We all live busy lives, work meetings, constant streams of emails, endless chores that build up. 

Do you find time to relax and unwind?

Or do you feel that you just don’t have time?

I used to struggle with rest, feeling almost guilty for sitting still, my brain would race with my ever growing to do lists. I’d feel unproductive as if I was cheating by stopping.

I have since found out that this way of thinking can be detrimental to health, having experienced burnout multiple times – you’d think I’d learn.

Here are a few strategies I have implemented to add more rest into my daily life:

Reconnect with Nature

I love to exercise! 

I feel so alive after a long run or a weights session at the gym. 

But it’s also important to have rest days.

At the weekend I tend to take a short walk in nature. 

Sometimes with music or an audiobook.

But often I let nature be my soundtrack and really zoom into the glorious sounds, sights and smells that God has blessed us with. 

I feel so energised disconnecting to connect.

Prioritise

Someone shared with me the phrase “keep the main thing, the main thing” – Stephen Covey.

To me this means being ok with saying no.

Not multitasking.

Using the urgent, important, not urgent, not important grid to plan out my day.

Making sure that I focus on the most important tasks first, but still finding time to do things for myself.

Recently I’ve started ending the day with a mindful drawing, or painting.

I love being creative and devoting time each day to do something mindless.

Be at one

I’ve also used meditation to help clear my mind.

By focusing on my breath and just my breath.

I feel more focused and refreshed to face my day.

Statistics show that practicing meditation can increase your attention span after only 4 days.

Imagine what would happen if you did it every day for a month or a year or a lifetime.

Zone out

Another great way to really rest and relax is by having a long bath.

Put the tech away and focus on you.

Light a nice scented candle, use your favourite bath bombs and for extra calming vibes use a face mask.

According to Dr. Mark Khorsandi “Stress causes the muscles of the body to contract, [and a] hot bath can relieve those symptoms and keep the muscles loose.” 

In fact stretching and moving about in the bath is effectively a low-impact workout that can burn 140 calories. Not bad.

I challenge you today to find time in your day to rest, even if it’s 15 mins to write down 5 gratitudes. What can you do to add more rest in your life?

Let me know if the comments below.

Nadine x

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash