Hello my friends, and welcome to this Wisdom of the Week, in which we discuss two quotes of Ovid’s, telling us to rest well!
“What is without periods of rest will not endure.”
“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a beautiful crop.”
In my experience of life, I’ve learned that it is just as important to plan for good breaks as it is to plan for hard work and productivity. In fact, I’ve come to schedule entire days set aside to go out, be social, and completely forget about work. Too often we have our hearts where we aren’t. When we take breaks, we think about what we will have to do at work; and when are at work, we find ourselves dreaming of the next break. I have found it best to live wholeheartedly. Working when you say it is time to work, and resting when it is time to rest.
In order to do this, I have learned to plan my week in what Chris calls, “alignment with the most successful demographic.” This means that from Monday until Wednesday, the focus is on work. These are the content production days; the days in which we sit down and focus on longer tasks that require more productivity. We have found that if you spend these first three days of the week entirely focused on getting your tasks completed, you will actually accomplish more than if you halfheartedly work for the entire week. This leaves Wednesday night, Thursday, and Friday for the more social tasks. During these days, I lighten the focus to the easier tasks like sending out emails, calls, and podcast recording. Friday night and Saturday are when we take our breaks. These two times are when you plan to go out and do things that take you away from your work. This is when you would ideally schedule time out with friends or any sort of action adventures like hikes. Sunday is left as the rest and recuperation day. Sunday is when I schedule lounging around at home to watch movies, and also setting up for the next week. Sunday is the shopping day, and the day to set aside and plan everything you will need for the upcoming week.
I think you will find as you read through this, that this is simple common sense, and that you already do this. That is excellent! I just want to remind those workaholics out there that breaks are just as important as work. If you work all of the time, you will grind yourself down to the point at which you won’t be able to focus on what you’re doing; and you will accomplish the same amount doing nothing. So don’t burn yourselves out, my friends! Breaks are great and gravely necessary!