I’ve been dealing with an injury. I had a week of pretty rough scheduling, where I didn’t sleep enough and didn’t eat enough, but kept running hard workouts. My Achilles tendon took that personally, and it’s never been quite the same since. Running became so painful it was out of the question, and finally even my stubborn behind had to admit I was truly injured and needed extended rest. But I’m an athlete, and “rest” doesn’t look like sitting around with my hands in my lap. I rest with purpose.
I won’t bore you with all the rehab and prehab details. Let’s move into how to rest with purpose as a writer. There will probably come a time when you can’t or don’t want to write. That might mean you’ve gotten burnt out. It might mean scheduling is intense and there’s simply no time. It might mean you need to turn a hundred percent of your focus and drive to another area for a while. Any of those reasons are a valid reason to take a rest from writing, and here are a couple of ideas on how to make that rest be purposeful.
Truly commit to not writing. I spent a ridiculous amount of time halfway resting at the beginning of the injury. I kept trying to sneak in a run because I missed it so much, and so I continued to aggravate the injury without building any fitness to show for it. Truly commit to your break. Plan how long it will last and what you are and are not allowed to do during that period. If you sneak in writing sessions or get sucked back in too quickly, without truly allowing the rest to do its work for your physical, mental, and emotional health, then it’s all a moot point.
Take the time to deepen your knowledge of your craft. I have absorbed so much content regarding Achilles tendinopathy in the last few weeks. I’ve stockpiled videos and articles about preventive exercises and correct running form. If you have the time, take the time to read books, watch videos, or listen to podcasts about writing, craft, marketing, or whatever you’re curious about. Now, it’s important not to get too hyped up and jump back into work before the break period ends, which is definitely a possibility once those ideas start hitting! But stay strong.
Collect ideas (just don’t act on them yet). A great way to build your excitement about something is delayed reward. As new ideas, concepts, and practices come to you, collect them in a notebook or word file. Do not, no matter how much you want to, act on any of them yet. They are the sweet, sweet reward at the end of the break, and anticipating them will make your return to work just that much more satisfying. I have workouts, running outfits, and routes planned for when I get to hit the pavement again, and I use the anticipation of that freedom to encourage myself through the rough points when I get upset with my body for breaking on me (even though I’m the real culprit!).
We all need rest at one point or another. Make your breaks work for you and remember to take them before the need for rest becomes dire.
How do you program rest into your schedule, and how do you like to enjoy it?
