Energizing Rest by Kaylea Dillon

Have you ever picked up your phone and started scrolling so you could ‘rest’ in between tasks? I frequently do this and one thing I can confidently say is that it is not the rest that I need. It almost feels stressful because I know I am just using my phone to procrastinate on starting the next task. This can then turn into mindless scrolling for much longer than was planned. Yet, what I am really looking for is an energizing rest. One where my mind is not already thinking about the next thing I need to do, but taking some time to fuel myself through selfcare. If any of this sounds familiar, take just the next few minutes out of your day to think about how you can have energizing rest in your life.

Let’s start by defining what energizing rest is not, then look at what it actually is. It is not mindlessly scrolling. It is not running through your to-do list. It isn’t even hanging out with someone as you both do a bunch of productive tasks.

I have tried to fool myself that I am getting ‘rest’ so many times. I will convince myself that going through flashcards for school, while watching a show counts as a break. I am not going through my flashcards as fast as I could be if I wasn’t watching a show, so I am giving myself a break from being actually productive. This is just one example of how I tell myself I am giving myself a break when I am not.

One way I have learned how to assess if I am truly resting is by taking a second to ask myself:

Have I given myself permission to be fully present and enjoy what I am doing?

Going back to my example of working on flashcards slowly while watching TV, I am clearly unwilling to focus on what could be relaxing for me (watching TV) because I feel a need to keep being productive (doing flashcards). This prevents me from taking the true mental break I need and actually enjoying the show. Instead, I stress about how much slower I am getting through my flashcards.

If you are like me, you might find yourself answering ‘no’ to the question posed above more often than not.

Here are some tips to make sure you are being fully present and enjoying more often than not:

1. Put relaxing on the calendar. I have started doing this and it has changed the way I think about relaxing. For anyone that likes crossing tasks off (like me) you get to scribble something off after you take a break that actually gives you energy, rather than continuing to feel burnt out. This also keeps you from overbooking.

2. Acknowledge that you are taking time to relax and that your body needs that to be at its most productive. Our bodies are going to take time to refuel, whether we give it that time or not. I would rather make sure that I am taking the time to enjoy some selfcare, then experience that dragging half-productiveness that doesn’t leave me accomplished or happy with myself. A perfect example of this is my routine of taking a midday break to do something fun for myself. I need to eat lunch to fuel my body, but I also need that time to rest in a mindful way. This helps me prepare to have a productive afternoon. By taking an hour to eat lunch, scroll through my phone, and even meditate I am able to knock things off my list in a productive way, even though I tend to have an afternoon slump. On the days when I choose to take a ‘working lunch’ I typically do not accomplish much in the afternoon. This is the power of energizing rest.

3. Recognize the mindset you are in. Sometimes I am playing a game to procrastinate on doing things. Sometimes I play games to relax and have fun. One of these mindsets allows me to feel rested and energized afterwards and the other makes me feel worse.

4. Identify what activities make you feel energized to take on the day. For me, this means acknowledging that watching TV with my fiance makes me feel joy, but that I do not get that same joy when I am also doing flashcards as I watch TV. I actually feel more drained then I would if I had just done the flashcards. Recognizing this has allowed me to stop doing flashcards during the time I need to be fueling myself through energized rest.

Being fully present is a skill that takes time to develop. It doesn’t come overnight. Yet, I encourage everyone to take the time to understand what energizing rest looks like for you and do those things. We all need to take the time to fuel ourselves with meaningful rest that is not just avoidance of tasks.

Additional tools for when you may be in crisis: 

U.S. Crisis Text Line: 741-741

U.S. Crisis Lifeline: 988

Ohio Mobile Response and Stabilization Services: 1-888-418-MRSS (6777)

Ohio Careline: 1-800-720-9616