The importance of rest of all types can’t be overstated. In today’s world, rest is a rare and valuable commodity. I am often reminded of a line in Pete Townshend’s song “Outlive the Dinosaur,” which goes, “Time is generous, more, take more… Time expansive, more, take more.” This line always resonates with me as I grow older. Rest is challenging to prioritize due to our numerous enjoyable and mundane responsibilities. Time is both infinite and finite and every task wants more of our time than we initially wanted to give it.
While we understand that our time on this planet is finite and things that take time demand more and more from us, so much more that that the amount of time starts to seem infinite. A typical inclination is to say, “There is plenty of time.” And even worse “There will be plenty of time.” To be fair, I actually thrive on these demands (most of the time). Sometimes, though, you just need a break.
In general, getting physical rest seems like a pretty straightforward need. It is not always easy of course, but we generally recognize that it is something we need, even if we know we aren’t getting nearly enough. For myself, one of the most significant barriers to getting physical rest is being tired and shutting your brain off.
Giving your brain some rest is quite a bit harder, and I am frequently guilty of neglecting this need. I am prompted to address this because, as I wrote in this piece about where I often work, It is very rare that I disconnect enough from the demands of the outside world.
Because I can work from anywhere at any time, I am constantly contemplating new ideas to write about. While some people recommend yoga or meditation for mental rest, I take a different approach. My solution is really the polar opposite in that I engage my brain on completely inconsequential activities. Being a theme park enthusiast is a significant part of my non-work life. Several times a year, I enjoy challenging my mind with strategies to maximize my enjoyment at theme parks. For about 23 hours a day, I revel in forgetting about work, databases, and the realities of life. It also lets me push myself into physical exhaustion over longer periods of time which working at a desk does not achieve!
Will I occasionally have a creative insight? Of course, and I will whip out OneNote and jot down that idea. Do I check my email? Yes, because I dread returning to discover a significant issue that has arisen at work (it’s happened before, and shocks from major changes tend to wipe out all the other benefits of mental rest). Part of the mental rest for me is to ease my mind occasionally so I don’t start thinking about it. However, aside from addressing my mild paranoia, I disconnect from all work-related tasks and technical matters to give my brain a break from that and start working what has become a life-sized puzzle to see how many different ways I can be flipped, spun, and generally just have fun.
The net effect is that I am not focusing on all the things I need to do when I get home, and all the things I am thinking about are fun and really make no difference in the world. So, when I get back to bed after a day at a park, My brain is exhausted, and my body is too. But since none of it matters, I have nothing to dwell on.
With any luck, this is precisely what I am doing as you read this article.
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