While everyone is talking about setting goals for the New Year, strategizing to make Q1 sparkle, and hustling harder than ever to achieve what can often feel like elusive success, I’m here to whisper another work word in your ear:
REST.
Research shows that well-rested individuals are up to 30% more productive and make 50% fewer errors than their rest-deprived counterparts. Rest enhances cognitive functions like memory, problem-solving, and decision-making, leading to high-quality work.
A quick web search defines rest as:
verb
- to cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength
- to be placed or supported so as to stay in a specified position
noun
- an instance or period of relaxing or ceasing to engage in strenuous or stressful activity
Rest isn’t about going to bed earlier or getting more sleep—and I won’t even talk about screen time (wink, wink!). I’m not advocating that you leave “the office” earlier each day or work fewer days in the week – though that may be a side benefit in the end. I also know you have a mile-long to-do list, and the items on that list are important. I’m not suggesting you throw them to the wind and plop down on the couch for a season of your favorite new series.
Instead, I’m suggesting paying attention to another type of rest.
The Importance of Active Rest for Consultants
If we had the opportunity to get together over coffee, I bet you’d tell me that some of the things I’m about to suggest were priorities you had when you first started your business.
- Family time – without continuously checking your inbox on your
- Vacation – a REAL vacation without your laptop and the stress of work!
- Lunch with friends – remember those?
- Health is the first thing most people put on the back burner when things are “too busy.” Everything from our physical to mental health becomes an item on our to-do lists, and we’re “going to get to it” after just one more thing…
- Date night – taking care of the relationships that matter the most is far more important than we realize. This needs to be higher on all of our priority lists!
Define What “Rest” Means to You
Often, when business owners hear the word “rest,” eyes roll, and a sad or frustrated sigh is the first reaction. When we try to enforce rest on our own, we think it means sleeping more, as if some magical work fairy is going to come in and take care of things while we focus on a solid 8-hours of “rest.”
Rest in my eyes looks like gardening and pruning my house plants, cooking and baking sourdough and other breads, or a round of golf with my husband and sons, which I cherish! Quiet mornings where I can take care of the most important things before delving into all things work is the “rest” that works best for me and affects all other aspects of life the most. Having the freedom to go on a quick, unplanned trip to the next town over with my husband on a random Wednesday afternoon is a form of rest in my book!
What is it that allows your brain to relax, unwind, and… revive?
Are you a gardener, or does a massage sound better for you? Are you MAKING time for meditation each day? When did you last walk on the beach, hike in the mountains, or simply walk the dogs around a nearby park?
More Scientific Benefits of Rest
We know that MAKING time for things we enjoy positively affects our lives. These things trigger the release of feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine, leading to improved mood, increased motivation, and a sense of well-being. They can also stimulate creativity, enhance cognitive function, and potentially even promote the growth of new brain cells, depending on the activity involved.
Three Tips to Make Time for Rest
1) Prioritize with Intention
Have you checked your to-do list lately to see if the most important things are at the top? Remember, the most important things aren’t always work tasks! The most important things often involve “our people” and our health. If those things are in order, everything else seems to flow more smoothly and feel easier to handle.
2) Harness the Power of Routine
Just as you would schedule an important meeting with a client, you should put your rest days (or mornings or afternoons) in your calendar.
Research shows that routinizing downtime can improve focus and concentration. This article continues with this great advice:
“As experts suggest, routinizing and rewarding an activity is the easiest way to develop a habit because by doing so, the activity becomes automatic. Research also shows that when routinized, any activity, including resting, maximizes its positive effect on our body, mind, and emotions.”
3) Find Opportunities to Delegate
This is going to feel like a shameless plug coming from the gal who literally built a business—Rock Solid around supporting consultants, business owners, CEOs, and business leaders across the nation and worldwide.
When Rock Solid began to grow to be more than I could handle solo, it felt terrifying to think of building a team. But I did it. And the business’ growth never would NEVER have happened if I hadn’t made the decision to grow with intention.
So if you want to grow your business—or even just find that vital space for rest—then it’s time to grow smart and find ways to delegate.
Find your support person, bring them into your business, and let them help you grow it into all you hoped it would be and more.
We All Benefit from Support
One of my favorite quotes is this:
If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together!
Adding a teammate and delegating your overflow, weaknesses, and stressors is key to finding that place of rest and rejuvenation needed to sustain and grow the success you’re working towards.
If you’d like to chat about how Rock Solid can help, we’d love to meet you! Click this link and get on our schedule for a no-obligation discovery call.
About Our Guest Author
Tracy is passionate about being at the heart of a business that strives to shine a light on others! With a servant’s heart and an entrepreneur’s mind, Tracy has built Rock Solid Assistants as a business that not only serves everyone from the CEO of large corporations to the small business owner but also provides amazing opportunities for assistants with big hearts and invaluable skills. She loves to teach people the benefits of implementing systems to increase productivity and how to delegate weak areas to work within their gifts and talents ~ and she truly believes that teamwork really does make the dream work!
