8 Ways to Make Time For Rest Without The Guilt

Making time for rest is critical to taking care of yourself and rejuvenating your body. Yet, so many of us avoid taking breaks and allowing ourselves to rest. Is it because we believe we don’t need one? Afraid someone calls us out on it? Do we believe taking breaks is not being productive?

Did you know when we make time for rest – we can function to the best of our abilities? We can get more done without burning out!

Burnout is when we push ourselves so hard that we begin to feel exhausted, stress and deprive. We get frustrated and angry more often than we hope to.

When we fail to make time for rest, we become burned out. Physically, emotionally and mentally. Which is not good for anyone of us.

Why You Are Failing To Make Time For Rest? 

We are living in times where our status and our success are defined by how busy we are. A society that glorifies the hustle and bustle lifestyle. We have brainwashed ourselves into believing that others will judge and criticize us when we make time for rest. Maybe you have convinced yourself that you do not need the rest. And to create a life and a business, you love you need to keep pushing. Your friends and family are doing it, so you got to keep up with them and keep working. You have to stay busy.

Growing up, you were always told to stay busy, or you will get into trouble. (I remembered being told that!)? Not to be seen idling around. Do you remember being told these things?

You have deluded yourself into believing that you don’t have enough time in your day to rest. When you see others making time for rest, you think of them as being lazy, as someone who has no ambitions. So it’s obvious you are not going to be in the same boat as that person who has “no ambition.” Maybe you think, they are super lucky and you are not worthy of having the luxury they have.

What Happens When We Fail To Rest

When we are constantly doing and pushing ourselves – we may not always realize it. But, our bodies and minds become worn out. We feel exhausted and low in energy despite getting more than 6-7 hours of sleep. Our muscles and joints become sore. You find yourself yelling and getting angry quite easily. Unable to take care of yourself or spend quality time with friends and loved ones.

When we fail to make time for rest, we become less effective. Making us unable to produce the same quality work that we usually do. We become stress and may suffer from anxiety which can affect us mentally, emotionally and physically.

When you keep pushing and forcing yourself, you will eventually suffer from burnout. This is never good and it may take you a long time to recover from being burned out.

Sometimes when we fail to take time to rest, our bodies will force us to. Which is something none of us wants. As moms, we want to be able to take care of ourselves. So we can show up and be the best and healthiest version of ourselves.

How Making Time For Rest Can Benefit Us

When we can unplug from our busy lives and dedicate time to resting and taking breaks, we open ourselves to rejuvenating on so many levels.

Thanks to nature, we are all unique human beings. This means each one of our needs when it comes to taking rest will be different. However, we can enjoy similar benefits when we put our needs first and make time to rest.

Here’s how making time for rest can benefit us:

Resting can help reduce stress

At one point or the other, we will all be faced with stress. It’s quite common!

Taking time to rest can serve as a powerful stress reducer.

When we make time to rest non-negotiable in our lives. We can improve our concentration, make wiser decisions and regulate our moods. Mastering these qualities in life will help us to handle stressful situations with ease.

Improves productivity 

You will always be more productive when you are rested. That’s why so many of us can achieve or get more work done in the mornings rather than in the afternoons. While Mondays are when we feel a burst of energy. Once we hit mid-week, our energy depletes as we now have, less cognitive energy to fuel us.

Help us feel good 

When we are rested, we feel energetic. We feel good – physically, mentally and emotionally. We do not feel the pain behind our necks and our joints don’t hurt as much. Resting helps us restore our energy and allows us to feel healthy.

Taking time to rest – helps us easily solve problems 

Rest helps us to be more focused when making decisions. It helps us to analyze the situation and choose wisely. Taking some time to pause before responding or dealing with a situation allows you the opportunity to see things through a different lens or perspective.

Ways to Make Time For Rest Without Guilt

Taking time to rest mindfully and consistently will significantly impact your life. Building a habit where you can add small intervals of break into your everyday life is ideal. Eventually, making time for rest without guilt will become second nature.

Are you ready for some relaxation? Then let’s go!

Here are 8 ways you can make time for rest:

1. Schedule in time for breaks

We are worried if we take breaks we will fall behind.

This is far from the truth. Taking breaks can bring about a magnitude of benefits to you and your life. Taking breaks will allow you to perform better, be more productive and efficient and feel less stressed. It will prevent you from “crashing” at the end of the day because you feel less exhausted.

