The Disciplined Pursuit of Less - Lent and Sundays Off
Tomorrow starts my annual Lenten fast from Facebook. The past couple of years I’ve given up Facebook for Lent. Not because I’m Catholic (or even Christian) but because I do worry sometimes that I border on Internet addiction. And giving up Facebook is a way of proving to myself that I’m not that bad yet.
Last week’s Good News Friday included a link to an article about the importance of a day of rest that I read almost a month ago. And I can’t stop thinking about it. And then yesterday, Kimberly, one of my reenactor friends over on Facebook, posted a link to another article Relax! You’ll be more productive.
A new and growing body of multidisciplinary research shows that strategic renewal - including daytime workouts, short afternoon naps, longer sleep hours, more time away from the office and longer, more frequent vacations - boosts productivity, job performance and, of course, health.
In a study of nearly 400 employees, published last year, researchers found that sleeping too little - defined as less than six hours each night - was one of the best predictors of on-the-job burn-out.
Whoops, looks like I need to up my sleep too! Could explain why I felt so damn logy at work last week.
The importance of restoration is rooted in our physiology. Human beings aren’t designed to expend energy continuously. Rather, we’re meant to pulse between spending and recovering energy.
As athletes understand especially well, the greater the performance demand, the greater the need for renewal. When we’re under pressure, however, most of us experience the opposite impulse: to push harder rather than rest.
Sound familiar to anyone?
So, as part of my Disciplined Pursuit of Less theme this year, I’m planning to start trying to take Sundays off. As in, no internet. I want to spend my time doing things that I keep telling myself I don’t have time for, like reading, cooking, sewing. Or just relaxing in front of the TV or watching a movie. I know there will be Sundays when there are Guild meetings or Hive workshops, in which case my day off may switch to Saturday. But the goal is, to start having one day of rest a week again.
So, my Live Journal peeps, when was the last time you gave yourself some time off?
Last week’s Good News Friday included a link to an article about the importance of a day of rest that I read almost a month ago. And I can’t stop thinking about it. And then yesterday, Kimberly, one of my reenactor friends over on Facebook, posted a link to another article Relax! You’ll be more productive.
A new and growing body of multidisciplinary research shows that strategic renewal - including daytime workouts, short afternoon naps, longer sleep hours, more time away from the office and longer, more frequent vacations - boosts productivity, job performance and, of course, health.
In a study of nearly 400 employees, published last year, researchers found that sleeping too little - defined as less than six hours each night - was one of the best predictors of on-the-job burn-out.
Whoops, looks like I need to up my sleep too! Could explain why I felt so damn logy at work last week.
The importance of restoration is rooted in our physiology. Human beings aren’t designed to expend energy continuously. Rather, we’re meant to pulse between spending and recovering energy.
As athletes understand especially well, the greater the performance demand, the greater the need for renewal. When we’re under pressure, however, most of us experience the opposite impulse: to push harder rather than rest.
Sound familiar to anyone?
So, as part of my Disciplined Pursuit of Less theme this year, I’m planning to start trying to take Sundays off. As in, no internet. I want to spend my time doing things that I keep telling myself I don’t have time for, like reading, cooking, sewing. Or just relaxing in front of the TV or watching a movie. I know there will be Sundays when there are Guild meetings or Hive workshops, in which case my day off may switch to Saturday. But the goal is, to start having one day of rest a week again.
So, my Live Journal peeps, when was the last time you gave yourself some time off?