Rest like a Stoic
Have you ever skipped classes in mid-school and felt the eyes of every stranger upon you?
This is exactly how I feel when I'm taking time to rest. It does seem like everyone is looking at and judging my bad behavior. And I'm right there, with the crowd, shaming myself for not being busy all the time.
The "hustling" culture is here to stay, and even though it is a concept I stick to at times, I don't believe in the 24/7 schedule, or, well, the 19/7 — 5 sleeping hours are enough, a.k.a "sleep a little faster."
Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher, compares the mind to a farmland. If you exhaust the fertile land too much, it will soon stop growing crops. Indeed, the same happens in the brain. Uninterrupted work will exhaust the mind and diminish its vigor.
“Our minds must relax: they will rise better and keener after a rest.”
I've realized that I must schedule a time to relax. Just like I fill my to-do-list with working activities, I have the choice to add time to restore my energy and creativity. Do I sometimes fail miserably and end up feeling like a walking zombie? Yes.
During quarantine, I've stuck to a routine that boosted my motivation. From 6 to 7 p.m., I put on a playlist, and went through old notes on books, did brainstorming sessions, and journaled on new ideas and creative projects. If it sounds like work, it wasn't. I also incorporated tanning-time into my days, which consists of going outside to catch some vitamin D. Working out, meditating, or talking with friends also counts.
If you feel more compelled to listening to Seneca rather than to me, which I don't blame you for, he suggests two ways of incorporating rest into the daily life, in his letter to Serenus:
Give yourself monthly holidays on fixed days;
Divide your day into periods of work and leisure.
“We must indulge the mind and from time to time allow it the leisure which is its food and strength”
Get away from work. That's the message in a nutshell.