The Case for Taking More Naps!

How do we avoid burnout and the stress that comes with a full schedule? Well, it may come down to weeding out a few extra pieces and adding in a whole lot more naps!

This fantastic creator gives us the tips we need to bring some simplicity and calm back into our lives when things get busy.

“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.”

—Lin Yutang

When life gets busy, as it inevitably does, how do we keep our sanity? While our calendars fill up with plans and responsibilities, sacrifices are bound to happen—whether they be to our sleep, friendships, or our mental health—to fit in everything. So, how do we do what we love to do without sacrificing what we need to make sure we do it well?

The very wise organization, The School of Life, gives us a few tips on how to simplify our lives and get the most out of every day. Remarkable things can happen just by trimming out a few extraneous bits and pieces!

If you have any questions about life—why we do what we do or would like some advice on navigating tricky situations—check out more great content from The School of Life! They have a whole mountain of resources for us to tap into. From a whole library stuffed with videos and physical resources like books and games, they’re giving us the tools to build the lives we desire.

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

—Confucius

Let’s go over those tips again!

Of course, not all of these may apply to your life, but just take what makes sense to you and run with it!

• More sleep!

  Perhaps the most important yet most elusive of the suggestions. Depending on your schedule, the number of jobs you work, or your physical ability to even do so, sleep can be hard to come by. But putting this activity closer to the top of your to-do list will do wonders! Check out one of our recent articles to learn about the long list of benefits from sleep. Click here to explore!

• Curate your media!

  We’re big fans of this one, as this tip is a part of our mission. The amount of news we run into every day from around the world is overwhelming. It distracts us from our day-to-day lives and tends to make us feel defeated, incapable of making a difference. But there are ways to take in the news without it taking over your day!

  Channels, like CNN and Vox, for example, are beginning to send out daily emails of curated news in short format, so you can stay up to date and live your life! (Click here to check out CNN’s and here to check out Vox’s.) Every week, we also send out a curation of 5 news articles, pointing out the #ConspiracyofGoodness published by other sources throughout the web. Subscribe to our mailing list to add this dose of optimism to your email!And if you’d like some tips on how to put down your devices, check out this article from our archives. It has some great info on how to manage our addictions to our phones! 

• Curate your friends!

  This one may initially feel messy, but oh, does it do wonders of good. Think about the people that you spend your time with. What are they bringing to your life? Are they lifting you up? Or are they bringing you down? Are you overwhelmed by the number of people you feel like you have to see? Well, who do you really want to be with? Thinking through the impact someone has on your life will help you curate a group of people that help ease your hectic life instead of add to the mess.

• Manage your expectations!

  Oof, now, this one is tricky. We all have expectations—on ourselves, others, experiences, and so on. They’re inevitable! But they can put a lot of pressure on a pleasant situation. We need to consider what it is we want from our life.

  Take going on a trip, for example. When we head out with a million plans and a full schedule, we don’t leave room for goofs. Canceled flights, jet lag, and low-energy moods can make accomplishing all that’s on the list impossible and take the delight right out of it. But what if we go into it with limited expectations? When we put a few fun activities on the list, space them out, and leave room for the unexpected, we also leave room for a little more ease. Why did we want to go on this trip to begin with? To have a hectic time or relax and explore somewhere new?

• Sift through your thoughts!

  Take a little time to sort through what’s coursing through your brain before you head to bed. Personally, the bulk of my anxiety comes from the overwhelm that occurs from the constant playlist of thoughts swirling in my mind. Spending a few moments with a pen and paper can help you get those thoughts out of your brain and given a home somewhere else. Seeing them all laid out on a piece of paper puts everything in a better perspective and frees a little space for relaxation.

Welcoming more simplicity!

We often hold ourselves to a standard of being busy all the time. Somehow, we have made filling our idle time a sign of success—as if our full schedule means we’re doing really, really well. But what’s so great about having no time for yourself? Making sure you have a few hours to do what you enjoy can impact the rest of whatever you do! Whether you want to spend this time tucked into the couch with a favorite show, reading, meditating, or working on a creative project, bringing more simplicity to your life helps you recharge for what’s important.

Pass this article along to someone you feel is busy all the time. Maybe you can be that friend that brings a little more ease to their life! Or, at the very least, support them in scheduling in a few more naps.

Stay open to new possibilities!

• Sam

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” — Albert Einstein 

Don’t miss out on a single article!

Enjoy unlimited access to over 500 articles & podcast that give you a positive perspective on the state of the world and show you practical ways you can help.

Sign up now!