Rest Before Rusting

Most of us find ourselves trapped on the freeway of rush. We have a texting mentality, a fast-food appetite, and an Instagram philosophy. Before we know it, perhaps even without wanting to, we find ourselves leaping into the commotion without considering our options. Our minds are made static by noise – digital instruments bellowing, TVs babbling, cell phones chattering. Everywhere, all the time, voices call our names. All of us are busy, perhaps productive…and very tired.

The overwork trap weaves its tangled web insidiously. We have so much to do that we can’t finish it all. The harder we work, the more mistakes we make. The more mistakes we make, the harder we work. Because of the mistakes we make, the further behind we get.

This frenetic activity can escalate to produce symptoms of burnout. Multiple physical complaints escalate. The unrested complain of headaches, back pain, and gastric disturbances.

Paradoxically, the overworked sleep poorly. Fragmented sleep increases fatigue and escalates the stress merry-go-round, resulting in irritability, apathy, depression, and anxiety. Unrest leads to joyless striving and impairs relationships with friends, family, and associates.

Here’s a tidbit that goes way back to the 19th century when Charles Michael Schwab, President of Carnegie Steel, wanted to find out how to get the best effort out of his employees. Schwab discovered that men loading pig iron who rested for 34 seconds after working for 26 seconds could load 40 tons in an 8-hour shift. Regular crews who never rested loaded only 12 tons.

The body does best when short breaks are taken during the day. Those who take short breaks have a decrease in blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle tension compared to those who work steadily during the day.

Rest decreases the stress hormone, cortisone. Small breaks enhance work productivity, mental clarity, vitality, and creativity.

Duke University psychiatrist John Rhoads, MD, studied successful, effective, and healthy executives who worked at least sixty hours weekly and compared these individuals with executives who developed burnout from working over sixty hours weekly. He identified several traits common to successful executives.

• Instead of fighting against the current of a heavy workload, they went with the flow by resting frequently and knowing their limitations.
• When they felt overwhelmed by the task rather than working harder, they took an unscheduled long weekend off.
• They kept and enjoyed scheduled vacations.
• They exercised regularly, avoided drugs and alcohol, and cultivated friendships.
• Successful executives had a cosmic sense of humor—they recognized the absurdities in life and could laugh at their foibles and fumbles.

We may be unable to change our environmental stressors, but we can adapt a more moderate response to those stresses by doing our best and learning to protect our time. The following rest tips can help all of us live more productive, healthy, and happy lives:

• Rest before you get tired. Recognize signs of fatigue before you get frustrated. Take an afternoon or a long weekend away from work. When you return to work, you will be amazed at how much more you accomplish.
• Alternate activities. Energy can be acquired by splitting the day into the smallest possible time segments. Break your work into small compartments, get something accomplished, and then go on to the next small compartment.
• Exercise. Most of us run out of energy because of mental fatigue. Physical exercise gets the overworked webs out of our brains and invigorates our thoughts.
• Reward yourself. To create energy, reward yourself every time you accomplish a task. Pat yourself on the back, take a short breather, go have some fun, and give yourself a spell of pleasurable laziness.
• Build leisure into your lifestyle. Take regularly scheduled vacations. Plan a half-day off occasionally. Properly scheduled recreation will increase productivity.
• Combat boredom. Boredom, the most significant energy drain, can be defeated by having variety in your life and work. Setting daily, weekly, and monthly goals can make work fun and help you feel satisfied when a task is accomplished.
• Laugh and enjoy yourself. Ask yourself, “Am I having fun yet?” If not, why not? Figure a way to bring fun to the workplace.

Whether loading pig iron or dealing with the pressures of the digital age, rest brings health, happiness, and increased productivity.