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Deliberate rest
It is a play on the term “deliberate practice” and it means engaging with restful activities that are often vigorous and mentally engaging.
It is not a continuation of work, but a way to find activities that let you recharge from your workday, while still being mentally productive.
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- We think more work should equal more output: we see productivity not as doing more with less. But simply doing more.
- We’re afraid of being “left behind”: not only could we miss out on some important conversation, but we worry that we’ll be left behind.
- Work has become a larger part of our identity: we feel personally connected to the work we do. Taking time away opens up all sorts of questions that can be hard to face.
- Be unreachable: the more available you are to requests, emails, and messages, the more likely you’ll be to give up on your resting time.
- Focus on the important, yet non-urgent tasks on your list: things like exploring new skills, finishing side projects, or sharing your work and engaging with your community.
- Connect with people you’ve been meaning to: a simple conversation with someone who makes you feel good can give you a cognitive boost you can carry with you.
RELATED IDEAS
It means engaging with restful activities that are often vigorous and mentally engaging.
Deliberate rest activities help you relax and recharge as they focus on something tangential (or completely unrelated) to your work. Examples: playing chess, painting, editing photos, etc.
Working shorter hours, such as the 4-day work week or the 6-hour workday, is not always the solution, since it could only work for certain industries.
A six-hour workday would be effective for industries such as hospitals but less effective where the borders between work and private life are blurred.
The prefrontal cortex of the brain is mainly responsible for goal management. It orchestrates attention, working memory and other cognitive resources to help us get what we want.
For a challenging task, briefly taking our minds off the goal can renew and strengthen motivation. Doing activities that rely on different brain regions is best to restore focus.