But rest is essential for protecting our physical, mental, and emotional health. If slowing down is hard for you, try following these tips for incorporating more rest into your life.

Create Healthy Boundaries

As we said, one of the biggest things standing in the way of our rest is the idea that we should be productive all the time. Because of that, we take on extra hours at work and say yes to more commitments, even at the expense of rest.

It’s good to take an internal inventory of how much work you can do before you need to rest. Remember, this doesn’t mean “until your physical and mental health is in jeopardy.” From there, set up boundaries. This can be a time of day you refuse to answer work emails or days that you don’t take on extra commitments.

Be Intentional About Rest

You can carve out an extended time to stop working and still feel less-than-rested. That’s because it isn’t just about how many hours you have to rest, but the quality of rest. And the key to quality is intentionality with your resting time.

Here are a few ways to increase the intentionality if your rest:

• Find restful activities
• Don’t attempt to multitask
• Be fully present at the moment
• Focus on shorter bursts of rest
• Spend time with those around you

This isn’t to say you should stress yourself out about finding “the correct way to rest.” The point is to fully immerse yourself in periods of rest, whatever they look like.

Improve the Quality of Your Sleep

You can apply the same idea to your sleep. Many of us don’t sleep enough, and the hours we do get aren’t quality sleep. Along with prioritizing sleeping even a half-hour to an hour more, try adding this to your schedule:

• Have consistent bedtimes and wake times
• Avoid eating large meals right before bed
• Don’t drink alcohol or caffeine right before bed
• Try to incorporate physical activity into your day
• Get outside during the day, especially at the beginning

Permit Yourself To Treat Yourself

Most rest happens in quiet moments during the day—those quiet moments in the morning you reserve for prayer, meditation, or journaling, or the hour you spend with your kids after work.

But don’t be afraid to treat yourself from time to time; it’s one of the best tips for incorporating more rest into your life. Stopping to do something you love, like stopping by your favorite bakery or spa, can help you rejuvenate yourself.

You get exhausted. You max out. You crash.

You get eight hours of sleep, and you start over the next day, but you still feel tired.

Why?

It’s critical to remember that sleep and rest are different. Sleep is a body function, while rest is more than that. Rest is about your whole self, not just your body.

When you rest, you restore your overall health — your mind, emotions, and social being.

Rest can help you enhance your productivity every day and help you have a better sense of who you are. It helps you grow out of your exhaustion.

It’s helpful to have sleep and rest in your daily life.

Rest is often looked at as an essential part of your productivity. To make sure you have the energy every day, we need different types of rest. Rest restores different parts of your life and helps you relax, refocus, and reboot yourself during the day.

Rest is often looked at as an essential part of your productivity. To make sure you have the energy every day, we need different types of rest. Rest restores different parts of your life and helps you relax, refocus, and reboot yourself during the day.

Physical rest is essential because your body is a big part of who you are. To catch up on physical rest, take deep breaths and count backward from 10. Close your eyes and be still.

You could even do yoga to provide your body with stretching exercises. If you yawn during the day, it’s a sign your body is not getting sufficient rest and oxygen to the brain. If you stare at your computer and have trouble keeping your eyes open, you need to take a 30-minute nap and rest physically.

I think so often we don’t realise just how important rest is – it is almost as though we believe we only deserve to rest if we have been productive or active or busy. But in reality, rest is as necessary as food and water are for our bodies and minds to be well and healthy.  Rest is not a reward; rest is a right that we all have!

Now more than ever rest it is so important to prioritise REST in our every day. Working online, working from home, managing isolation and the ever-changing COVID rules and protocols.  For families there are school and after-school activities, and the increased demand for all of us to be available ALL THE TIME is making us collectively stressed and tired!

We all work hard to be efficient, productive and responsible. We are doing more now than we ever have before, and for many of us, it feels like even more on the back of lockdown life. Life is busy, demanding and often it seems as though we are in perpetual motion.

When we stay in a state of alert or ‘stress’ we run the risk of experiencing chronic stress, burn-out and increase the likelihood of anxiety and mood disorders – not to mention physical health conditions. It is important to integrate REST into our every day in a purposeful and intentional way. We must prioritise resting daily so that our body can recover, restore and be ready for a new day.

“Rest can be difficult to define because it can look different for everyone. Rest is any behaviour aimed at increasing physical or mental well-being. It can be active, such as going for a walk outside, or passive, such as taking 10 minutes to sit down and breathe deeply. Regardless of how you choose to rest, these daily behaviours can help you recover and recharge from physical and mental effort. That’s why better rest is linked to better physical and mental health.”

Rest offers our bodies so many benefits, such as:

• Reduced stress & anxiety
• Improved mood
• Improved energy
• A sense of connection & meaning
• Decreased blood pressure
• Increased immune health
• Improved cardiovascular health
• Decreased chronic pain & health conditions

So here are my top 5 tips for integrating REST into your every day:

1. Set up & maintain good sleep habits – get to be on time & wake up on time
2. Reduce your online time (even 30 min less screen time /day can be so helpful for your brain)
3. When you schedule your day, include blocks of spare time in your diary – you can use this to eat, catch your breath or just not feel rushed! Putting 10 minutes between all tasks can make a huge difference to your energy.
4. Carve out time just for you to do something that feels restful (exercise, reading a book, sitting in the sun, talking to a friend, etc.)
5. Breathe OUT & smile – offer yourself moments throughout the day to take 3 long breaths out and smile while you do it – this can activate the parasympathetic nervous system which is helpful when reducing fight and flight.

