It’s Sunday morning and, in a bid to keep at least one resolution until the end of January, I’m preparing to get up, get dressed and spend the day doing absolutely nothing. I was determined to enter the new year (and new lockdown) with a more balanced and productive WFH schedule. So, I committed myself to one day a week of actual, uninterrupted rest. But as I shuffle downstairs on Sunday, ready to be lazy, my overwhelming feeling is guilt.
Doing nothing does not come naturally for most of us. School studies and degree courses leave us, along with one of the most expensive pieces of paper we’ll ever get, with a crippling inability to switch off. The demands of study and work, coupled with the constant call of social media, have us feeling as though we could and should be doing more every second of the day.
This habit of staying switched on is seemingly doing more harm to our productivity than good. Experts suggest that ‘waking rest’ could be the ‘fourth puzzle piece’ alongside ‘exercise, nutrition and sleep’ in protecting our mental health and wellbeing. If we don’t give our minds space to breathe, our wellbeing suffers, and this has a direct impact on our ability to work efficiently. Studies show that there may be ‘cognitive benefits that can occur by allowing the brain time to consolidate and process information it is receiving’. Sadly, this practice of ‘switching off’, for so many of us, remains alien.
Coronavirus has only made rest-guilt worse. In December 2020, 28% of working adults in the UK were working solely from home, meaning that the lines between work and rest have become more blurred than ever before. Pre-pandemic, even long-hour weeks were punctuated with obligatory time out – a drink with friends, an exercise class, or a trip to the cinema – peppering work with rest and providing a change of scenery. Now, as we spend every waking moment – working, eating and sleeping – at home, it’s become almost impossible to keep track of where work begins and ends.
It’s not as if we can clock on and off at home. Currently, my working day starts whenever I finally shed my dressing gown. Clocking off at the end of the day is even harder. There’s always more to do and without having to physically leave the ‘office’, it’s easy to end up chained to my laptop.
Even when I finally make it out of work mode and sit down to watch the TV or a film, my laptop often ends up open again, or my eyes are constantly on my phone. We’ve gotten so used to the idea that the value of time lies in its productivity that, if we spend a moment even slightly disconnected, we feel as though it has been wasted. But punishing ourselves by denying rest is counterproductive. In fact, taking that rest may well increase motivation and productivity for the days ahead.
The first couple of Sundays that I took off felt fantastic. I took an extra long bath, sat and read for fun, watched movies and cooked new food. And, by the end of the day, I felt refreshed and ready to face the week ahead. However, this past Sunday, that familiar guilt started creeping back in. Even though I’d spent every other day of the week working, there were still things not crossed off of my to-do list. I didn’t feel as though I’d achieved enough that week. I couldn’t rest until it was done.
But that’s not the point. We don’t deserve rest when we’ve completed a certain number of tasks. It’s not a bonus or a treat, conditional on our ability to perform optimally. Rest is essential. It’s just as important as the work we put in. Proper rest, in whatever way we’re able to take it – be it a day off, an evening in front of the TV, a midweek walk, or just an hour sat doing something purely for pleasure – restores us, gives our minds a break and refuels our motivation. For this reason, I’m determined to stick to my resolution. So, this Sunday, I’ll be taking the day off and, if guilt comes knocking, I’ll be politely telling it to give me a break.
Feature image by Sincerely Media on Unsplash.
quarter-life-crisis.blog 
Leave a comment