Using Rest to Avoid Burnout!
Rest is vital to avoiding burnout. There must be a balance of work and rest in your lifestyle in order to continue to foster productivity in a healthy way.
If you know me, you probably know me to be a super busy, ambitious, go-go-go kind of girl. And you’re not wrong. As someone who likes to be busy and wants to do three million things at once, it is easy to get burnt out. So in the last few years I have had to learn about the concepts of BALANCE and REST.
Incorporating Rest
There are a few ways I like to incorporate rest into my lifestyle.
As a “productivity junkie”, sometimes it is hard to do tasks that won’t directly benefit me, my career, etc. However, it is one of my big goals this year to incorporate more tasks like this.
One way that I like to incorporate balance/rest into my day to day life is by planning one act of “self care” on my to do list daily. This doesn’t have to be a big activity, and sometimes it is as simple as sitting and enjoying my healthy hot cocoa at the end of the day.
I think the intentionality behind writing this tasks on my to do list is super important. On my notion to-do list template there is a spot for my workout type for the day and a spot for my self care act for the day. I think it is important to isolate these activities, so that you know when you are taking part of them that they are meant for your rest and for you to ENJOY.
It is so easy to go through the motions of life, especially on busy days. We sometimes don’t even realize that we enjoy the things we are doing because it is just another thing to get done. For example, cooking is something I really enjoy, but it also can be considered a chore. When I set that aside as my task of self care it allows me to change my perspective. Instead of cooking just for the sake that I need to eat dinner, I am cooking because it is fun for me. I’ll pour myself an olipop play my “housewife” playlist and try a new recipe. When I look at it this way, it is an activity that really fills my cup.
Other activities that are on my self care list can be…
- cleaning
- beach
- bible study date
- play ukelele
- healthy cocoa
- ice cream date with friends
- prayer walk
- coffee shop
- self care night (face mask, everything shower)
- watch you tube
- watch a show
- crochet
- paint
- color
- read
- sunrise
- sunset
- make a new playlist
Most of these activities are things I enjoy to do but obviously don’t have time to do every day. I encourage you to make a list like this of these tasks that you can choose from daily. The things you look forward to! The things that fill your cup!
Day of Rest
Another way that I like to incorporate rest into my lifestyle is incorporating a day of rest or a “Sabbath Day”. This is typically on Saturdays, unless I have work or a project that needs to get done that day, then I will move it around accordingly.
The ideal rest day for me would entail mainly of spending time with Jesus, getting in the word, going for a prayer walk, being outside, and resting. Doing things I enjoy that don’t also double as work. For example, I like to plan ahead on my social media content, so that I do not have to think about it on my rest day. My rest day is a day that I don’t have to think about work, or stress, or anything else going on in my life.
My Ideal Day of Rest
- wake up with no alarm
- read my bible with my morning coffee
- go for a morning prayer walk
- eat a yummy breakfast
- sit out in the sun and read for the majority of the day
- snack on fruit
- post sun everything shower
- put on cute & comfy pj’s
- get ready for dinner – make something new
- have a little movie or craft night
- in bed early with my bible and a good before bed book
- restttt
I encourage you to incorporate a rest day into your life. Maybe with your schedule you can’t commit to a whole day. Then make a dedicated half day of rest, or even just a few hours. Tailor it to your personal lifestyle and what will work for you. But make the effort.
-xoxo, jenny <3
