3 Tips for Productive R&R
Productivity. Rest and Relaxation. The key players in living a harmonious life, yet finding the perfect balance is one of the hardest tasks we could set out to do. Cognitive burnout is real and can be an ever-present obstacle to our goals. The dedication we have to the grind and execution needs to be applied to our rest and renewal. After all, Is it a true success if you are too sick or exhausted to enjoy the fruits of your labor?
Today’s society has no shortage of distractions, delusions, and shiny things to keep you stagnant and lazy. Ease has become associated with instant gratification and many of us are fighting an uphill battle against our own digital addictions and decreasing attention spans. It’s hard to feel productive when so much of the day is wasted. We forget that productivity is the optimized use of resources.
So, where is the line? How do we avoid the territory of burnout if we are in love with the process of the hustle? A hard question to answer because for everyone it's different. It will take trial and error to find the perfect workload. You can always reflect and ask yourself: Is what I am doing sustainable? Can I continue to do this for the next 30 days? 60 days? A year? If the answer to these questions causes feelings of anxiety or dread you may be approaching burnout or just wasting your time. Without time for rest, it's hard to gain clarity and a fresh perspective on the bigger picture.
We have all experienced the moment of sitting down, putting our feet up only to spend the time thinking about all that we still have to do. When you finally make time for rest and renewal it should be just that. No anxiety, overthinking, or excessive planning, yet so often the time we set aside to relax is associated with a pang of looming guilt. We can’t seem to get the next three items on the to-do list out of our heads and instead of relaxing the mind, it’s more active than ever.
We need to make better use of the time we set aside to work so that when we take time to rest, it’s easier to enjoy the time and space for ourselves. The following are the three tips I use for keeping the time for rest and self-care as sacred and productive as it can be.
Tip 1: Give yourself a bare minimum.
What is the minimum amount of work you need to do to feel accomplished? Sometimes it's worth pondering the least amount of work we could do without feeling guilty about resting. This is a great way to attack the lingering anxiety you feel from not having checked off enough important boxes on your to-do list. Maybe you made the appointment that was long overdue or organized your home for the first time in weeks. You could have finally completed a project that’s been haunting you for months. Trigger your brain’s reward system by finally crossing items off your to-do list. When you are looking to build productivity momentum, the first step is to start doing.
Tip 2: Write it Down or Get it Done.
Acknowledge or Address. Those important tasks you can’t forget, and calls that need to be made all need to be stored somewhere. Most people will just have an open to-do list in their mind of the mundane things they need to do. When they relax and their mind wanders, it’s all they end up thinking about. When you write something down, you can trap the thought in a place that can be referenced at any time. It’s even easier if you can address the thought with the necessary action and get it done.
If writing down a reminder will take longer than doing the task itself, then do the task. It is more efficient to handle a task as it comes to mind than to put it off for a later time. You just finished two hours of deep work and it’s time for a break. Before you can leave, you remember you have to activate a subscription for your business. Instead of writing a reminder to activate the subscription, use the break to activate the subscription.
Check out the linked video below, where Cal Newport, author of Deep Work, talks about creating a working memory as a way to remember important ideas and tasks while keeping your available mental capacity free to focus. Whatever method you choose, the goal should be a free and clear mental space to focus on the project, client, or event in front of you.
Increase your present awareness by clearing some of your mental clutter. The great thing about having a working memory or second brain system is you can save your cognitive memory for what’s important.
Tip 3: Find a leisurely activity or hobby.
Rest does not always equate to complete inaction. Making time for rest is making time to calm your mind. Hobbies are a great way to fill your time with meaningful, restorative activities without the cognitive pressure we might feel at work. You can spend your time reading or sewing a scarf. You can relax on the beach or go for a hike. Take the time to feed your soul with pure experience.
Activities or hobbies you might be interested in pursuing can include:
Reading
Crafting
Sculpting and Metalwork
Painting or drawing
Writing
Hiking
Sailing
Fishing
Working out
Building legos or puzzles
Any activity that puts the mind at ease.
Everyone wants to be productive to some degree, it’s the only way we can truly find purpose in life. Yet on the other side of maximized productivity is optimized rest and rejuvenation.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes we can get so caught up in the grind to reach the top we don’t get enough rest to keep the fire burning. Set a limit to the bare minimum that needs to get done in a day before you can close shop. Write down any tasks you need to remember, meetings, work projects, and deadlines should all be noted. Transition into your leisurely activity or hobby to begin your time for self-care. The perfect activity will be very different from your daily work and that contrast will relax the mind.
