The Rest: Summer Work Edition

Welcome to a Summer Edition to The Art of Rest!

Happy Monday! Spring is always a little bit of a wild-ride for me recalibrating to the sunnier parts of the year. Balancing the art, the rest, and the being fully present where I am necessitates a bit of re-wiring for myself, and I figured that I might not be alone in that desire to indulge in the extended sunshine without fully abandoning my obligations.

This short article helps us lean into the naturally higher energy of spring and summer so we can make the most of it. While this article focuses on the mechanics of setting up the work—my hope is that you’ll be able to use this tool (with this style of working) so you can cross the most crucial parts off of your to do list and leave more room in your world for rest, play and connection.

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The Art of Rest In Work is Often About Clear Boundaries

I don't mean boundaries with your roommates, family, or your boss (although that might be useful, too). When I talk about boundaries1, I mean them in their most fundamental 'dictionary definition' sense of the word, where there is a clear delineation of when one thing starts and another thing ends.

If you've ever done any sleep health workshops or 1:1 work with me, you'll know that I often will get on my soapbox around a clear bedtime ritual and a clear waking up ritual. When we think about sleep health specifically, these clear “starts” and “ends” to our period of rest help our brains, bodies, and nervous systems understand what we're asking of it. In that particular setting, we’re ideally asking it to sleep! As many of you know, just because we ask our bodies to do something, doesn’t mean they always listen. Despite us being very intelligent human beings, it's important to align our verbal and non-verbal cues with what we're asking of our brains and our bodies. Intentions, rituals, and reflections help our verbal and non-verbal cues align.

Today, instead of helping our bodies understand when it is time to sleep versus when it is time to be awake—we're applying that same logic of "now we're working" and "now we're resting.”

How Does Having A Work Ritual Help Me Rest Better? Isn't this...Well…Working Harder In Some Ways?

Ha! Great question. Complex Answer. The shortest explanation I can give is that if we are clear with our brains, bodies, and nervous systems about:

• When we are working

• What exactly we are working on

• How we hope to feel while we are working on it

We are more likely to give ourselves a clear boundary of "this is work mode" and "this is rest/play/connection mode" later on. We are also more likely to get a bit of a dopamine hit and enjoy the process more overall—even if the inherent tasks don’t feel that rewarding or interesting to us intrinsically. We get excited about the process, more so than the product2.

If we are consistent about a clear, boundaried routine, our body begins expect it.

Once our body expects this routine it begins to build an intrinsic trust that we will chip away at our tasks during our time within our working hours. When we do an intentional working ritual process on a regular basis—we are less likely to panic about our to-do list when we are winding down in the evening, or be woken up by it in the middle of the night. We are also more likely to increase how mindful we are before, during, and after work.

Interesting. What's the Formula Around Working Clearly to Rest Well Later?

A Screenshot of my Pre-Work Ritual Interval Timer App

Last autumn on my personal blog, I wrote two fairly extensive blog posts around work rituals for friends, family and acquaintances who had approached me about how to focus well when they went back to school. Part 1 is a post about overall work strategy and Part 2 is specifically about creating your own work-sprint ritual.

If you want the full, nerdy (and fairly rambl-y) download—I recommend going back and reading those posts and the footnotes.3 However, for the sake of brevity, I've updated the need-to-knows here.

Major Components of a Clear, Restful Work Ritual

• Restful workspace

• Loud, distinct timer

• Clearly outlined tasks to work on

• 1 hour-ish time block

Easy-To-Follow Restful Work Ritual Template:

1. Gather Your Intentions (2 minutes & 30 seconds)—

   1. What do I want to accomplish in this next hour?

   2. How do I want to feel while I am working on it?

   3. How do I hope to feel about the task when it is done or after the timer goes off?

2. Social Media Fuck-ery (2 minutes) —

   1. Check anything you want to check for a fun little dopamine brain treat

   2. Doesn’t need to be social media, can also be text messages, online shopping, reddit, Pinterest, etc.

3. Check Your Email (4 minutes) —

   1. This is not intended to get email inboxes emptied!

   2. This part of the ritual is specifically addressing anything immediately pressing as well as communicating to our brains, bodies, and nervous-systems that what we are working on during our sprint is the most important use of our focus and not to get distracted by the "what if someone is trying to get ahold of me" feeling.

4. Prepare Any Materials to Sprint (4 minutes)—

   1. We do this so we can use our momentum to work without breaking our attention or falling into distraction.

   2. We end this part of the process by grabbing water, going to the bathroom, and turning all of our electronics on Do Not Disturb and closing out anything that might be distracting or doesn’t directly has to do with our task.

   3. I personally also have been adding an element of listening to a Brown Noise playlist and putting on my biggest noise-cancelling headphones.

5. Set your timer for 25 - 55 minutes and get to your work sprint.

   1. Do your best not to focus on anything that is not on your list.

   2. If anyone tries to disrupt you during this process it’s sometimes useful to have a pre-prepped phrase of “What you’re telling me is important, I am in the middle of a work sprint, can I get back to you in XX minutes?”

6. Take a break and celebrate yourself.

   1. Cross that shit off your to do list, or write down what needs to be done with the ongoing project next, and rest.

   2. I recommend fully stepping away from your computer/task/etc. Even if it’s just go to go the bathroom or get a drink of water.

   3. This is the most important part because it’s training our brains to recognize the boundaries around when to stop working.

      
      

What Happens When We Use this Work and Rest System Routinely?

After adhering to a work-rest ritual system for a few weeks (and really honoring your work times and your rest times) your body will start to catch a rhythm. Your nervous system will begin to trust that things are getting done, even if they are not getting done all at once.

When we don’t work in this way, our nervous system is almost always slightly activated and scanning our environment for to-do list items and it’s also wondering if we are getting enough done. Our nervous system’s intentions here are very kind and trying to take care of us to keep us alive—however misguided this tactic of being hyper-vigilant might be.

Instead of having a very slight "fight or flight" activation chronically nagging to get our tasks done—our body, brain, and nervous system will trust that you're taking care of it and be able to more quickly and completely shift into the "rest and digest" components of your day.

Give This Restful Work Routine A Shot!

In summer we naturally feel more positive emotions around our rest, sleep, and jobs and typically perceive a greater amount of energy in our days. Because of this natural inclination, it is a great time to try to implement a shift in work habits. We’re just more likely to let the natural set-backs and bumps roll off of our shoulders than in our darker months of the year.

If you have any questions, want to share your experiences with a routine like this, or want to set up some more official 1:1 ways to tweak your work/rest balance—please feel free to reach out to me at dagnyrose@theartofrest.me. I’d love to hear how this lands for you.

Even moreso thank hearing about your work experience, I’d love to hear how you got to play, rest, and connect this summer when you weren’t in the office.

Do you know someone who is craving a more restful summer this season? Share this article with them and practice in solidarity.

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This sub-section of The Art of Rest, is all about—you guessed it—The Rest.

As a trained sleep scientist, here we explore the everything related to rest. Whether we are unpacking the newest evidence-based sleep health tips, exploring day-to-day tools for bolstering and protecting rest, or diving into a world of dreams, “The Rest” is going to regularly touch into what a restful life is, and how to move towards one.4

Looking For A Personalized Way to Optimize Your Rest?

Although I’m mid-busy season, I currently have a few spots available for guidance around sleep health & nervous system regulation around stress. I offer individualized 1:1 guidance for those who just need a tune up all the way towards those who are dealing with chronic rest related issues. Shoot me an email at dagnyrose@theartofrest.me to inquire about getting started or fill out this form to be put on the priority booking list for Fall 2025