Is ‘resting’ productive?

I wrote down something strange and seemingly counter-intuitively recently.

I wrote down something strange and seemingly counter-intuitively recently.

It was something along the lines of:

“I’ve had the most restful and productive start to the year I can remember”

I shared recently that each day of the week, weekday or weekend, is a precious one and I try to keep some level of consistency.

In other words, I commit to both doing and being. I realise this sounds awfully philosophical, but really it’s just a case of following some semblance of a routine — where things both happen as well as don’t happen.

I’m talking in riddles, aren’t I? Sorry about that. Let me try to explain myself better…

I start each and every day with some movement, whether it’s going to the gym or going for a walk; this month I’ve been starting each day with the gym, and then at my desk for 10am for my morning work.

Lunch is taken between around 10 and 12pm. Before I begin again at 2pm, going on until about 6pm with a short break or two in between.

Yesterday, my ‘afternoon work-time’ included taking a bath and giving myself some space to think and ideate. My mornings begin with exercise, and I consciously give myself those couple of hours for lunch.

I don’t cling on to this routine for dear life, but I suppose it’s the one I’ve found that works best for me. It allows for both structure and flexibility, for productivity and rest, for creating and ideating, work and play, doing and being.

Yes, I’ve had the most restful and productive start to the year that I can recall. But I am almost certain it would not have been so productive, had it not also involved a great deal of space and rest.

Does that sort of make sense? I’m hoping it does.