It is quite important to take mini-breaks throughout your day. And here’s the thing. It doesn’t matter if you are running a six-figure empire or you’re a stay-at-home mom.

We all need mini-breaks throughout our day. Mini-breaks help improves our well-being and allows us to stay productive.

Give yourself a mini-break every four hours. Your mini-breaks can look something like this:

• Walking to get a glass of water. Sit for 5 minutes and sip your water while gazing outside.
• Chatting with a friend over the phone.
• Reading a book.
• Listening to some of your favorite songs or podcast.
• Walking.
• Eating your lunch mindfully.

Scrolling through social media is NOT taking a break. I say this because many times social media can drain or intoxicate us. Make us judge and compare ourselves to others.

How can you ensure you take mini-breaks throughout your day? 

By doing this:

• set a reminder on your phone for a set time during your day.
• Make it non-negotiable.
• Use post-it notes as reminders – that when you are rested, you can function better. Leave these notes on your desktop, kitchen counters, or refrigerator.

2. Create a nighttime routine

Practice a nighttime routine and keep it consistent. Allow this ritual to flow effortlessly into your life. Detach from all electronics at least an hour before your bedtime. Create a “to-do list” for the next day. Listing the things that are a priority at the top of the list. Schedule in the expected time to begin and complete each task. And of course, schedule in your mini-break intervals as well. Incorporate a gratitude practice into this ritual as well. By writing three things you are grateful for that took place in your day.

Currently, I am using the five minutes journal. Within weeks of using this journal, I was able to feel aligned with my goals. I really love the end-of-day reflection from this journal. It allows me to slow down and reflect on the experiences I had for the day. As a personal growth junkie, it helps me recognize what I learned from the day. And what areas of my life need some more work.

Related post:

Healthy Habits That Will Last 

3. Morning pages

The morning pages technique comes from the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Julia Cameron created this approach to journaling as a way to tap into our creativity.

So, what are morning pages?

Morning pages are conscious journal writing, done first thing in the morning. Basically, as soon as you wake in the morning, you grab a journal or spiral notebook and begin hand-writing three pages of whatever thoughts you have floating around in your mind. It could be about the dreams you had. How you are going to spend your day. The trip you want to go on. The designer handbag you’ve been eyeing. Any thoughts come to mind just write about it.

Morning journaling helps you to gain clarity. Allowing you to free up space in your mind so you can feel more relax and less tense, leading you to be more efficient and productive.

Related post:

How To Detox Your Mind 

4. Meditation

In her book, stress less accomplish more, Emily Fletcher, wrote – ” Meditation gives the body deep, healing rest—rest that is actually deeper than sleep. When you give your body the rest it needs, it knows how to heal itself. One of the things it heals itself from is stress. The less stress you have in your body, the easier it is for you to perform at the top of your game.”

5. Turn airplane mode on

Switch to airplane mode for a few hours a day. This will allow you to disconnect from the world momentarily. Allowing you to connect to more important things in life. Like family and loved ones. Catching up on a hobby (which is a form of relaxation) and taking time to rest mindfully.

6. Take deep breaths

Breathing exercises help us to relaxed, feel less tension and stress. It calms us down when we are feeling overloaded or overly anxious. The reason for this is because when we breathe deeply, we send a message to our brain to calm down and relax. The brain, in turn, sends a message to your body that it needs to rest.

Try this breathing exercise where you breathe in deeply for a count of  1, 2, 3 and 4. Hold for a count of 5 and 6 and then exhale through your mouth for a count of 1, 2, 3 and 4.  Repeat this breathing exercise for at least 1 minute.

7. Sleep more 

We all know the importance of getting adequate sleep. But how many of us, really do get sufficient sleep? Soaking up 7-8 hours of deep sleep is essential for physical and mental health.

Build a night routine and stick to it. It will allow you to have good sleep. So when you wake in the morning you feel rejuvenated and ready for whatever your day throws at you.

8. Ask for help

This can sometimes be hard. But you know what?! You will never get what you want if you don’t ask for it. 

Don’t feel guilt for needing help. We all do need help one way or the other. If you are feeling burned out, anxious or frustrated – ask your parents, a close friend or your spouse for some help. Get the help when you need it the most.

Making time for relaxation is essential. There’s no reason to feel guilty when you are resting. Rest is critical to your health and wellbeing.

I hope that these practices will allow you some free time, so you can unwind and embrace your ambitions without feeling burned out while enjoying and loving your life.

Here is what I do know – you deserve to rest.

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