Are you resting enough to stay creative?
I have always been someone who loved to stay busy. It just keeps me motivated and focused. But over the last month I hit my wall. Between buying a house, moving, getting married and all the other commitments work and family brings, I needed to take a break.
In over three years of blogging (this site and others) I’ve never really taken a break. I never needed one.
Or so I thought.
But as I look back on the last few months, I realize just how important rest is. It’s not just that time we waste. It’s not just the time where we feel guilty for “not getting anything done.” It’s actually a vital component of the creative process.
I suppose I’ve always known that. It’s not as if I’m telling you some secret that you didn’t know. After all, even God rested on the seventh day. And if it’s good enough for him, I guess it should be good enough for me!
Now things have slowed down and that I own a house and have a wife, the question becomes, “how do I keep this rest momentum going?” What SMART steps must I take (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound goals)?
As it stands now I really am going to take at least one full day a week completely away from blogging, the internet, and writing. Specifically that day is going to be Sunday. It’s also the one day that I rarely have some commitment (work or otherwise). I plan on resting, working on my house, reading, watching TV, and generally anything that doesn’t tap into my creative processes. My hope is that when I come back to work on Monday, I’ll be in a good creative place to enter (once more) the create on demand fray.
So that’s my plan. What’s yours?
photo provided by flickr user Crystl
Excellent idea. I did the same thing yesterday, and had the perfect day. I stopped with the tyranny of what needs to get done next, and just floated along from hour to hour. We went on a hike, which is something we haven’t done in a long time. Also took a nap. And did some reading. It was great.
It’s funny that we need to talk ourselves into this from time to time!
As much as I love technology, it certainly pushes me to always check “one more thing” off of the to-do list.
And taking a hike sounds like a great way to get some downtime
I like the idea of a social media ‘rest’.
Sundays are perfect. read. Talk. Worship. Listen. Monday has enough headaches.
Yes. I agree. The more social media becomes part of our every day lives, the more we need to make a break from that as well. You simply can’t be free to create (or to thrive) if you’re constantly attached to the world.
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About Eric Barrett
Eric Barrett is an organizational consultant who specializes in applying psychology to communication. He has worked as an organizational psychologist for over a decade, and is most recently working on developing social media guidelines for a real estate company. He also teaches psychology at Xavier University. In his spare time he...wait, who are we kidding...he has no spare time.
He is available on a limited basis for speaking engagements and consulting projects. For more information please see the About Meaning to Work page.
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