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Sunday is a day of rest, or at least for the most part it is for me. Going to a million places and doing a million things all week can put your body on overload. If you don’t have at least one day to decompress, the question isn’t are you going to burnout, it’s when. Overworking yourself and putting too much stress on your shoulders can have some serious consequences. Some of these consequences may involve being depressed, losing relationships with friends or family, develop irritability, etc. Taking care of yourself should be your number one priority because without your health you have nothing. Your day of rest doesn’t have to be Sunday. It can be any given day of convenience to you. If you work Sunday but have off on Tuesday and Thursday, obviously choose one of those days to rest. Your body will thank you and rejuvenation will make you more productive.
Scheduling your day of rest around your life
A day of rest can be any day of the week. It doesn’t matter when it is, all that matters is that it happens. Rest however does not mean sitting on the couch eating popcorn. It means catching up on some much-needed sleep, spending time with family or friends, doing light leisure activities, etc. After a stretch of working and maxing out your energy for a few days in a row, your body will tell you that it needs time to recover. Listen to your body. You have instincts for a reason, trust them. If someone asks you if you could just do one more thing before you rest, make it clear to them that it is your rest day and you will handle anything the following day. Now this doesn’t mean neglect people, it just means most things aren’t urgent and can wait a day for you to get to it. This also doesn’t mean you can procrastinate. After your rest day is over, make sure you get what you need to get done. Bring your newfound energy into your stretch of work days.
Rest Day Activities
Yoga and meditation are great rest day practices that can help the mind and body. They are meant to restore inner peace within yourself after your body has been in a state of mania for days. These activities also help you learn how to control your emotions. Reaching a state of calmness and tranquility will allow you to see when your body and mind are entering a manic state. Recognizing when this happens may be able to help you better control these emotions so you feel more under control rather than acting erratically based purely on emotion. This is a great thing to practice on a rest day because it will translate into productivity and a better state of mind for all of the other days. Another great thing to do on a rest day is read a book. Reading is not only relaxing, but it is super productive! I like to read business and mindset books because I find them interesting, but that doesn’t have to be the case for everyone. If you prefer fiction or any other genre, that is perfectly okay on your rest day. Going for a light jog or a walk in a local park is another great way to spend your rest days. These walks or jogs are not meant to be intense. The intention is to keep the body in an active state of rest while enjoying nature and keeping the body loose. There are infinite ways to spend your rest days. Just make sure that what you’re doing is something that makes you both calm and happy!
Spending time with the people you love
This is such an important thing to do on rest days and can make you much happier. Being around those you love can be both enjoyable and motivating. Laughing, smiling, and just being together can make a bad day better. Make sure that this is a fixture of many rest days because if it isn’t, you may regret it down the road. It is possible to do any of the activities I listed in the last section with people who you love. Make a rest day part of their routine too and spend the day together!
When the day is over
After a rest day you should feel rejuvenated, but sometimes not too excited for the next day of work. Try not to think about what’s to come for the next few days on a rest day and just live in the moment. If you don’t, you will find that these days slip by leaving you wondering where the time went. At the end of the day, go to bed with a positive mindset. Don’t dread what’s to come, be grateful for what just happened. When you wake up in the morning the next day, then you can reflect on your previous rest day and how great it was to motivate you to reach another one later in the week. Keep that positive mindset you established from your rest day and bring it to everything you do every day. This will make life much more enjoyable and you will become a more pleasant person.
Conclusion
A day of rest after a long stretch of difficult work days is needed. If you don’t take rest, you could easily burn yourself out. It isn’t a matter of if you will burnout, it’s when. Sunday is a good day for me to take a rest day, but it doesn’t have to necessarily be Sunday. Work rest days around your own schedule so it best fits your needs. On these days there are many activities you can do. Pick up a book, walk in the park, practice yoga and meditation, and most importantly spend time with those you love. Practicing these activities on a regular basis will make you much more pleasant and positive all the time. It will also help you better control your emotions and understand yourself to gauge how you feel in certain situations. Take a regular rest day. You won’t regret it!