What are you doing to rest today?

What are you doing to rest today? 

If you are like most people, your to-do list is the first thing that comes to mind when you read this question. It’s like a misdirected reflex, there at the ready to demonstrate that rest is off the table. 

I get it, I have a lot on my plate today too. The plate is piled so high that no reasonable person would expect it to all be taken care of. 

And yet, we know the value of rest and recovery. We help our patients get through very difficult situations by counseling them on the importance of reasonable expectations, recovery, and physical rehabilitation. 

We help them navigate their objections about the time physical therapy requires and the patience required to deal with slow progress. We talk about pacing activity and healthy habits. 

We understand the time and energy it takes to recover and heal…for other people. 

And yet, we are also participants in our own very difficult situations, work that requires significant mental and emotional fortitude, work that can push us each and every day. 

While the work is meaningful and important, it also requires rest and recovery. Constant exposure to the suffering of others is a legitimate health risk, one that can lead to secondary trauma (more on that next week). 

Like any other stressor, rest is required for processing and recovery. 

So let me ask you again, what are you doing to rest today?

Don’t panic, we can figure it out together. 

The problem is that we don’t even think about it; we figure we can crash on the couch after running ourselves ragged all day, and that will have to suffice.  We don’t schedule rest in the way we would schedule physical therapy after an injury or infusions for an illness. 

We expect ourselves to just keep going as if nothing has happened. 

It just takes a little bit of awareness. We are great at brainstorming ways for our patients to recover- to balance their lives and their health needs. Now we need to give ourselves permission to apply the same skill set to ourselves. 

First things first, what does rest feel like to you? It doesn't have to look like doing absolutely nothing. It just needs to be something that gives you a break from the demands you've been managing 

Do you need to nap or sit outside with a cup of coffee? Do you want to read or chat on the phone with a friend? Do you find breathwork helpful or listening to music?

We can’t add rest to the day if we don’t know what it looks like. 

Now, where can you fit in 20 minutes of that today? Don’t let your panicked brain tell you the world will fall apart if you plan this in. You can do it before the food prep for the week. You can do it before the laundry- we both know you won’t go to work naked.

The key is to get into the habit of incorporating rest into your day. Sure, 20 minutes might seem insufficient to have a meaningful impact or maybe too difficult to squeeze into your day (which is exactly what our patients say about exercise) but that simply isn’t true. 

We can spare 20 minutes out of the 1440 minutes in a day. 

If it’s easier- start with 10 minutes twice a day, or 5 minutes 4x per day. You get the picture. 

Maybe it’s sitting down and breathing for 5 minutes before you make dinner, or before you run into work. 

Maybe it’s taking 2 minutes after a difficult patient interaction to allow the stress to work through your body and reset. 

It’s not woo woo, it’s science. 

Stress activates our nervous system. We need opportunities to allow that activation to settle and return to a more regulated state. We can't expect that to happen while we're simultaneously answering emails, ruminating on the day, and folding laundry

You need rest; it isn’t something you need to earn. Maintaining your life and health depends on it, and your body will thank you.

So let me ask you again, what are you doing to rest today?

I hope you enjoy it.

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Knowing you need more rest and actually making it happen are two different things.

Sometimes we need a little help figuring out what's getting in the way, what we need more of, and how to make changes that actually fit into our lives.

That's where 1:1 coaching can help, and it typically only takes 6 weeks.

I work with nurses and healthcare professionals to help them reconnect with what they enjoy about their work, build sustainable habits, and find ways to feel better in the lives they've worked so hard to create.

You don't have to wait until you're completely burned out to invest in yourself.

If you're ready to make a little more room for yourself, I'd love to connect. Reach out to schedule a complimentary conversation. Megan@NursingBeyondtheJob.com