What Counts as Rest?: Part 1 of Rest is Part of the Work Series

When was the last time you rested without feeling like you should be doing something else? I don’t mean sitting on the couch while scrolling through your phone and thinking about the laundry that needs to be folded or dinner that needs to be cooked. 

I mean actually resting. 

For a lot of us, rest has become something we squeeze in when everything else is finished. The problem is nothing is ever finished. 

There will always be another load of laundry, another email, another meal to make, another person who needs something. 

So what exactly counts as Rest?

Rest isn’t the same as doing nothing.

Rest is what allows you to recover from whatever is taking something out of you. 

Sometimes that means sleep. Sometimes it’s sitting quietly with a cup of hot chocolate. Sometimes it's going for a walk, yoga, or other light movement. Sometimes, it’s reading a book, spending time with people you enjoy, or doing something simply because you like it. 

And sometimes rest looks surprisingly unproductive. 

It might mean leaving the dishes in the sink and going to bed 

It might mean taking an afternoon to do absolutely nothing useful. 

It might mean letting someone else handle dinner. 

I’ve heard this unproductivity is called laziness. But it’s not. It’s recognizing that you are not a machine.

Rest looks different for different people.

If you are looking for a checklist of things to try, I’m afraid I can’t offer a one-size-fits-all answer. 

What restores one person may drain another. And what you need can change depending on what the day has asked of you. 

If you’ve spent all day talking to people, your version of rest may be an hour alone. 

If you're physically exhausted, you may need sleep. 

If your mind won't slow down, you may need something that gets you out of your head. 

That’s where self-care comes in. 

Self-care isn't just about doing things that feel good. It’s about paying attention to what you need and taking reasonable steps to care for yourself. 

And that’s why there isn’t one perfect self-care routine that works for everyone. 

Instead of asking “What am I supposed to do for self-care?” or “What is a good routine?” try asking:

 “What do I need to help me recover right now?”

Rest is Part of the Work

We tend to think of rest and work being opposites. Work gets things done. Rest doesn’t. 

But that’s not really how our lives work. 

We need sleep to function. We need breaks to keep going. We need time away from our responsibilities so we don’t become completely consumed by them.

Taking care of yourself can’t be something you do after you’ve taken care of everything else. It’s part of taking care of everything else. 

So the next time you find yourself thinking “I should be doing something” pause for a moment. Maybe you should be doing something. 

Or maybe rest is the thing you should be doing. 

Rest isn’t something you earn after finishing your work.

It’s part of the work.