Rest for the Weary
- Kristina Schmitt
- Jun 23
- 2 min read
Rediscovering Rest: Why You’re More Productive When You Pause
Last week I participated in our Wednesday Walk where we take a 15-minute walk during lunch. 15 minutes may not sound like a lot, but about 10 minutes into it, I started to feel more relaxed. Being in the sun, letting my mind wander, and just walking rejuvenated me to take on a busy afternoon. Not only did I enjoy my walk, but I was, once again, reminded to practice what I preach. When our long to-do lists are overwhelming us, taking time for rest is going to do more for our productivity than putting our nose to the grindstone ever will.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t work hard and that you should just take breaks all the time, but scheduled rest time is part of how our bodies are designed. Even the most rigorous workout and training regimes have rest days scheduled into them. Rest is the reason that sabbaticals exist. It’s also the reason for crop rotation in farming. Even God took a rest on the seventh day and made it a rule for us to do so as well.
To get the most out of your rest, it helps to understand what is considered rest and what is not. Rest is not playing a video game, going for a tough run, watching tv, or even scrolling on your phone. These activities may feel like rest, but your brain is still engaged, and your body is still experiencing stress.
Rest is ceasing to engage in strenuous or stressful activity, both physically and mentally.
Even seemingly passive activities such as scrolling through social media or watching tv still cause our bodies to react emotionally which is a trigger for a stress response. Beyond that, screens in general are not restful for us as they dysregulate our mind and body and cause stress on our central nervous system.
True rest is literally doing no activity at all. The idea is to give your body a break from all forms of stressors. Sitting and staring at nature is one of the best forms of rest. Going for a leisurely walk is also good. Some good guidelines to follow when identifying how to rest are:
No screens
Only leisurely physical or mental activity (i.e. very light reading)
Be outdoors if you can.
Optimal rest is one hour per day and one day per week, but that can be difficult to start if you’re used to jumping from one activity to the next. Start small and schedule a five-to-ten-minute break into your workday, then either add more time or additional breaks. Once you start to see the benefits of rest, you’ll be motivated to do more of it.
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