By Courtney Walsh, @courtney_walsh
“The daily grind” is aptly named for a reason. We wake up and grind it out—the workout, the lunch-making, the sending kids off to school, the work day, the carpool line, the homework battle, the dinner prep… our days are FULL. And that’s barely scratching the surface of what’s expected of us.
Our daily workload can leave us feeling exhausted and wholly uncreative. Sitting down to a blank document with no fuel in the tank is one of the worst things we, as writers can do.
Let me preface this by saying—I don’t want to write every time I sit down to write. When you’re on deadline, sometimes you just have to suck it up and push through. But sometimes, the season we’re in calls for the opposite of the hustle. It calls for rest.
I’ve always been a fairly ambitious person. I measure the success of my days in how much I got done. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that productivity doesn’t make a life. My To-Do list will be long even on the day I die. But I didn’t come by this lesson easily. I compromised my health, not to mention time with people I love, in order to learn that rest is a weapon.
I know what you’re thinking—if I rest, I’ll never get my book done. But I am going to challenge that idea. What if it’s true that when you rest, you come to your writing sessions fresher and more prepared, with a clearer mind and the right amount of energy to get words on the page?
I just got back from vacation, where rest was not only easy, it was expected. That’s why we went. Our visit to the Smoky Mountains was like a deep inhale and a much-needed exhale.
But I’m home now with all the aforementioned responsibilities and so many more…but even so, I intend to work rest into my weeks because I think it will make me a better writer.
But how do you rest in the midst of your busy life? {It’s not like most of us can take off on vacation every month!} Here are five totally doable ways to work rest into your regular schedule. Implement even a couple of them, and you might be surprised how your outlook and productivity change. {Not to mention your mental and physical health, your relationships and your overall happiness…}
- Be intentional. Rest without intention isn’t really rest. It’s just interrupted work time. And yes, I did learn this the hard way. In order for it to be effective, rest needs to be something you do on purpose. And I’m not talking about sleeping an extra hour—I’m talking about daylight hours in which you aren’t working. When you give yourself time to simply BE—to not rush, not push, not hustle, something mentally resets and makes it easier for you to handle the next challenge life (or your novel) throws at you.
- Change your scenery. The reminders of dishes that need to be done and clothes that need to be folded or work piled high on your desk are not going to create a background that’s conducive to rest. Change it up. Get outside. Go to a park or go on a hike. Take your kids and explore a spot in your hometown that you rarely go. Find the nearest body of water and go stare at it for a while. Go stargazing. Take time to marvel at the world God made—it’s worth your appreciation.
- Set up a rest day and protect it. I seem to remember something in the Bible about the Sabbath… but in our culture, observing a day of rest is practically unheard of. So many of us look at Sunday at a chance to get caught up on everything that overflowed off of our plates and into our laps the week before. Or to get a head start on the week ahead. But the Sabbath is the Sabbath for a reason. God knew people would need a day of rest because he created us that way. We aren’t made to push through every waking minute. Guard that day—fill it will quiet time, family time, self-care…whatever fills you up. But do not fill it with work.
- Put away the screens. Especially when you eat. Even if your entire household is busy doing other things (school, work, etc.) when you take time to fuel yourself, turn off the screens. Even typing that is hard for me because putting my phone down when I’m eating lunch is not something I’m accustomed to. But it IS something that has a whole lot of benefits. Turning off the screens allows us to hear our own thoughts. To let our minds wander. To entertain those “what if” questions that so often turn into story ideas. Plus, filling your head with non-stop social media or news isn’t good for anyone. Shut it down and tune in to yourself instead. You’re way better company.
- Schedule an appointment with yourself. We could all use the occasional mental tune-up, but we often feel so overwhelmed we don’t stop to breathe. Check in with yourself. How are you feeling? How is your faith? What’s upsetting you? What are you worried about? What do you need? The best way I know to navigate these things is by journaling and praying my way through them. We all need to take time to really consider this journey we’re on—how else will we determine if we need to plot a different course or change directions altogether?
Making time for yourself isn’t easy, and extra hours won’t simply fall into your lap. And while it can be easy to believe that every minute of the day needs to be scheduled and productive, getting ample rest is critical to the creative process.
How do you fit rest into your daily/weekly/monthly schedule? Is it hard to take that time for yourself?
Twelve years ago, Cody Boggs and Louisa Chambers made a pact that no matter where their lives took them, they’d return to Nantucket Island’s Brant Point Lighthouse on July 30, their shared golden birthday, and continue their tradition of exchanging birthday wishes. But that was before a tragic accident upended both of their lives, irrevocably pulling them apart.
Their worlds collide just months before that particular day when Louisa’s fledgling event planning company is hired by the local Coast Guard station, where she discovers Cody has recently returned to the island as the second in command. As they plan a regatta fundraiser, hoping to promote positive PR in the community, neither can deny the fireworks each encounter ignites. But working together also brings up memories of the day Cody’s father died, revealing secrets that have Cody and Louisa questioning everything they thought they knew and felt about their families and each other.
Courtney Walsh is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. She writes small town romance and romantic women’s fiction while juggling the performing arts studio and youth theatre she owns and runs with her husband. Courtney is a Carol award winner and Christy Award finalist who has written thirteen novels, two craft books and several full-length musicals. She lives in Illinois with her husband and three children and a sometimes naughty Bernedoodle named Luna.