Unlearning the Productivity Myth and Discovering the 7 Types of Rest

In 2014, I enrolled in Coaching for Transformation, a year-long certification program that transformed not only how I support my clients but also how I approach my own well-being. 

At the time, my consulting work focused heavily on strategy, but I realized that you can’t train or strategize your way out of someone’s hurt feelings, underdeveloped emotional intelligence, or the sometimes inhumane ways of the modern-day workplace.

We need repair-based medicines that centers people even when the work is targeted at the organizational ecosystem.

Organizations are, afterall, collectives of people bound together by shared practices and legislated by policies and norms.

Coaching equipped me to build human connection into the core of my work. And it gave me repair-based medicines that included reminders of our value outside of our productivity and the importance of intentional rest.

This was a personal reminder and “treatment” that I received during my coach-training journey.

I saw after 2 decades in the workforce, even 8 years running my own business, how much I had subconsciously tied my worth to my productivity—a challenge I’ve since seen in many of the leaders I advise. 

The antidote? Intentionally creating space for rest in my daily, weekly, and annual schedule.

This is often a prescription I deliver to my clients.

It’s why this is the last newsletter for the year as I embark on my December rest break.

The 7 Types of Rest We All Need

Last week, before starting a culture and DEI strategic planning session with a healthcare organization, I asked the leadership group to reflect on this question:

• What’s one type of rest that you most need, and how will you build it into your schedule in the next two weeks?

To guide them, I shared Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith’s 7 types of rest:

1. Physical Rest – Sleep, naps, stretching, or gentle movement.
2. Mental Rest – Breaks from decision-making, mindfulness, or journaling.
3. Sensory Rest – Reducing exposure to screens, noise, and bright lights.
4. Emotional Rest – Expressing feelings and setting healthy boundaries.
5. Creative Rest – Seeking inspiration through nature, art, or hobbies.
6. Social Rest – Time away from draining interactions or connecting with supportive people.
7. Spiritual Rest – Practices that connect you to purpose, like meditation or community service.

As the participants reflected, I saw their faces light up as they intentionally focused on the rest they needed—and more importantly, receiving the permission from me (and each other) so that they could claim it.

Now, I ask you the same:

• What type of rest do you need most?
• How will you build it into your schedule before the year ends?

With a few weeks left in 2024—and some cultural & bank holidays built-in—I invite you to reflect, recharge, and give yourself the medicine of rest.

♻️Repost if you know others who need the permission to, and invitation of rest.

Wishing you all the restorative time you need. See you in 2025.

At Wilson and Associates Coaching and Consulting, we partner with leaders to develop the skills, solutions, and strategies to build cultures of equity, inclusion, and care through coaching, facilitation, strategy development, leadership development, and culture change consulting. To learn how we can help your people, teams, and organization thrive, visit www.recipefortransformation.com.