, if a lot of your work has to do with people indoors, you may need to recharge outside by yourself, such as a walk on the river!
Invest time into yourself so that you are able to recognize what you and your body needs to recharge. The more time you spend with yourself, the more you’ll be able to see what truly makes you happy without the influence of others. Find what kind of rest you need and do it!
The kind of rest you need may change day to day, or even week to week, but it is important to realize what you need so that you can feel recharge and satisfied! You deserve it!
