Make Time in Your Schedule to Rest

I can’t stress enough how important it is to find time in your schedule to rest and recharge. To ensure that you fit it in, no matter how busy you get, you need to design a regimen of rest by actually scheduling for it. And by making relaxation one of your priorities, it becomes a more powerful part of your life and a more rejuvenating experience.

Here are five ways to rest and feel truly refreshed that can and should literally be written into your schedule:

Meditate on Your Day

Start each day by calmly looking ahead at what’s on your plate and what needs to get done. Mentally organize your thoughts and plan out your strategy. You’ll quickly find this reduces daily stress and helps you relax and feel more in control of your life. It also makes you more efficient over the course of the day, so it’s not hard to justify time spent this way.

Schedule in Leisure Time

Downtime shouldn’t be a luxury you take on the rare occasions you can get it. Write it into your schedule and treat it like an obligation, just like other things on your to-do list. Set aside blocks of time—they don’t have to be long—each week to do nothing, to take a nap, or to do something relaxing that you enjoy. Make a routine of it. There’s great comfort in knowing that however crazy your week gets, you’ll have that invaluable personal time to recharge.

Take a Break from Digital

Decide on a daily or weekly time to put away your smartphone, tablet, and laptop. Don’t check your texts or email, don’t go on social media, don’t do anything on your devices. You have to get away from the constant stimulation and digital noise to successfully relax on a deep level, to give your mind a much-needed rest. Think of how attached you are to your mobile devices, how compulsively you check and use them; briefly escape that dependency by making digital-free time part of your rest regimen.

Go to the Spa

When it comes to de-stressing, relaxing, and rebooting, there’s just no beating a massage, a soak in a hot tub, a steam, and other spa services and amenities. Just go once per month if that’s all you can manage. It’ll do wonders for your physical, mental, and emotional health. It’s not only rejuvenating, it’s something you’ll always be looking forward to when it’s on the horizon. The anticipation is exciting, motivating, and even energizing.

Take a Vacation

There’s no better way to unwind like a vacation. It doesn’t have to be long or far away. But regular vacations expose you to new things and give you a chance to decompress. It’s good for your health, it’s inspiring, it’s fun, it’s relaxing and stimulating at the same time… there are so many benefits, find a way to schedule in regular trips. Even if you have to do a little work while you’re away, that’s OK; just the change in scenery and routine still do you good. But if possible, schedule in at least one extended, work-free vacation every six months or at least every year.