The world teaches us that long hours
are inevitable and inescapable,
that overwork is a badge of honor
and resting is a weakness.
Super successful people rise and grind,
are always on and never stop.
Deep down, we know this is unhealthy
and unsustainable.
But is there an alternative?
[The Way We Work]
Downtime is deeply undervalued
in today's 24/7 world,
but it hasn't always been this way.
Virtually every ancient society
defined the good life
as balancing work and rest,
and recent research
in neuroscience and psychology
has shown that rest
strengthens our brains,
enhances our learning
and stimulates our creativity.
History's most accomplished scientists,
writers and military leaders worked
far fewer hours than we do today
and built daily routines full of downtime.
People like naturalist Charles Darwin
and geneticist Barbara McClintock,
who both took daily walks,
knew that work and rest are not opposites,
they are partners.
You won't fully flourish
until you can master both.
Here's where you can start.
First, rethink what rest is.
Getting enough sleep at night is key,
and 20-minute naps
are wonderful for a boost.
But when it comes to taking
downtime in the day,
the most restorative rest isn't found
on a couch or in front of a screen.
The best rest is active:
exercise, hobbies, walks.
These recharge our mental
and physical batteries more effectively
and give us more stamina and resilience
than being a couch potato.
Rest is natural, but it's also a skill.
It's something we can practice
and improve over time.
Just as athletes, singers
and Buddhist monks use breathing
to run faster, project their voices
and calm their minds,
we can use rest to boost
our creativity and recovery.
Second, integrate it into your daily work.
Athletes get the best results
combining intensive training and recovery.
Likewise, creative people should layer
periods of distraction-free, deep work
with periods of deliberate rest.
So design a routine
that lets you focus and get into flow
for four or five hours a day, every day.
Make those periods
more intensive, not longer,
by killing distractions.
Give yourself permission to turn off
email and messages
and concentrate on what matters.
And then, if you have the flexibility,
give yourself a nice, long, active break.
It will give your creative subconscious
a chance to work on unsolved problems
while you recover
and generate those insights
and aha moments
that turn good ideas into breakthroughs.
And if you don't have that flexibility,
find a way to make sure
that when you're off from work
that you apply these same principles
to at least part of your downtime.
Third, tap into deep play.
Creative, passionate people
need breaks from their work,
but those breaks have to be
just as compelling as their work
or they won't take them.
Many scientists and CEOs
are amateur painters,
musicians or chefs on the side.
These are hobbies that provide
the same sense of accomplishment,
control, mastery and flow
that they get when work goes really well,
but in a different environment
and with a clear, quick reward.
Often, their interests
date from childhood,
which makes them even more meaningful.
So embrace an activity that makes you feel
alive and involved in the world.
It's not a distraction.
It'll give you new experiences
and the same pleasures
and rewards as work at its best,
Without the compromises or ambiguities
that often cloud things.
Fourth, make rest social.
The working world isn't designed for rest.
We have to take it.
And one of the most powerful ways
to guarantee that we make time for rest
is to do it with others.
So start work early
and meet a colleague
for a walk in the afternoon.
Or team up with your partner
to perform a tea ceremony.
Or make a childcare-swapping
arrangement with a friend
to give you both more time for rest.
Remember, it's not easy for busy,
highly driven people to rest.
It requires developing new practices
and giving them time to become habits.
You can't rush it.
Just as it takes time
to settle into a new job or home,
your mind needs time to start
harnessing the power of rest.
Don't beat yourself up if you aren't
already doing anything like this.
There's no better time to start than now.