A massage, an hour with a good book, leaving the office when you promised.

Time with your partner, your family, your friends.

Time with your thoughts (if that’s not too scary!)

How often do you take the time to do any of these things? I guess not as much as you’d like, and probably not enough.

If you’re like many people, this may mean that you end up spending your days running around like a headless chicken, always busy but headed in no particular direction.

At the end of the day you fall into bed exhausted and wonder why you can’t sleep, or why you never have the energy to introduce anything new into your life.

Sooner or later, something breaks. Either you get sick for a period of weeks or you get completely demotivated to do something you don’t get paid to do. Or both.

‘I need to rest,’ you say, skipping training sessions, social events, trying new hobbies. Skip life.

Maybe you’ll take some time off.

Invariably, this is not a good thing. With each passing day, he becomes more self-indulgent and less likely to accomplish even the smallest task. After a week or so at home, it becomes unthinkable to even get dressed in the morning, let alone make your bed, shop, or get the mail.

Rot sets in.

I once took a few days off work for ‘nothing’. An opportunity to recover from the early mornings and work on all my ideas.

By midmorning on the first day I had become the most unproductive person on the face of the earth. I figured I had the whole day ahead of me, so why do anything now? This attitude pretty much got me through until I had to go back to work.

‘I need a break’, I told myself. ‘I’ll feel better after a few days of doing nothing.’

I made a mistake.

If you’ve ever gone down this road – a few ‘off’ days, or even the habit of continuous ‘lounging’ on the weekend or after work – then you’ll agree that you don’t just get lazier with each passing day. . , but you also feel very bad about yourself.

Your confidence drops when you tell yourself that you are not capable of doing anything (mostly because you don’t even try) and you stop believing in your ability to accomplish even the smallest task (because you keep breaking commitments to yourself).

How do you spend your free time right now? Do you have the habit of doing nothing but eating at night? And often you don’t even bother to prepare a ‘real’ dinner? From spending every weekend ‘chilling out’ avoiding activity or even social interaction? From feeling sorry for yourself for how hard you work? Of considering learning new skills, trying new hobbies, making new friends, but invariably dismissing the idea because you don’t want to give up?

Maybe you have a great business idea on the shelf, one that you never have time to pursue because you need your down time. Maybe you’ve let a close friendship fade because ‘down time’ is more important.

Let me ask you something.

How is your energy? Your motivation? Your self-confidence?

And when you have something you absolutely must do, how efficient are you at getting the job done?

Rest is overrated.

Not relaxation. Relaxation is a positive hobby that helps you rejuvenate your body and mind. A massage, time with a friend, a hobby. Even lying on the sofa watching TV without meaning.

The difference is that relaxation is something you actively choose to refresh yourself.

What it isn’t is letting hours or days go by while you break every promise you’ve made to yourself or postpone every commitment you’ve made to others.

This not only does not refresh you, but makes you even more tired. You lose passion, motivation and interest in life. You become exhausted and listless. Slower.

Bored. yourself and others.

Rest is overrated.

Let’s consider a new plan: finding energy through productivity.

For me, this started with writing. I’ve always loved writing, I’ve always been good at it, and I always felt that eventually it could be something that helps me make a living.

As soon as I made the commitment to myself to start writing every day, I noticed something amazing. Starting each day with even 5 or 10 minutes of ‘journaling’ gave me ENERGY.

Suddenly, I was more productive, more enthusiastic for the rest of the day. When I added an article or essay on top of my journal, I felt unstoppable.

Little by little, I created a new pattern. Rest time equaled writing time. Even for a few minutes. I realized that this was a source of energy for me. I found that the more consistently I followed my urge to write, the more my energy and motivation carried over into the rest of my life.

In fact, I started crossing things off my list. Organizing my home, my business. My life. I even found time for some new hobbies. I joined a public speaking group, started playing the piano again. I spend at least one night a week with my parents.

And the amazing thing: I still have time to do nothing. I have become one of those people who get things done. I’m busier than ever. However, productively busy, not busy headless chook.

And how do I feel? Alive, energized, enthusiastic. driven.

The rot is gone and it’s not coming back.

This week, I challenge you to break the rest pattern. What is something you have always wanted to do? Learn a new skill, try a hobby, catch up with an old friend? Maybe even do a general cleaning of your home. The next time you have some free time, I want you to commit to doing something before you rest.

Why not make it a habit? Time for you no longer means time to enjoy rest. Instead, find your energy and renew your passion for life, before you completely forget what life is supposed to feel like.

Life is now. Press play.

Copyright Katrina Eden, August 2007.