Work hard, play hard is not just a saying, it’s rooted it truth.
During exercise, we need to take short breaks to recover. Over a weeklong span, we need to take rest days.
The same thing happens when we work on our priorities that we identify in our Define My Day Planners. The more we learn to focus on working hard, the more we need to be intentional about our rest periods.
Beware the Drainers
Many times, we spend time “resting” when we are really continuing to drain ourselves. We spend time watching the news, gossiping, fighting on social media, or simply surfing the internet. However you choose to rest, make sure it’s having the impact you want. If you come out of your rest period feeling more drained than before, something needs to change.
Set Clear Boundaries
Don’t mix rest and work. And beware of distractions that don’t fall into either category. This comes down to being intentional and mindful of where you spend your time and energy. Especially now, we tend to blur everything together. We are getting less done and feel more drained.
Hourly Rest
While working, we should define a period of time that we want to work. Many people use the Pomodoro Method. It’s a technique that helps you build short time periods of intense focus along with a break to recharge. It works very much like high-intensity cardio, building longer periods of intense focus between breaks as you build your mental muscles.
Daily Rest
However long your workday, we all need longer periods of rest. Otherwise, we’d burnout and our productivity would suffer. Be sure to plan restful periods in each day and be super sure that you feel rested once done. Examples may be:
- Taking a walk
- Taking a short nap
- Reading
- Catching up with a friend or family member
- Meditating
- Even watching TV
You may find your feel energized doing something active. It’s all up to you. Just be aware of the result. If, after watching TV, you feel stressed, then you need to pick a different activity.
Time-blocking is a very useful practice when planning daily work and rest times.
The Weekend
Ever have wake up on Monday morning and feel like the weekend wore you out? It happens. If it was full of great memories, that can be ok. But, as a whole, your weekend should rejuvenate you and propel you into a productive week.
Frequently, we let the weekends slip by. We never get to those chores we meant to complete. We sleep late, rush to get a few things done, and end the weekend wondering where the time went.
I propose a better way.
Use Define My Day to prioritize each off-day. You don’t have to make it feel like work, just be intentional about where you spend your time and energy.
You may make your priority to relax or party. Whatever works for you! Just be sure you do what you truly want to do.
Be intentional!
Mindfully navigating the weekend can reduce that feeling of regret for wasting time and, when you’re satisfied with how you spent your weekend, you can start your workweek with even greater focus and energy.
