As I return from a week of annual leave, I have a few thoughts on rest I’d like to share. I talk about rest a lot, not just because it’s necessary but also because it is objectively difficult. I hope these musings help.
TL:DR You can practice switching off and resting. You’ll get better at it.
One thing my dad said years ago that has stuck with me is “You have to practice for retirement.”
He had noticed that a lot of his older friends had heart attacks (and some of them died) not long after retiring. His observation was not idiosyncratic. This is a real thing. And it pushed him to learn to rest.
That meant holidays long enough to get over the initial discomfort and be rested and switched off for at least a week, before starting to think about going back. He recommended 2 weeks. (I’ve written about this more in How to take a vacation.)
That meant trusting his team when he was on holiday. Not phoning to check in. Not expecting them to contact him. He ran his own business. His employees were more than capable of keeping things going in his absence.
I took last week off because it was my birthday. Normally I wouldn’t take that week. It comes at a crucial time for the Studio in preparing to start promoting the new Academic Writing Year. I had also decided to run a webinar with Vikki Wright for those taking on leadership roles. There were still a lot of things that needed to happen in the background.
I trusted my team. There were a couple of panicked messages, and then they dealt with it themselves. The hiccups were not fatal. We sent out a few “oops” messages. But the crucial things got done.
The other thing I realized is that I seem to have extended my dad’s advice about “practicing“.
You can practice for vacations!
This was only a week. But since I am in the habit of taking 4 day weekends, I didn’t really think about work at all. (The messages dinged. I almost didn’t check right away.)
The discomfort of the transition is barely noticeable. I am in the habit of making a plan for when I get back so I had reminders of what needed to be done on my return.
I had a great time with my friends on the first long weekend. There was a lot of driving, though, which was tiring. I used the mid-week days to rest. (And do laundry. It’s nice having guests but it generates laundry.) Then I could enjoy the party on the 2nd weekend. (And do more laundry.)
One of the things on my agenda for this first week back was talking to an Occupational Therapist about burnout. We’re now plotting a special Office Hours for July. We will talk signs to take seriously, what help you can seek, and so on. And about rest, switching off, practicing rest, and so on as a means of preventing burnout.
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Related Posts:
Resting when you can’t stop working completely
Remembering my dad, John B VanEvery
This content was originally sent to the Studio Newsletter 10 May 2024 which members of the Academic Writing Studio receive each week to help them stay involved in the Studio community and events. Republished here with light editing. Added to the Spotlight On: Burnout in August 2024.
