A GOOD REST IS HALF THE JOB
One thing about being a DAD that is so true is that rest is IMPORTANT! It is one of the things that will be the first to go as you adjust to your new world as a father. But as they say in the rom-com’s, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Once you lose rest, it is one of the things you look forward to getting back the most, and for some, it will not be as much of a reacquaintance and instead more of an introduction to the need for rest.
If rest is so important how do you go about getting some, or taking it back? What does rest look like as a dad? Are there any crossovers to higher education and the workplace?
REST TO SUCCEED
Why is it that my newborn has life more figured out than me? She spends the majority of her day resting in anticipation of the work that lay ahead of her- getting her next meal. She understands the proverb that A Good Rest is Half the Job. I, on the other hand, don’t make time for rest and see naps as a waste of a good day. As a result, I can push myself too far at times, and I usually end up paying the price for it, physically and emotionally.
If you are like me the two most dangerous points of any day are between the hangry-hour (that hour where hunger makes you angry) and the tired-hour (the hour where you are so tired, but fight it and get irritable). This has affectionately been called the bewitching hours for your child. As terrible as the bewitching hours are, your own bewitching hours are even worse to those around you than the constant crying of your young one. The problem is when you are tired, you know how to use words to communicate; and, soul-piercing words can be much more harmful than ear piercing shrills.
Being tired may come at the end of the day when you had a long day at work and come home only to quickly snap at a loved one. It may also occur after an extended period of stress in the workplace, and your response and reaction to the office place may be significantly more uptight than you ever would intend. We are not at our best when we are tired, and we must take a step back to collect ourselves and move forward in the most optimal way. Our children have this figured out, and despite their protesting, they will take a nap to prepare for the remainder of the day ahead. DAD, be more like your kiddo! I still haven’t been sold on the midday nap, but there are other ways to rest to ensure you can be at your best for the day ahead.
RECLAIMING REST
You may be like me, and you would push yourself to be the best in your work role, this may have even meant late nights at the office and work emails on your cell phone all weekend. Be careful you don’t also end up like me with too much stress creating a severe case of acid reflux and sending you to the hospital in fear of a heart attack at 31. Rest is essential!
One of the first steps to reclaiming rest is to identify where in your day you have the opportunity for rest. Look at your calendar and schedule time for rest. After all, what gets scheduled gets done, right? After looking at my schedule, I was able to identify a few ways to reclaim rest in my day-to-day routines. These may not be the same for everyone, but I am sure there are some areas of overlap.
The first way I try and reclaim rest is by being intentional about going for a walk. I try now to go for a walk when I get home from the office each day. This is both quality time with Biscuit and with my wife. This allows us to process our day’s events and unpack before taking something out on one another. I have this time penciled in on my daily planner around 6pm to fall either right before or right after dinner. We don’t make it every day, but we do make most. This has become my favorite part of any day.
The next thing I did to reclaim rest was quit eating lunch at my desk. When you eat lunch at your desk, you are robbing yourself of some much-needed rest. You may think that you have too much on your plate (pun intended) to take a lunch break, but in actuality, by not taking a lunch break you are doing damage to the quality of your work and missing out on two golden opportunities. In taking an off-campus lunch break, you can remove yourself from the chaos that may be surrounding you that day and give your mind a rest. This frees you to come back to your office after lunch and take a new approach to the remainder of the day. The second opportunity you miss out on is getting to know some of your coworkers. We see our coworkers more hours than we see our family in a year, yet many never take the time to get to know our coworkers. Invite them to lunch and just get to know the people you work with. It will make your work more enjoyable and allow you both to take time to rest and get your mind off the office a little bit.
The last recommendation I have is to TAKE A SABBATICAL! Or if you prefer, a DADbatical! A few weeks away from the office to focus on family and self, has personally been one of the best things I have ever done. It took a lot of planning and preparation, but the end result is a new dad that has a new lease on life and cannot wait to get back to work with some new ideas and show my appreciation for the time I was able to have with my family.
If you would like a great book to read on rest, check out Rest by Alex Pang! I highly recommend it.
Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less
DADbatical 