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REST! Who doesn’t love it? Based on how commonplace it is in our society to not get enough of it, you might assume it’s not many of us! While some cultures have mastered the art of taking breaks during the work day or enjoying leisurely meals, Americans tend to do things fast, often tackling multiple activities at once. We like the concept of rest, but the numerous demands on our time and the guilt of pushing aside our chores and To Do lists often get in the way of our ability to truly take a break and rest. 

According to physician Saundra Dalton-Smith, MD, there are seven forms of rest that a human needs. Seven! She wrote a book titled Sacred Rest: Recover your Life, Renew your Energy, Restore your Sanity. In full disclosure, I haven’t read the book yet, but I have it on my bedside table. It will be my next read! 

Right after I finish the one about how to get your house organized in 30 days… 

As you can see, I need Dr. Dalton-Smith’s guidance in my life, and I bet you do, too. I was most intrigued by the seven types of rest she spells out, and I want to talk about all of them at my live conversation on Rest as Productivity, happening as part of my series to Bust Out of Service Fatigue. Get registered to join me and hear more about how to identify what areas of rest need the most attention in your life.  

But Dr. Dalton-Smith’s list got me thinking: I believe there’s and 8th type of rest we must discuss that’s just as essential as the others: rest from the self-inflicted stress we encounter at work!  

What exactly do I mean by self-inflicted stress? Ask yourself these questions:  

• Are you constantly running late for shift start times, meetings or deadlines? Time to make adjustments to your schedule and task list before there are bigger issues. 

• Do you put pressure on yourself to be perfect when no one else has set that unrealistic expectation for you? Time to give yourself grace and understand there’s a reasonable margin of error for us all.  
• Is it possible that you assume you must be the one to do everything so it gets one “right”? Time to loosen your grip a little, learn to delegate and let others shine. 

Think of all the time and energy we spend bringing extra, unneeded stress into our lives. Now think of all the time—ok, some of the time—we could spend on rest and recovery if we let some of that stress go. The added pressures of perfection or the weight of a never-ending To Do list is exhausting, only making our service fatigue worse. When we actually prioritize rest—all eight types of it!—and start to see it as productive, as doing good for ourselves when we do nothing (or do those restorative hobbies and activities we enjoy), we are more energized to deliver the customer service excellence our clients, guests and customers deserve. 

And besides: if you never make time to rest, the service fatigue you’re experiencing now is just one stop along the bumpy road to burnout. And no one wants to end up there.  

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