Resting and being comfortable with rest are so important when it comes to producing extraordinary results in your career.
Many people assume that you have to max out and be constantly doing something in order to progress. That is completely untrue. Resting is way more important and is the key to producing exponential success.
In this quick read, I’ll show you:
- How it took a global pandemic to change attitudes to rest
- Why rest is important
- That resting starts with an intention and then practice
- Why boundaries are key
- How magic happens
I’m guessing that you are probably a knowledge worker. This means that you use your mind and your knowledge rather than your physical body when you work.
You probably also sit in a comfortable environment, whether that be in an air-conditioned grade-A office block or perhaps a pleasant space in your home.
And you have computers and technology at your disposal to help you complete your tasks quicker.
Contrast that with people who perform manual work in a factory or a farm. Or contrast your life with your great great grandparents who most likely had no technology at their disposal and who had to toil for hours using their physical strength just to earn enough to survive.
The manual workers of today have to rest – that much is obvious. They are physically exhausted at the end of their working day. They have to eat and sleep after a long shift in order to have any chance of getting through the next working day.
What about us who don’t have to toil on the land or down a mine-shaft or in a factory? Over the past 30-40 years, it has somehow become acceptable for us to be “always-on”, be available 24/7 and to think of rest as unnecessary and somewhat pointless.
Where has that lead us?
Yes, we’ve progressed in our careers and the more we work, the more productive we appear to be and the more valuable we become to our employers – knowledge and skills are somewhat intangible (in contrast to a person who does physical work).
But you’ve seen the dark side and probably experienced it yourself – burnout, mental exhaustion and perhaps becoming a boring ‘robot’ – super productive but devoid of any meaningful life. Lots of material wealth and status in the eyes of others, but a deep sense of nothingness and lack of purpose on the inside.
So, do we need to rest or not?
Does the lack of rest equate to being extraordinary or is it a negative factor?
1. The pandemic changed perceptions.
It has taken a global pandemic to change attitudes to work – and therefore attitudes to rest.
Prior to the pandemic, in many industries it was normal to work long hours – come in early, even if there was a long commute before the day started. Stick around into the evening (even if there was a long commute home) and still be switched-on into the evening checking emails or just “finishing-off” that little bit of work whilst your kids or significant other were patiently waiting for you to be part of the family.
I was like that. I like to stick to the rules, so I’d make sure that I was never late – meaning that I’d have to factor in extra time on my morning commute in case the trains were running late (which they often were).
So, not only was I not rested or resting in the morning, I’d often miss out on breakfast with my kids and almost never did the school run. I never thought about it at the time – I just did what others did and got on with early commutes and early starts.
Likewise, in the evening. I’d feel guilty about being the first to leave or I’d be so engrossed in my work that I used to say to myself – just 5 more minutes whilst I was debugging some formulae in my excel workbook, or perfecting a power-point deck. The 5 minutes would invariably become an hour or two.
Work is fun – I love what I do when working. I don’t think of work as “Oh no – I must do it” – instead I think of work as “Oh Yeah – I get to do it“. But the dark side of that way of thinking and my version of presenteeism is eventually becoming both mentally and physically exhausted and missing out on all of the other things that life is all about.
The coronavirus changed all of that for me (and many others).
I automatically lost my 1+ hour commute in the morning and the extra time ensuring I wouldn’t be late. I automatically lost all of that ‘getting ready’ time – doing things before leaving the house. Instead, I either sleep a bit more, or do something relaxing, or do something different to work – going to the gym, writing articles like this, having breakfast with the family!
I can also have a 20 minute power-nap at lunch time as its a mere few steps from my home office to a comfortable sofa. I think that is extraordinary and it really does improve my sharpness.
And the evening commute lasts a mere 10 seconds and before the blink of an eye…
- I can get involved with family stuff or go out for a walk, do something leisurely.
- I don’t have to worry about whether trains are running or not.
- I can eat early and hence go to sleep early if I so wish.
