Gina Caputo

I took a break recently. It took 6 months of planning and preparing for it, which feels absurd, but I did it. And just as I re-emerge from said GLORIOUS break, I read a post by writer about the 7 types of rest and how important it is to take all 7 types to avoid burnout. Wish I’d seen his post, oh, say, 30 years ago 😏
According to Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith (and her book, Sacred Rest) there are 7 types of rest:
- Physical
- Mental
- Social
- Spiritual
- Sensory
- Emotional
- Creative
Here’s my spin on each of the 7 to reflect what I’ve learned in my 50 years on Earth in hopes it may resonate for you and inspire you to take action:
- Physical: Get at least 7 hours of sleep each night, be active enough that your body needs recovery time and take it, do physical self-care that supports recovery
- Mental: Use tools (apps, the Daily Compass, post-its, etc) to keep track of mundane things – dump them into these tools rather than overload your mind, meditate to practice disengaging from the “stuff” of life so you’re able to do so when you need to
- Social: Schedule alone time where you are your only responsibility
- Spiritual: Regularly do the things that nourish your spirit, like being in Nature or enjoying art, free yourself from any structure on your spirituality and just receive what moves you
- Sensory: Take a meaningful technology break (phones, computers, TV, watches), reduce your sensory input and simplify
- Emotional: Be with those who feel emotionally easy to be with, or, like #3, carve out some alone time to simplify and give your emotions some rest
- Creative: Take a vacation from the hustle and producing, the world won’t drastically change and you won’t be behind if you take a little break from creating.
Which one challenges you most? What change will you be making to support rest?
Link in bio to my full What’s Good This Week email, or in today’s story, or at https://bit.ly/3cFARtX

Discipline. It’s the fertilizer for all behavior change but seems to peter out quickly or feels like a superpower only “special” people have.
Today’s What’s Good This Week email illuminates what must be at the root of discipline for it to last and for it to get much easier to sustain long term.
And all the usual goodies too 🥰
Link in bio, today’s story or at https://bit.ly/gcaug122022
📸 .aidala