The Christmas holiday was a much-needed break from work, and I was reminded how rest is not just the absence of activity, but also an opportunity to engage in activities that restore life.
Yes, it's key to sleep well and eat healthy food and exercise regularly, but what is it that makes my mind feel rested? Where I can wake up to a new day and feel at my best - energized by opportunities that lay ahead? I think it's having hobbies that I look forward to and that I make time for. Knowing that sometime in my week I will pause the everyday demands on my attention to do things that I enjoy for their own sake - that's when I feel like my capacity is restored.
To borrow phrasing from Cal Newport's book "Digital Minimalism", it's about choosing high-quality leisure over low-quality distraction.
For me, I feel best after learning something new. (I say that it's my preferred dopamine hit!) So whatever this new year brings, I hope to continue to listen to podcasts and read books and look up tutorials for my latest projects!
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