How To Rest

What do I mean by rest?

In my programs, I offer a limited-time framework in which to work toward specific goals, with rest periods in between.

In chapter six of my book, I talk extensively about the WHY behind rest. But one thing authors always ask is the HOW.

What does it mean to rest?

Some authors don't want to stop writing. Others don’t see how they can take a break from the rest of their life.

The good news is, you don’t have to do that.

Rest does not have to mean lying in bed doing nothing.

It doesn’t mean you can’t ever pick up your manuscript and look at it.

Sometimes you DO have to put it down and let IT rest for a while. But not always.

In this context, REST stands on the opposite side of a coin from WORK. During the WORK periods of the book writing process, authors commit to certain goals. They may write for an hour a day for five days a week, or six hours once a week, or three hours twice a week, and so on, according to the plan we work out for them.

Whatever the commitment, it is a commitment. They sit down and they WORK on the book. They hope for inspiration, yes, but whether inspiration comes or not, they do the work.

This has to happen in order for a book to be written.

But it doesn’t have to happen every day all day.

REST periods are just as important to the process. During your rest periods, you commit to nothing having to do with the book. You can tinker with it, think about it, dream about it, add things, take things out… as long as it feels GOOD and INSPIRED and you WANT to be doing it and it doesn't interfere with other aspects of the process.

Rest isn’t inactivity. It’s autonomy. It’s choosing based on desire what you will do next.

Work isn’t one specific activity, it’s choosing based on commitment what you will do next.

Work = meeting a commitment (to yourself and/or others)
Rest = doing what pleases you right now

When you are at work, you do what is is front of you because you have decided that it is important. It might be fun, but that is not WHY you do it. You do it because you have decided to.

When you are rest, you decide what to do based on present desire. You might do something productive, but not because it's productive. You do it because you feel like it.

During author rest periods, they may have other commitments that constitute work. We don’t all have unlimited paid vacay with full-time childcare to permit us to rest from EVERYTHING.

Resting from the commitment to the book itself is enough. And it is critical. We build these periods into the process and, like the woodcutter sharpening his axe after every few trees, it makes the process go faster and smoother than if we just tried to push through continuously.

Try building rest into your process, and let me know how it goes.

[Toby demonstrates.]