Working is not always about catering to the 9 to 5 job schedule. It also includes taking care of the kids and doing other household chores. Often leaving the person in a frustrated situation, otherwise termed emotional burnout. Of the 24 hours a day, the focus is always on completing most of the work before one gets to rest. However, prolonged duty hours can lead one to procrastinate and be unable to manage as expected. Under such a situation, integrating deliberate rest can make things better. But, people are confused with “What is deliberate rest?”
What Is Deliberate Rest?
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, in his book Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, came up with the term Deliberate Rest, referring to an activity that is physically and psychologically therapeutic besides enabling a person to indulge in something meaningful. Also, the same is known as “purposeful relaxation” or “active rest.”
When typically asked, what is deliberate rest? Don’t think it is something you can indulge in while sitting on a sofa and scrolling through social media. It needs to be something where your mind can simply be itself, think, and function as you will without worrying about an upcoming deadline or other responsibilities.
Examples Of What Is Deliberate Rest
When you are truly ready to experience deliberate rest, make it happen by indulging in something productive. Invest in ideas that help you shape your thoughts and make way for the things that matter.
There are several examples of famous personalities having their own me times, practicing things that helped them grow. For instance – Charles Darwin went for 10 minutes of walking daily. Lin-Manual Miranda walked with his dog at parks in New York City on a Sunday.
Coming to the modern day, here is a list of various activities you can think of indulging in as a matter of deliberate rest.
- Spend more time out in nature, doing activities that will help you reboot your thoughts and inculcate a habit of something meaningful if you are a researcher and love climbing up the mountains. Then planning for a trip or two in a year will make things look easy.
- Take part in deep play. It is something that you can pursue as a hobby. Select activities that are equally challenging and you do love to solve. As a student of Physics, you can pick up a language from any part of the world and try mastering your skills in the same.
How To Inculcate The Habit Of Deliberate Rest?
The true answer behind “What is deliberate rest, and how to inculcate the same?” Lies in that you are trying to attend to mental peace, forming habits that require consistency and discipline.
Make Way For Planned Time-offs
Initially, taking some time off your daily schedule to invest in the art of deliberate resting might feel absurd. But it will get easy for sure. For starters, you can always work on your time management skills and make some time to rest. You can go for the Pomodoro technique – coined by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s, originating from the Italian pronunciation of Tomato (Pomodoro).
Set up a timer and work on a project for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minutes break. Repeat this process for a consecutive four times. After which you can take a more extended break – of 15-30 minutes. Use this time for deliberate resting. Go for a walk or write down your journal.
Unplug from Social Media. Instead, Be A Part Of The Buddy System
Rather than continuing with mindless scrolls over social media, you can partake in an initiative that requires some mindful interaction with actual humans. Dr. Connie Kassor, a professor at the University of Lawrence, has created an entire curriculum, “Doing Nothing.” Here the students simply show up for an hour weekly to participate in relaxing activities like meditation.
When indulging in the system of Deliberate Rest, the ultimate aim shall be to help your brain feel hopeful and thoroughly energized. Don’t be afraid to start new things or explore new activities.
Winding Up
Purposeful resting between continuous work is essential to keep the mind and soul happy and fully energetic. It helps break the mundane and make way for a life you deserve after working hard for days.
