Why Deep Rest Might Be the Most Productive Thing You Do All Week

Who doesn’t love that feeling of momentum—shrinking down the to-do list and getting sh*t done?

(Yes, I’ve 100% added things to my list after doing them, just so I could check them off. Don’t lie—you’ve done it too.)

When Drive Turns Into Overdrive

The question is: when does healthy drive tip into chronic overdoing?

In a culture that rewards hustle, it’s easy to slip into that mode without realizing it. Neuropsychologist Julia DiGangi calls it “the overs”: overworking, overachieving, overthinking, overexplaining, overgiving, overcommitting, overaccommodating. (Sound familiar?)

Each of these behaviors, she says, creates a false sense of safety—a coping strategy disguised as competence. They’re ways we try to control uncertainty and earn belonging in systems that reward burnout more than balance.

The Medicine of Deep Rest

One of the biggest game changers for me was realizing that deep rest isn’t a luxury—it’s necessary medicine.

These days, I try to resist the temptation to be “productive” every weekend—to trade doing for more being. No schedule. No agenda. Just open space.

Sometimes that looks like sitting outside with a book (or pretending to read while I watch the trees). Other times, I’ll journal, nap, take an Epsom salt bath, or do some sound-healing.

Whatever it is, the point is to pause. To let the nervous system exhale. Those little reset moments bring us back to clarity, creativity, and the inner compass. They flip on the body’s built-in repair mode—the parasympathetic nervous system—and turn down the noise of chronic stress.

Other Simple Ways to Practice Deep Rest

• Restorative yin yoga – slow, supported poses that calm the body

• Guided meditation – especially body scans or NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Rest)

• Float therapy or sensory tanks – to quiet external input

• Slow breathwork – like box breathing or 4-7-8

• Forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku) – simply being present in nature

• Digital detox – intentional breaks from screens and stimulation

As Karen Brody writes in Daring to Rest, most modern self-care is just another form of doing—exercise, busy travel, social plans, group classes. Deep rest is different. It’s that true moment of conscious stillness.

If your intuition has been telling you it’s time to slow down, listen!

Rest isn’t lazy. It’s wise.

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