Health Hacks: The Importance Of Rest

Resting. We seldom do it and yet we all absolutely need it. I don’t mean sleep.

And I’m not talking about going to bed early and getting more than eight hours sleep. I’m taking about the time needed to just kick back, relax, ditch the phone and stay off any digital media apps and spend a few moments (or more) either reading, reflecting or even meditating.

Essentially the idea of rest, or rather the core idea of what rest is, is allowing the body to be in a state of comfort where the mind is at ease and the body is in a state of bliss. Something which doesn’t always have to be achieved from meditation either.

Since my travels to the snow several weeks back, where I took some much needed time off to relax and stay off digital media as much as possible; except to take photos of course, I have been trying to fit in time here and there where I could take some time out, even at home, just to chill out and rest.

But, as the days go by and the days fill up fast with things to do, it was easy to slip back into a hectic lifestyle after returning from my mini-vacation in the snow and I realised this weekend just gone,I hadn’t taken any time out in more than two weeks to switch off everything, my computer and my phone in particular, to just rest and take a break.

So, that’s exactly what I did. I took a day to rest and it felt fabulous. So much so, waking up this morning, I’m actually finding it hard to get back into my weekly routine from spending so much time on the weekend resting.

Of course, I completely respect and understand rest may be difficult for some, especially if you’re a carer for a member of your family or a mother (father) of young children. But, even taking a small moment to yourself, to enjoy a cup of tea (or coffee) to watch tour favourite television show, or read even one chapter of a book you have been dying to start. The simplest thing, whether it lasts for thirty minutes or over an hour, is achievable and it certainly pays off when you do it too.

Being a freelancer, my schedule is always flat out and it gets difficult for me to manage my time where I switch off and let clients know I’m not available. In other words, I’m a workaholic.

The hardest part about being a freelancer is any time spent not working, is time not earning money. And when you first start out doing freelance work (like me) all you want to do is work is earn money, right? But I’ve come to learn these past few months, physically and emotionally it really isn’t worth it.

And finding the right medium, such as not working weekends, is the key to allowing some rest time away from work.

Of course, I’m also studying a degree in journalism, so whatever time not spent working, I’m studying. However, I’ve now worked a plan which allows me to manage both. It does mean my weekdays are a lot busier than normal as I juggle everything that’s going on.

But the end result does leave me with a weekend more open and free to do what I want to do, which these days is just to rest.