The Art of Deliberate Rest and Why You Get More Done When You Do Less with Bestselling Author and Researcher Alex Soojung-Kim Pang Part 1

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Why is rest important? Are you getting enough of it? How does it affect your performance in your everyday life? Learn the art of deliberate rest from bestselling author Alex Soojung-Kim Pang as he shares some valuable insights from his book Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less.

Visit https://www.bodyshotperformance.com/podcasts-blog for the complete show notes of every podcast episode.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

What is deliberate rest?
What are the components of recovery?
Examples of famous writers and scientists who prioritized rest
How do rest and recovery impact creativity and focus?

Key Takeaways:

Rest and recovery is a skill you have to learn. It’s a very deliberate thing that you need to put into your life to get more value from it.
There is something about working early in the morning that unlocks a degree of creativity and productivity that we don’t have during the rest of the day.
Naps are good for you both physically and mentally.
Deliberate rest is a partner to work rather than a competitor. When you practice deliberate rest, you’re not taking time away from work. Rather, you are investing in it.

Action Steps:

Start your day early.
Take naps a lot more.
Practice deliberate rest.

Alex said:

“Our brains are actually really, really demanding… And so it’s no surprise in a way that creative work or knowledge work follows some of the same kind of patterns as exercise… And figuring out how to balance the work and the rest turns out to be really important in both.”

“Rest, I think, is a lot like breathing. On one hand, it’s totally natural, but if you are a singer or you are a swimmer, you know how valuable learning to control your breathing can be for performance. Rest turns out to be the same way for creative people.”

Thanks for listening!

If you’re interested in finding out what your health IQ is, take the Health IQ test to find out, and get a free 39-page report built around our six signals, which are sleep, mental health, energy, body composition, digestion, and fitness.

If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard on this episode and it’s added value to you, share the episode with someone you think could benefit from it. And don’t forget to leave a rating or a review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts.

Links to things we discuss in the show: