Avoiding Burnout with Guilt-Free Rest

 “Wisdom is knowing when to have rest, when to have activity, and how much of each to have.” 

— Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Burnout: A physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress, is by definition, the opposite of rest. Rest, in today’s society, is the proverbial underdog. The high expectations we all feel regarding how much a person should earn, exercise, socialize, work, sleep, clean, etc. are wholly overwhelming. Burnout is glorified; lack of sleep, poor nutrition, and mental strain all in the name of achievement are exalted. While deep, intentional rest is seen as lazy, a waste of time, or completely unimportant. I challenge that view, believing rest to be just as, if not more important than work and effort to live a fully balanced life. The best way to avoid burnout is with guilt-free rest.

Rest, to those who are unfamiliar, is a state of being in which a person has no other expectation than to pause and just, be. Rest can look like many different things to many different people. For men rest might look like taking a fishing trip, grabbing a beer after work with the guys, or taking a 30-minute power nap with the dogs. 

*Reference examples taken by observing my husband 😉

To a toddler, rest is the enemy. A void of darkness that wastes precious time they could be spending exploring the new world they’ve been born into, much to their parent’s frustration. 

To a woman, rest could be as simple as not being touched every 5 minutes by little sticky fingers, getting a massage on the weekend, or soaking in a few quiet moments with a good book and an even better cup of tea.

We all view rest differently. Both in how we perceive it and how we choose to engage in it. The unifying problem many of us face is not getting enough rest. This can be a combination of quite literally not prioritizing rest enough, or not feeling the full benefit of rest when you do make time for it because stress and guilt keep you from fully enjoying it.

5 Forms of Rest

The musical definition of rest is “An interval of silence of a specified duration.” In an orchestra, there are moments when the music swells, becomes louder, or completely stops. 

The change in sound, speed, and duration are what make music interesting. Harmony can be juxtaposed by dischord, soft tones by powerful timbre. Though opposed the highlighted difference creates a unifying contrast that makes you keep listening. Composers understand to make a complete tune, you must find a balance between harsh and light, slow and fast.

Life is much like music. To fully enjoy the experience of work you must also rest. Work hard play hard is a common quote for a reason. 

There are many forms of rest:

Physical Rest: Reducing movement to a minimum to relax the body.

Mental Rest: Quieting the mind from racing thoughts, to-do lists, and problem-solving.

Sensory Rest: Reducing stimulitory overload by turning off unnecessary stimuli, and embracing quiet.

Social Rest: An introvert haven. Taking time to oneself for quiet reflection and stillness.

Spiritual Rest: Finding purpose and fulfillment by connecting with something or someone greater than yourself.

Each day, each situation, and even each moment may require you to exercise a different kind of rest. Building the self-awareness needed to discern what kind of rest you need and when is so helpful to living a more balanced and stress-reduced life.

Guilt-Free Rest

Burnout can be caused by many things, overwork, lack of sleep, poor time management, etc. All of these sources have the same root cause: self-neglect.

Self-neglect can take many forms:

• Forgetting to drink enough water in the day. 
• Straining your eyes in the dark scrolling on your phone instead of getting proper sleep.
• Lacking proper boundaries to say NO to the extra surprise overtime
• Mentally going over your to-do list for tomorrow when you should be enjoying your bubble bath.

There are many ways we neglect our needs. We often think “There isn’t enough time in the day” or, “I’ll get to that later.” Always looking for the outside source of our self-neglect problem. 

When in reality, our inability to prioritize our own basic needs is the true culprit to our own demise.

Rest when taken is so healing for the mind and body. It allows us to heal, reenergize, and restore our ability to continue. Feeling guilt when trying to rest is an unfortunately common occurrence, especially in women. 

As women, we by our nature, look to others’ needs before our own. Caretaking, nurturing, and soothing others. We have multiple tabs open in our minds at all times, always looking towards the next thing that needs to be done. Often feeling that weight alone, whether that is true or not.

To the stressed out, overwhelmed, and burnt-up, sitting down to rest is an unfathomable thing. The guilt of taking time for yourself would crush any possibility of experiencing any true respite. As there is always some task to be done that trumps our need to sit and be still, even when our body cries out for guilt-free rest.

This cycle of burnout will continue as long as we continue to put ourselves last. Understanding that you are important. That your needs are worthy of time and effort, and that taking time off doesn’t make you bad, rather it allows you to become whole. There is a reason burnout is often characterized by a frazzled, unkempt, and wide-eyed person. Burnout pushes you to your limits and beyond until you are completely unrecognizable.

Allowing deep intentional rest into your routine is what allows you to find yourself again. To pick up old hobbies you “didn’t have time for,” or dive into your wellness goals with real purpose. 

Rest is the most basic level of self-investment a person can do.

Learning to prioritize can change your life in such a profound way. Check out this In-nested blog post to read more on How to Overcome Burnout and start enjoying guilt-free rest.

Final Notes

Avoiding burnout with guilt-free rest is my hope for you. Learning to prioritize your mental wellness and invest in yourself as a woman is what In-nested is all about. 

I encourage you to take an honest look at your daily life and evaluate the current trajectory you are on. Is your schedule sustainable long-term? Do you notice any signs of burnout or increased stress levels? Can you remember the last time you felt totally at ease and relaxed?

Those can be hard questions to answer, but when you’re truthful with yourself you can start self-correcting. Positive change doesn’t have to be scary, it can be as simple as, getting some rest.

Until nest time,