Experiments with Rest part 2

 

Leave something in the tank

Have you ever noticed that if you plug your phone in to charge before the battery has run out, it begins charging straight away and is soon ready for use again?  Conversely if you drain the battery down, it sits on charge for some time before it even registers as charging?  I started to recognise that my own energy works in much the same way when I came across the concept of leaving something in the tank.  I cannot remember where I read it, but the suggestion was that we would be wise to finish our day, and our week, with 20% of our energy left in reserve.

It made sense to me to have some margin for the unforeseen, but how often was this excess energy really needed?  And besides, I find I am able to dig deep and keep going when I really need to.  But I tried it anyway.  I turned off my computer at the end of my work day, rather than staying on to feel a bit more on top of things.  I did a bit less so that I could stop before I was exhausted, and I discovered something interesting.  Much like my phone when I came rest and recharge before my energy was completely drained, it changed the experience of rest.  I entered my time off with sufficient energy to do something truly restorative.  Yoga, a hobby, quality time with people I love.  When I previously arrived at my time off at full velocity.  Tired but wired. I was capable of little more than collapsing exhausted in front of the TV with a tub of ice cream.  This kind of rest gave me sufficient energy to get up on Monday morning and start the whole process again, but little more.  Leaving something in the tank brings a different quality to rest, and truly restorative rest brings and different quality to work.

Experiments with Rest part 1

 

I’ve reached a point in my life where I want more.  I don’t just want to be productive; I want to enjoy the process of living.  Years of immersion in time management techniques has taught me that managing my time does not automatically achieve this.  After all I can neatly fit a lot of activity into my calendar only to run out of steam to do anything more than go through the motions.  So, this year I have decided to try some experiments to find a better way.  Here’s what I’ve discovered so far…..

Rest first

The Jewish community hold a unique perspective on time that I think has much to teach us about the life’s rhythms.  The Jewish day starts in the evening, and the week starts with Sabbath rest.  What strikes me about this approach is that they begin with rest.  How different this is from the traditional western mindset that views rest as a means of recovery from work.

I was raised to see rest as a luxury; something to enjoy when all the work was done.  This approach has many a time left me pushing through exhausted, my tired brain having to work twice as hard to achieve half as much.  In contrast, when I return to work after a restorative break feeling fresh and energized, I bring energy, creativity and a wiser approach to what I do.  My work flows easily, and the result is of a higher quality.

This caused me to consider the importance of mindset.  What difference would it make for me to think in terms of working from rest, rather than resting from work.  How would I do things differently.  What would it change?

To experiment with this idea, I adjusted my routine.  Instead of resting, or more honestly collapsing, on the sofa for the evening at the end of a long day.  I have started setting an evening alarm to go bed earlier and rising earlier the next day.  This has brought me time to ease into the day at a slower pace and greater mindfulness.  It had also allowed me time to begin my day with self-care activities such as meditation and intention setting, cold plunging and exercising.  It was an adjustment, and it took some discipline to turn off the TV and wind down for bed, but I have come to savour my early nights and reap the benefits of starting my day with rest.  I have not started doing any new activities, simply taking time for restoration before work, but this has enabled me to start my day focused and relaxed, rather than tired and rushed.   I have previously I had tried to do these activities after work, but inevitably ended up working late, or lacking the energy to do them.  Starting with rest means that, whatever the day brings, I have taken care of my needs and set my day on a positive trajectory.  Same activities different order, yet working from rest is a totally different experience.