Stage 7 of 7 · 7 lessons · ~1 week

Rest, sleep and restarting after a bad week

Treat rest and sleep as part of the work, notice early signs of burnout, and restart calmly after a bad week with a smaller routine instead of a big promise.

Start: Rest is part of the work

Lessons· one lesson for each topic, in this order

Do this

Plan at least half a day of real rest into each week
Wake up at about the same time every day for two weeks
Take breaks without your phone and walk most days
Check yourself for the three signs of burnout and name one load you can reduce
Write a short, kind review of your last bad week
Write your minimum routine for bad weeks
Mark your next fresh start date and its first step

Start with

GuideFree
NHS Every Mind Matters
NHS (England)
Free NHS advice on sleep, stress and low mood, with a short personal plan

Practise

Medito (free meditation app)
Free guided wind-downs and short breaks, from a non-profit app

Keep handy

Find A Helpline
Free support lines by country, if a bad week becomes something heavier

Also worth your time

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle (Emily and Amelia Nagoski)ReadPaid
Why stress builds up in the body and how to complete the stress cycle
How to Make Stress Your Friend (Kelly McGonigal, TEDGlobal 2013)Go deeper
How the way you think about stress changes how it affects you

Before moving on: Rest planned into your week, a consistent wake-up time for two weeks, phone-free breaks, a check for burnout signs, a written plan for restarting after a bad week and a minimum routine for your worst weeks.

Tauseef's advice

You will have bad weeks. Everyone does. What matters is how quickly you come back, and you come back fastest with a small routine, not a big promise. Rest without guilt, sleep enough, and if you feel low for weeks rather than days, talk to someone and get proper help.

Struggling right now? If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact local emergency services or a crisis line: Find a helpline (any country), Umang (Pakistan), Tele-MANAS, 14416 (India).