Rest

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

Dear dreamers and doers, you are all so fired up for your dreams, you make plans and put them in action. If you’re having a day job, you might get up at 5 am and begin working on your plan. During lunchtime, you finish your lunch quickly and start taking those classes. Right after working hours, rush home and continue working on your thing. You’re a hustler, you are addicted to progress, and that’s a wonderful feeling. You might even have ideas pop up in your head while you’re lying on the bed at night!

Now, let’s do some planning in terms of your rest time. Yes, you heard me right- rest time.  When God gave the Israelites the ten commandments, He specifically emphasized keeping the Sabbath day holy (base on Exodus 20:8-11). It is made clear that God wants us to rest – physically and emotionally, as rest allows us to renew our strength to run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

Protect Your Quiet Time With God

John 15:5 says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” Try to set aside a specific time with God, and I encourage you to spend at least 15 minutes a day on this, when possible. Spending quiet time with God helps you deepen your relationship with Him. It will also make you feel calmer and understand God’s will better; thus, it helps make better decisions. You can pray, do bible study, praise the Lord with worship music, get creative by drawing or composing a song, or you can even ask God what He wants you to do during your time together. Even non-Christians emphasize and understand the benefit of meditation, aka quiet time. May we as Christians fully utilize this precious time to bond with God Himself.

Protect Your Sacred And Fun Time

When do you not take on any work? For example, family day, a spa day, church events, etc., block that down. When do you enjoy your annual leave? For example, Christmas, New Year, or family vacation for two weeks or one month straight? Circle the date down and plan ahead too.

Health Is An Important Wealth And Resource

There’s a Chinese proverb saying, “as long as the green hills remain, there will be no worries for the shortage of wood to burn”. It means that where there is life, there is hope; it also means that if we take good care of our health, our health will be a good resource to help achieve our goals in life. Being healthy means you feel great, look great, save much money (for example, save up medical bills ), and get things done more effortlessly.

Ideas and Creativity Tend To Flow In During Rest Time

Many studies show that ideas and creativity tend to flow in during rest time; our brain needs downtime to generate innovative ideas. Our brains have two modes – Focused and Diffused modes. When we work on our task, through writing on paper or explicitly focusing on something, our brains function in focused mode. However, when we daydream and allow our mind to wander freely while walking, or simply doing nothing, our brains work in diffused mode. Both focused and diffused modes are valuable, and often creativity occurs during the diffused mode. Therefore, some people might have new ideas pop out – during shower time, while driving the car, or while out on a walk. It would be a good practice to jot these ideas down.

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, the author of “Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less,” mentioned: “Work and rest are actually partners. They are like different parts of a wave. You can’t have the high without the low. The better you are at resting, the better you will be at work.” Since rest is essential for work productivity, let’s get better at planning our rest time.