Thanks for this reminder to rest and to rest well. I love the quote about the lack of relaxed women in the world... "relaxed women? At-ease women? Women who don't dissect their days into half hour slots of productivity? Women who prioritize rest and pleasure and play? Women who aren't afraid to take up space in the world? Women who give themselves unconditional permission to relax?"
Hey Milena, I love this post! For so long, I would correlate resting with me being unproductive. It would eat away at me until I found more work to do. I felt guilty for not reaching my goals quicker because I decided to take a rest. I really resonated with what you said at the end about rest being deserved and a right. Even machines run out of juice lol. Thank you so much for posting this! Your newsletter is awesome by the way! Just subscribed! :)
It is indeed so hard to let ourselves not be productive for a bit. As you mention the impression is we are delaying progress on our goals if we rest. Yet if we look a bit more closely, we may discover we are delaying progress if we do not rest 😅
True, I can't deny that! Sometimes after I've spent a fair amount of time in my mini torture chamber, I come up with writing ideas I really love. Yet without rest, I hardly ever go on to develop them
I absolutely agree and I feel the same way. I love to read but always ‘feel bad’ and I only reward myself with rest when I feel I have achieved most of my To Do list. It’s a form of madness. But you are also right when you say it is modelled by the women before us. I have a teenage daughter, in bed as I type (GCSEs finished yesterday) and even though it is a sunny day, I will leave her.
This is a great post! I agree rest is so important and we all need to practice it daily. We can’t all be the kind of people who go and never stop. Even after creating the whole world the Lord God rested…I believe if He thought it was important to rest that we should too. 🙂
Oh, my goodness. I feel as though this could have been written for me. In fact I think I need this on a T shirt - or transcribed into the front of my notebook.
And I came across the Hobbs’ quote some time ago as well and thought: “Yes, agree! Not a single women throughout my childhood, adolescence and even early career resembled the picture of a relaxed, calm, at ease yet fierce woman!”
What a wake-up call! Yes, we should see rest as a right, and not as something to do when you're totally exhausted and can't lift a finger any more. And so it should be slotted in like all the other things we schedule in our lives. Problem is that some of us don't even know HOW to rest? Will that be one of your next essays?!
Exactly, we should rest way before we are on the verge of exhaustion. As I alluded here, I still haven't nailed how to rest guilt-free, but am very keen to continue exploring the topic and to share my learnings here :)
Thanks for this reminder to rest and to rest well. I love the quote about the lack of relaxed women in the world... "relaxed women? At-ease women? Women who don't dissect their days into half hour slots of productivity? Women who prioritize rest and pleasure and play? Women who aren't afraid to take up space in the world? Women who give themselves unconditional permission to relax?"
Yes this quote carries a lot of strength! And it seems we can all do with one more reminder to rest :)
Hey Milena, I love this post! For so long, I would correlate resting with me being unproductive. It would eat away at me until I found more work to do. I felt guilty for not reaching my goals quicker because I decided to take a rest. I really resonated with what you said at the end about rest being deserved and a right. Even machines run out of juice lol. Thank you so much for posting this! Your newsletter is awesome by the way! Just subscribed! :)
Thank you for your kind words and support! :)
It is indeed so hard to let ourselves not be productive for a bit. As you mention the impression is we are delaying progress on our goals if we rest. Yet if we look a bit more closely, we may discover we are delaying progress if we do not rest 😅
Exactly, Milena! It’s always about working smarter, not harder right lol? Rest is a huge part of efficiency. :)
Such an interesting piece that at times felt like I could have written myself.
Thanks for your comment, Mika! I still remember the first post I read from you and how you've given me some hope about achieving guilt-free rest 😄
Wow, that means a lot. Yay!! Full circle moment. 💕
Procrastination is [sometimes] creativity at work…
True, I can't deny that! Sometimes after I've spent a fair amount of time in my mini torture chamber, I come up with writing ideas I really love. Yet without rest, I hardly ever go on to develop them
I absolutely agree and I feel the same way. I love to read but always ‘feel bad’ and I only reward myself with rest when I feel I have achieved most of my To Do list. It’s a form of madness. But you are also right when you say it is modelled by the women before us. I have a teenage daughter, in bed as I type (GCSEs finished yesterday) and even though it is a sunny day, I will leave her.
Such a great description, it is truly "a form of madness"! And yes, leading by example may not seem like a big deal, but it has a lot of impact :)
This is a great post! I agree rest is so important and we all need to practice it daily. We can’t all be the kind of people who go and never stop. Even after creating the whole world the Lord God rested…I believe if He thought it was important to rest that we should too. 🙂
Thanks for your comment, Kate! I love how you've put it - we should "practice" rest daily 😊
Oh, my goodness. I feel as though this could have been written for me. In fact I think I need this on a T shirt - or transcribed into the front of my notebook.
"Procrastination is not rest"
Haha love your idea, Louise! I think I also need this printed out on multiple items around the house so it is always in front of my eyes 😄
“You are worthy. And you are worthy of rest.”
This is so huge 🥹
And I came across the Hobbs’ quote some time ago as well and thought: “Yes, agree! Not a single women throughout my childhood, adolescence and even early career resembled the picture of a relaxed, calm, at ease yet fierce woman!”
Glad you enjoyed the post, Fabienne 🥰
This quote really stopped me in my tracks. We've been denying ourselves rest for far too long and we definitely need it. And deserve it anytime!
What a wake-up call! Yes, we should see rest as a right, and not as something to do when you're totally exhausted and can't lift a finger any more. And so it should be slotted in like all the other things we schedule in our lives. Problem is that some of us don't even know HOW to rest? Will that be one of your next essays?!
Thank you for your comment, Karine!
Exactly, we should rest way before we are on the verge of exhaustion. As I alluded here, I still haven't nailed how to rest guilt-free, but am very keen to continue exploring the topic and to share my learnings here :)