Weekend Boost No. 167

REST AS RECOVERY IN LEADERSHIP AND LIFE

This month in Leader Sphere, we explored what it means to rest and recover to our leadership — not from it. We looked at rest not just as sleep, but as a practice of returning to wholeness, presence, and possibility.

Leadership demands an ongoing outflow of attention, care, and energy. Recovery is how we restore that output — bringing our nervous systems, creativity, and focus back into balance. Below are three resources that invite us to rethink what rest really means, and experiment with how we replenish ourselves.

• The Seven Types of Rest (APA): Rest isn’t one-size-fits-all. This short guide breaks rest down into seven dimensions, reminding us that restoration can happen physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually — not only while we sleep.

1. Physical (stretching, slowing down)

2. Mental (pausing thought loops)

3. Sensory (reducing stimulation)

4. Creative (inspiration and awe)

5. Emotional (releasing feelings)

6. Social (connecting with energizing people)

7. Spiritual (grounding in meaning and belonging)

• How to Rest Without Sleeping
  A practical  list of 15 ways to rest while awake. From journaling to aromatherapy and mindful movement, this piece reframes rest as something we can practice in small, intentional moments throughout the day.

• Rest as Resistance- a conversation between Tricia Hersey and Layla Saad: Tricia Hersey’s work reframes rest as a form of resistance against grind culture and depletion. Her book Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto and her organization, The Nap Ministry, call us to reclaim rest as a human right and a radical act of self and collective care.