- I can say yes when invited to any evening activities
That equates to a restful way of life – and I am actually more productive in a shorter amount of time as I don’t waste time and energy hauling myself to the office day in, day out.
Covid also taught me that life is fragile and that rest and being fit are excellent antidotes to the virus.
I’ve started to appreciate rest as its own thing. Its no longer a pointless thing. Its no longer defined as an absence of work.
2. Rest is important for your mind and body.
If you know any machine operatives or lorry drivers, then you’ll know that by law, they have to take breaks and are limited by the number of hours that they are allowed to work.
No ‘working over lunchtime’ for them. They are forced to rest.
And thank goodness too. I don’t want to see a lorry in my rear view mirror where the driver has already clocked 10 hours of driving. These people need the rest – good for them and good for us.
Rest is good for us – think about how grumpy we get when our sleep has been messed up. We even see it in little kids – they get very cranky when their sleep is compromised. In fact, babies and toddlers need 12 hours of sleep – not because they are lazy – but because there bodies and brain develop during their sleep.
Rest gives our bodies a chance to recuperate – even if we are office workers. It gives our eyes a chance to rest. It gives time for our brains to process everything that happened during the day. Rest is as much a contributory factor to success as is the actual work done to get there. You’ve just got to be able to see and recognise that.
3. It starts with you.
You have to treat rest seriously. You have to make time for rest and participate in it fully. There is no such thing as resting whilst working – sitting down is not universally equivalent to resting.
You have to schedule in your rest and build your day around it – not the other way round. There is always more to do. There will always be more to do. Remember that the firm you work for will hopefully be around many decades after you’ve left – so the work will never stop – ever.
So, have an intention to rest and then block off some time for it in your calendar. Make the time and protect that time. Resting later is not the same as resting when you need it. In the workplace, you might have to delegate tasks to a work colleague in another time zone. In the home, you might have to delegate chores to a housekeeper / cleaner.
Make your rest periods regular and consistent, so that they become habitual and part of your routine. Nobody else will prioritise your rest for you (unless you are ill or in hospital).
4. Boundaries
Those people who are in highly demanding roles, but who have a good work life balance with clear boundaries and who take time off at weekends and for holidays are very likely to be the high achievers in your workplace / community. They won’t burn-out; but the people who don’t rest will definitely burn-out and fade away (eventually and always).
Trying to rest whilst working (or working whilst resting) is not possible. You can pretend to do both but you won’t do either effectively. Work during work-time and rest otherwise – don’t mix them up. Rest doesn’t have to be doing nothing – it can be doing something – going for a run, painting, baking a cake – basically doing what you enjoy (but not work).
Set boundaries and stick to the boundaries. It will be good for your health and your relationships.
5. Rest is where the magic happens
Have you noticed that your best ideas often come to you when you are sleeping or just sitting around or in the bath?
When we are busy and too many things are going on, we tend to operate in what I would call execution mode. We can be super-productive during this time, but only if we’ve got a process to follow and we are comfortable in what we are trying to do.
But if too many things are happening and we are trying to design or create an amazing solution, then its impossible – very much like trying to see inside a snow globe after its been shaken or trying to see what is at the bottom of a stream when the water is flowing fast during a thunderstorm.
To be creative, to innovate, to make things better, you need a clear and calm and rested mind. One that is free of stress and busyness – one that is not tired, but fresh and alert.
A mind that is rested allows you to go into creative mode. That is where the magic happens. That is when that one in a million game-changer brainwave shows up.
Some of my best ideas appear during a weekend when I’m not doing anything in particular, or first thing in the morning after a good night’s sleep, or even when I’m far away on vacation. How about you?
Rest In Peace
None of us are immortal. When we do go, our friends and family will mourn our passing and also hope that we “rest in peace“. Have you ever thought about that saying – “rest in peace”. Surely that is what we want now whilst we are living, not after we are dead?
Do you actually get to rest, or is your life whizzing by at the speed of light and you’re unable to even catch your breath?
Slow down, relax, rest, meditate.
That’s how you change the world. That’s how you produce extraordinary results.
Try it!
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