Rest Takes Hard Work

There are few things better for us than regular rest. Whether it’s breaks during the day, hobbies that take our mind off work, weekly sabbaths or annual vacations, routines that layer periods of work and rest help us be more productive, have more sustainable careers, and enjoy richer and more meaningful lives. Too often, rest gets a bad rap in our always-on, work-obsessed world. It’s also the case that learning to rest well is actually hard. Why is that? And how can we rest better? [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Americans has long been known for our industry and ambition, but until recently, we also recognized the value of rest. The Puritans had a famously strict work ethic, but they also took their Sundays very seriously. In 1842, Henry David Thoreau observed, “The really efficient laborer will be found not to crowd his day with work, but will saunter to his task surrounded by a wide halo of ease and leisure;” a decade later he wrote, “A broad margin of leisure is as beautiful in a man’s life as in a book.” Post-Civil War captains of industry didn’t rise and grind, according to business journalist Bertie Charles Forbes: “No man goes in more whole-heartedly for sport and other forms of recreation than” industrialist Coleman du Pont, while Teddy Roosevelt “boisterously… enters into recreation” despite a busy public life. At the same time, union organizers, mass media and en...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized freelance Source Type: news