Why rest is one of the most productive things you can do

I’ve been musing a lot of the notion of rest recently, in the lead up to my first official period of leave since starting this practice well over a year ago. This has also been a topic of hot conversation between my clients and I.

I’m always amazed at how much the idea of rest is shirked, stunted, run away from or simply ignored. I believe this is a largely cultural phenomenon, whereby the “hustle” and being “busy” have become social expectations of what it means to be successful in some way.

The myth is, is that if you’re “busy” you’re “productive”, and if you’re “productive” then you’ll receive external love, or validation, or some form of recognition. And I want to be clear, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. It’s part of our human experience.

But the reality is that “busy” often keeps us from being truly productive, or having a sense of real achievement. What I mean by this is that we are often so busy and juggling so many plates that we don’t actually get the full richness of any experience. We barely complete our tasks without having much mental or emotional presence before we’re off to the next thing, with the belief that once all the tasks are done, then we can celebrate and rest!

And yet…. The rest and the celebration never seems to come. We then lack a sense of real achievement, because we don’t allow space for achievement.  

 The opposite is actually true. Rest is productive.

When you rest, you actually end up more productive over the long-term. Think about it. How many people (maybe yourself included) have burnt the candle at both ends so badly you’ve then been forced to rest, for longer than you had wanted or intended. I’ll sheepishly raise my hand here too.

Is that productive? No.

 Rest also leads to higher creativity, longer life spans, healthier quality of life and closer connections with the ones you love. There’s a reason why many giant companies (such as Google and Apple) grant some of their staff extended leave times and sabbaticals. Those employee’s reportedly come back with new innovative ideas, more energy and the ability to be more productive.

 While I know not everyone is in a position to take regular sabbaticals (life can be expensive or you have children, I know), even taking regular rest days or breaks throughout your day can provide similar, if smaller scaled results.

Finally, you do not have to prove to anyone that you are worthy of rest. You are worthy of rest simply because you are. Read that again.

You’re not a robot. And even robots (like phones and computers) need to be shut down every once in a while and reboot.

Schedule in some rest. Your health and wellbeing will thank you for it.