Too Busy to Rest?

All, Mind-Body

by Tori Roalef
January 16, 2024

Our culture, especially on the internet, glorifies and values staying busy, hustling, and being productive. Sometimes it can feel like we have to reach a certain level of busyness to be worthy of resting or taking days off. But constantly staying busy is not sustainable, and we can quickly find ourselves in burnout.

So, if you find you are too busy to rest, let’s find some small habits of rest to build into your day.

The Idea of the Week

With the internet, it seems that the world never sleeps. With work, the never-ending deadlines and responsibilities loom over us. The incessant demands of our fast-paced lives often lead us to neglect the importance of downtime—and even sleep. But this perpetual busyness can have hidden costs to our well-being, so in this 7-minute article, Verywell Mind shows How Constantly Staying Busy Affects Our Well-Being.

In this 16-minute TEDx Talk, Bec Heinrich redefines “rest”: “Rest is the renewing of depleted physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual reserves. […] It’s a space where I have the freedom to choose where I’m going to invest my energy, and I find it to be a starting place—a place I can move out of and into the world.” Bec Heinrich continues to share how constant busyness corroded her life and how rest transformed her life and leadership.

The Practice of the Week

Reflect on how you currently approach rest. Are your moments of relaxation intentional, or are they a result of sheer exhaustion? The idea is to shift from viewing rest as a byproduct of busyness to an essential component of a balanced and fulfilling life.

Learning to rest and have sustainable performance requires implementing small daily habits into our schedules. As great as it is to have a long vacation once or twice a year, these brief moments of rest are not enough to sustain your energy throughout the year. Thus, cultivating small habits of rest daily, or even weekly, will set you in the starting place that you can move out from and into the world more consciously and consistently.

In this 6-minute article, Psychology Today outlines 4 steps to find rest that works for you:

Step 1

Brainstorm a list of activities that calm you or leave you with a renewed sense of energy. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to help discover these rejuvenating activities:

What activities make you lose track of time?
Which environments make you feel most at peace?
What hobbies or interests do you genuinely enjoy?
Are there physical activities that you find invigorating?
Which people or relationships leave you feeling supported and positive?
Do you find solace in quiet or meditative activities?
What book, movie, or music brings you a sense of peace?
Are there rituals or routines that help you start or end your day positively?
Do you feel recharged after spending time in nature?
Which self-care practices leave you feeling nurtured?

Step 2

Consider passive vs. active forms of rest: Indicate whether the activities on your list are passive (such as watching a movie) or active (such as playing a game or going for a walk).

Which activities on your list are passive?
Which are active?

Step 3

Consider micro vs. macro forms of rest: Indicate whether the activities on your list are micro (“bite-sized” moments of rest) or macro (resting over a significant period of time).