Athletes know rest and restoration are key to reaching peak performance. They expand their capacities and build skills, then rest to allow the body and mind to recover.
This process of pushing forward and pulling back is fundamental to increasing performance (athletic or not).
Most managers and leaders, however, seem to dismiss rest and restoration entirely. They constantly tap their reserves, assuming working longer means getting more done. Actually, what they’re doing is reducing performance, burning themselves (and others) out, and creating unhealthy work environments where peak performance is impossible to achieve.
Why are we so afraid to rest or take a break?
I believe it’s because we equate hours worked with success or achievements. Therefore, taking time off from work means we’re not successful. We think we’re lazy and might be left behind.
Many of us feel guilty for resting. Some of my clients fear they’re wasting time when resting. (This is the opposite of reality, but the fear of resting is that strong.) Often, clients claim “I haven’t taken a day off this year” as a badge of honor, when it actually displays a lack of boundaries, ineffective management, and detrimental work-life imbalances. Others may love their work so intensely that the more they do, the happier they feel. This makes it hard to set healthy boundaries and simply rest.
Working hard and having a strong work ethic are important, I agree. And there are times in our businesses and work lives when we need to pull all-nighters or involve everyone to successfully launch new products, complete end-of-year financial statements, or ensure start-up success.
Over the long term, however, burning the candle at both ends will have disastrous effects on your health and relationships. I speak from personal experience. Twice in my career, I have experienced severe burnout. On one of those occasions, I couldn’t work for six months.
My periods of burnout posed serious challenges. I was a sole entrepreneur and our family’s primary breadwinner. Fortunately, my exceptional business coach gave me an ultimatum: “Until you find a hobby, I won’t coach you anymore.” I thought she was joking (or crazy). How could I possibly fit in a hobby when I was working 80 hours a week and flying all over the world?
But something about her non-negotiable approach told me that she knew (or could see) something I couldn’t. I followed her advice and found a hobby that would change my life and business forever. Somewhere in the process of focusing on what made me truly happy, and taking a break from working all the time, I wrote a new business plan. It said, “I will work four hours a day, four days a week, doing what I love, and making twice the money.” I didn’t know if it was feasible. What I knew was that if I didn’t change how I worked, making room for rest and play, I would become sick again.
Fast forward 10 years, and this now is my work-life. I meditate at midday almost every day. I surf or workout once a day. I journal in the morning. And I don’t work on Saturdays (unless I feel called to). There are still times when I work hard and put in a spurt of time and energy, but then I rest. Yes. I rest. I take more time for myself, learning new things and traveling for fun. I replenish my energy by sitting still. Like an athlete after a major competition, I give myself a break.
When I share my approach, many clients say, “Well, you can get away with that because you don’t have an employer.” Part of that is true. It would be hard to sell your boss on going from working 10 hours a day to four. It is, however, possible to change how you work, adding rest and restoration to increase your effectiveness. In our virtual world, most bosses actually don’t worry much about hours worked. They measure results.
Step one: Change your mindset and focus on rest and restoration.
Sleeping and resting (two separate functions) are vital to survival. During the deep-sleep phase, the body repairs and regrows tissue. It also builds muscle and bone and strengthens our immune systems. It’s not how many hours we sleep, but the quality of the sleep that determines how well your body and mind can restore. There are many gadgets and apps that can measure your sleep (I’m partial to Whoop). They offer valuable details about which sleep phases you spend most of your time in. They also offer strategies for getting higher quality sleep by making small lifestyle adjustments.
In addition to improving sleep quality, you’d benefit from understanding your heart rate variability (HRV). This is a formula to determine how balanced your autonomic nervous system is. Think of the autonomic nervous system as your body’s control station. By sending automatic signals through the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, it keeps our bodies functioning without our needing to think about sweating, urinating, digesting, and so on.
The sympathetic system keeps us safe. Our “fight or flight” signal, it keeps us away from danger. It also assesses real or perceived stressors and reacts accordingly to keep us safe. The parasympathetic system is for “rest and digest.” It keeps us healthy and balanced, signaling when we need to sleep and helping our food digest. These systems have opposite functions. One alerts us if we push ourselves too hard (sympathetic). The other calms our bodies and tells us when it’s time to rest (parasympathetic).
When these systems are balanced, we feel great, experience less stress, and are healthy. We can do more and feel more energetic. This is when our HRV score is high. When these systems are imbalanced, our HRV score is low. Consequently, we tend to feel tired, stressed, and possibly depressed. There are no “good” or “bad” HRV scores. The best way to find yours is through the consistent use of a measuring device.
If we forget (or ignore) our body’s rest signals, we confuse the parasympathetic nervous system. Over time, this will affect our digestion, ability to heal from infections, and other functions. When we’re always on the go, we over-activate the sympathetic nervous system. Thinking we’re being chased by a predator, it pumps our system full of hormones and chemicals to survive the perceived attack. The long-term problem: Unable to handle these mixed responses, the body eventually will break down, resulting in chronic disease.
How can we become more balanced? How can we help the autonomic nervous system send the right signals to help our bodies and minds thrive?
We need to prioritize rest and restoration.
Let’s start by diving into the seven types of rest. According to The 7 Types of Rest That Every Person Needs, sleep and rest are NOT the same thing. We need both. In addition to getting quality sleep, you’ll need to explore the seven types of rest.
Exercise:
Rate yourself on a scale from 1-10 (1=never; 10=almost daily). How often do you engage in the following types of rest?
- Physical (passive or active): Time for sleeping, napping, stretching, massage therapy, calming yoga, meditation.
- Mental: Time to think quietly without interruptions. Break from work-related thinking.
- Sensory: Time away from bright lights, noises, screens, TVs. Time and space to take in the sounds, smells, and tastes of nature.
- Creative: Time to travel, experience new things, play, dance, think, and innovate without an agenda.
- Emotional: Time to process emotions and feelings, talk about feelings with friends or loved ones, and take time away from people who are emotionally draining.
- Social: Time with people you love. Enjoy quality time with others and avoid social media.
- Spiritual: Time for prayer, spiritual practices, meditation, free writing, or connecting in meaningful ways with nature or others.
Upon reflection, which of the seven types of rest will you commit to practicing more? What would be the benefits to you and those around you? How might increasing your rest time help you be a better contributor, manager, or leader?
Consider keeping track of how you feel after increasing your commitment to rest. Are you more energized? Are you happier? Do you feel more at peace?
