How to rest 😴

Hello dear reader,

The kids are about to break up, and if that’s your life stage, it’s always a bit of both, isn’t it? I love the fact that the mornings are a bit less stressful, but it does also mean I have to work a bit harder to get things done. 

This year, I’m trying to go with it a bit more, embrace the season, and adjust my expectations. Included in this new approach, I’ve planned a retreat day. A day all on my own, to think, reflect, and plan. At the time of writing, I haven’t had this yet, so I’ll report back on how it goes in due course.

The idea of stepping back in order to go again isn’t always that easy to do in practice, even if we all know deep down it makes sense.

I read a great book a while back that dug deep into the science behind rest - that we need rest in order to do what we do to the best of our ability, and that rest begets innovation, creativity, and efficiency. 

Now, I’d take it further and say that I believe we’ve got to learn to embrace rest for rest’s sake, but this book gives a compelling argument for starters.

So, to save you a job, I thought I’d share with you my review of Rest by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang. You’ll hear much more in my latest podcast episode, but here’s a summary of a few key points and some actions that you can take.

1. The Science Bit 

There’s a whole load of scientific research to show that the brain works while we are away from a task, while it is wandering. I won’t go into all the science here, but I think even anecdotally I know that often some of my best or most creative moments come just before sleep, in the shower, or while walking my dog in the park (also on holiday – I came up with the Purpose Pursuit on holiday!). 

ACTION: Recognise that you will be more innovative and creative in your thinking when you allow your brain to wander and recuperate. Slot in some slower moments. Come away to create.

2. Four Hour Rule

Looking back through time, it seems that both science and successful people’s stories suggest that we have about four hours per day when we can work at our absolute best. This is usually in the morning. I know that many people argue they are great late at night, but to be honest, for most of us, the science just does not tend to back this up. 

ACTION: Look at your schedule. Can you find four-hour, uninterrupted slots to try and get the best and most important work of the day done? Can you find a variation on this if you have less control over when and how you work? By the way – our best work is not the email responding or the fire-fighting; it’s the meaty pieces of work – the stuff that matters, the planning, the content, the projects. Turn off your email and your phone and zone out those distractions.

3. Sleep & Naps

We all need sleep, though the amount varies. Pang cites many successful leaders with incredible workloads and responsibilities who made it a daily routine to power nap. Both Churchill and Dali are fascinating examples of napping – Churchill would take a daily nap of about twenty minutes even throughout the most challenging period of the Second World War – demonstrating an understanding of his own limits and a confidence in those around him. 

ACTION: Take stock of how much sleep you are getting. We cannot stockpile sleep or run on empty for too long without damage to our thinking, productivity, and health (let alone our emotions). Make a decision about when you will get to bed so that you can start your day early, alert, and alive. Have a go at napping! What’s really important is not going into deep sleep (R.E.M.) – it’s then that you wake up and feel pretty rubbish.

4. Sabbaticals

This was a fascinating detour into the need to pull away, for a period of time, to consider the future, strategise, or create. In my head, a sabbatical is three months long, but actually it can be three days – Bill Gates did this every year and went totally off the grid for this period, and would come back ready and armed with the new direction and strategic plan for Microsoft. Pang also argues that whatever phase of life we are in, and whatever our responsibilities, time totally alone is necessary. 

ACTION: Look ahead to the rest of the year, or the beginning of the next, because the next term may already be too full. Can you plan a three-day sabbatical? If three days isn’t feasible, what about a day a term? Remember these days aren’t purely rest days – they are a restful environment in order to focus on the future and creativity within our work. Pure rest days (rather than sabbaticals) are when we have our weekly time off, or our holidays.

5. Play

Rest is not what we think it is. OK, it can include vegging out or doing nothing. But probably, it’s those times that we should be thinking about just getting ourselves into bed. There’s nothing wrong with a movie or a TV show that we love, but this, Pang argues, is not true rest. We need real play, with challenge and diversion. Deliberate rest. Deep play is different to just a mere diversion because it still offers us the mental and psychological rewards of work, but without the frustrations.
ACTION: Hobbies are important. If you don’t have time for one, readjust life to fit one in. Rock climbing, sailing, cycling, sewing, painting, reading, singing – these are all great examples of deep play – giving challenge and reward without the major frustrations that can come with work.

6. Move

The most restorative kind of rest is active. We need exercise to bring our brains, bodies, and emotions to life. I think most of us know this, but we don’t all prioritise it. But to fully appreciate the best benefits of rest, we need to add exercise as part of this routine. 

ACTION: If exercising isn’t part of your life at the moment, find a way to include it. Don’t despise the day of small beginnings – a ten-minute walk is better than no minutes sat on the sofa!

In short, the main aim of this book is to argue that rest and work are equals, like two sides of a coin. One feeds into the other, and so on. Rest is not a reward for getting the work done. It is an integral part of the process, at the beginning, the middle, and the end.

1 quote: “Rest is not something that the world gives us. It’s never been a gift. It’s never been something you do when you’ve finished everything else. If you want rest, you have to take it. You have to resist the lure of busyness, make time for rest, take it seriously, and protect it from a world that is intent on stealing it” ― Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, Rest

1 stat: One in eight Britons, and a quarter of young people, say they go to bed after midnight

1 question: In a world that constantly demands your attention, how can you prioritise and protect your time for rest?

Love,

Hannah x