Here are 10 smart ways to stay productive every day:

1. Identify Your Top 3-5 MITs (Most Important Tasks)
   Focus on the few tasks that actually drive progress rather than trying to do everything. This prevents overwhelm and ensures high-impact work gets done.
2. Use Time Blocking for Your Schedule
   Instead of a vague to-do list, schedule specific blocks of time for tasks in your calendar. This provides structure and dedicates focus to specific goals.
3. Apply the 2-Minute Rule
   If a task takes less than two minutes, do it immediately. This clears minor tasks instantly, prevents mental clutter, and builds momentum.
4. Prioritize Morning Deep Work
   Leverage your brain’s natural peak alertness in the morning by scheduling uninterrupted, high-concentration work.
5. Take Strategic Breaks (Pomodoro Technique)
   Work in focused bursts (e.g., 25-50 minutes) followed by short breaks to maintain high energy levels and prevent burnout.
6. Minimize Distractions and Batch Tasks
   Close unnecessary tabs, turn off notifications, and group similar tasks (like emailing or admin) to keep your brain in one mode for longer.
7. Plan Your Day the Night Before
   Spend the last 10 minutes of your workday organizing the next day’s tasks, which helps you start immediately the next morning.
8. Say “No” to Low-Value Tasks
   Protect your time by declining or delegating tasks that do not align with your main goals or deliver high value.
9. Optimize Your Physical Workspace
   Organize your desk and add elements like plants to reduce stress, increase focus, and boost creativity.
10. Prioritize Health and Sleep
    Maintain energy levels by getting adequate sleep, eating well, and incorporating light exercise, which directly impacts your mental clarity and productivity.

Effective time management involves prioritizing tasks using methods like the Eisenhower Matrix (urgent vs. important), setting SMART goals, and breaking large projects into smaller steps. Key techniques include using time-blocking to schedule uninterrupted work, minimizing distractions (phone/email), and taking regular breaks. Daily planning, batching similar tasks, and learning to delegate or say “no” are crucial for maximizing productivity.

Top Productivity Habits

Time Blocking & Batching: Group similar tasks together (e.g., answering emails, making calls) to reduce context switching. Dedicate specific, uninterrupted time blocks for deep work.
Prioritize Ruthlessly (80/20 Rule): Focus on the 20% of tasks that yield 80% of the results. Start the day with your most important, high-impact task (GIA – Greatest Impact Activity).
The Pomodoro Technique: Work in 25-minute, focused bursts followed by a 5-minute break to maintain high energy levels and prevent burnout.
The Two-Minute Rule: If a task takes less than two minutes, do it immediately to prevent small tasks from piling up.
Eliminate Distractions: Create a clean, organized workspace to reduce stress and improve focus. Silence notifications and close unrelated browser tabs.
Protect Your Health: Prioritize adequate sleep, exercise, and proper nutrition to maintain the energy required for high performance.
Plan Ahead: Prepare a to-do list for the next day before ending your current workday to start fresh.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Multitasking: It hinders efficiency; focusing on one task at a time is more effective.
Neglecting Breaks: Taking short, regular breaks is essential to sustain focus throughout the day.
Overcommitting: Learn to say “no” to tasks that do not align with your core goals.

• Pomodoro Technique: Work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break to maintain high focus and avoid burnout.
• Eisenhower Matrix: Categorize tasks into four quadrants—Do, Schedule, Delegate, and Eliminate—to prioritize effectively.
• Time Blocking: Assign specific time slots in your calendar for distinct tasks or types of work to prevent multitasking.
• Eat the Frog: Tackle your most challenging or important task first thing in the morning to overcome procrastination.
• Kanban System: Use a board with “To Do,” “Doing,” and “Done” columns to visualize workflow and manage tasks.
• 2-Minute Rule: If a task takes less than two minutes, complete it immediately to keep your to-do list small.
• 1-3-5 Rule: Limit your daily to-do list to 1 big task, 3 medium tasks, and 5 small tasks to maintain focus.
• Brain Dump/Capture: Quickly record all tasks and ideas in one place to clear mental clutter.

• Batch Processing: Group similar tasks (e.g., answering emails) to reduce context switching.
• Digital/Physical Tools: Use tools like Notion, Appel Notes, or Google Keep for digital tracking, or a simple notebook for physical.
• Minimize Distractions: Use a Physical timer for focus, rather than phone apps. 

• Break Tasks Down: Divide large projects into smaller, less intimidating steps to reduce resistance.
• Use the 2-Minute Rule: If a task takes less than two minutes, do it immediately to build momentum.
• Apply the Pomodoro Technique: Work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. Repeat this cycle to maintain focus and prevent burnout.
• “Eat the Frog”: Tackle your most challenging or important task first thing in the morning.
• Minimize Distractions: Put your phone on silent, close unnecessary tabs, or use website blockers.
• Plan Ahead: Write down your to-do list for the next day,, which reduces decision fatigue.
• Practice Self-Compassion: Forgive yourself for past procrastination to reduce anxiety and increase motivation.
• Create Accountability: Share your goals with a friend or colleague to stay on track.

• Combat Perfectionism: Aim for “done” rather than “perfect”.
• Action Leads to Motivation: Start working, even without feeling motivated, to build momentum.
• Strengthen Intentions: Visualize the benefits of finishing, such as using a, photo of your goal as a, desktop wallpaper.