🛌 When NOT to Be Productive

Hey there! Welcome back to The Flow by Flocus. And to the 5,252 new subscribers this week, hello and welcome 👋 If you’re new, you can catch up on our previous editions right here.

This week: It’s all about rest — why it’s important, how to recognize when you need it, and small ways you can get more of it in your day-to-day life. Let’s get to it!

😌 Rest 101

Your brain is kinda like a computer.

It’s a powerful machine that can run lots of complex tasks — but it also has limited battery life and processing power.

Trying to push past your brain’s limits will inevitably cause performance issues.

Luckily, your brain has mechanisms for resolving those issues and managing power and memory usage.

Resting is one of them.

But “resting” doesn’t just mean sleeping or napping. Let’s take a closer look at the different types of rest you need.

🧘 Passive vs. Active Rest

Rest looks different for everyone, but most people need a mix of passive and active rest to feel fully recharged.

1. Passive rest is exactly what it sounds like: sleeping, napping, or any activity that requires no physical effort.

2. Active rest, on the other hand, includes more involved activities, like yoga, hiking, and reading.

These activities may tire you out physically and mentally, but they can also replenish your emotional, spiritual, and social energy.

Now that you know what rest involves, how can you tell when you need it? Scroll on to find out!

🔔 How to Know When You Need Rest

Your brain will send your body “notifications” when your battery and memory start running low.

While everyone’s limits are different, it’s probably time for a break if:

• You’re feeling easily distracted or irritated

• You’re hungry or thirsty

• You’re unable to focus

• You can’t decide what to do next due to stress, overwhelm, or confusion

The sooner you respond to these signals, the sooner you can recharge and ramp back up to top speed.

The longer you ignore them, the worse the performance issues can get.

Knowing this doesn’t make it easier to put into practice, though. Let’s take a look at why it can be so hard to pause when you need to.

😣 Why Resting Can Feel So Difficult

When your laptop battery is low, you charge it. When your phone lags, you close out apps to free up space.

Why is this so easy to do for our devices, but not ourselves?

In fact, many of us feel compelled to do the opposite, and push ourselves to the absolute limit before taking a break.

Resting also feels nice, but there are lots of reasons why we struggle to shut off:

• Universal 24/7 internet, consumer, and hustle culture

• Our natural instinct to be on alert for danger and threats

• The sheer volume of tasks and obligations across all areas of life

These influences can worsen feelings of guilt, inadequacy, or restlessness — but there are some things you can do to release those feelings and take a proper break.

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Now, let’s jump into tips for making the most of your rest.

☀️ 3 Tips for Resting Without Guilt

Whether you need a short break from deep work or an extended rest from difficult circumstances, remember these tips.

🤲 Give yourself permission

Rest is not something you “earn”.

It’s not something you only reward yourself with after completing your to-do list.

And it’s not something you withhold from yourself when you fall short.

Rest is vital for your wellbeing.

Remind yourself of this fact as often as you need to. If your brain is signaling that it’s time to pause, trust it!

🎈 Let go of what you “should” do

Thinking about all the things you “should be” doing is not resting.

And neither is beating yourself up for taking a break instead of “being productive”.

Getting stuck in this thought cycle can actually make burnout worse by damaging your self-esteem and depleting even more of your mental energy.

Try to notice these thoughts and gently let them go when they crop up — affirmations and visualization techniques can really help with this.

🏓 Rest in motion

Certain obligations, like caring for a sick family member, demand more from us and provide limited opportunities for extended breaks.

That’s why it’s important to look out for small moments in your day to catch your breath.

Washing your hands, making coffee or tea, waiting for the bus — you can turn any piece of your day into a micro moment to pause and decompress. (To find out how, peep this week’s Flocus Picks below!)

🪅 Flocus Picks

A curated list of things worth sharing.

• Spring Lofi (YouTube) — A breezy, spring-inspired lofi playlist to throw on and zen out to

• How to Relax (Short Book) — Make your breaks more mindful with this short instruction guide from beloved Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh

• 52 Ways to Take a Break When You Need it Most (Article) — Packed with ways to spend your breaks, even if you only have a few minutes

🖥️ Flocus: All-in-One Dashboard

Check out Flocus, our free, browser-based dashboard, for tools to help you remember to take regular breaks! Featuring a custom Pomodoro timer with customizable break lengths, relaxing ambient sounds, aesthetic backgrounds, and more.

Open in Browser

Rest is an essential part of a productive, fulfilling life.

Many cultures consider Sunday a day of rest, so we hope you feel inspired to put your feet up today!

Until next week,

Flocus Team