Active resting: staying busy while taking time out

Sitting still has never really been my forte, but with the Easter break now slamming into us at what feels like a million miles an hour, it seems that at least some rest was very much on the cards.

I mean, it is needed; calling this past semester ‘mad’ would be something of an understatement, but with so much still to do I decided to take a more active approach to resting.

We all need to slow down once in a while and catch a breath; it’s not healthy to keep pushing it, even if you’re absolutely certain that you can manage it. At some point, you will just stop working effectively and become some sort of malfunctioning robot.

There are ways to keep yourself busy whilst still relaxing though. It’s what I’ve dubbed ‘active resting’, and it basically involves switching off some parts of your brain (the bits concerned with the extreme worries that you need a break from) but keeping others firmly awake. Not exactly scientific I know, but hear me out.

Dissertations, graduation and other third-year worries have been bubbling away at the forefront of my mind for a very long time. When Easter finally rolled around, it seemed sensible to push them aside – if only for a little while. Without these things concerning me, life quite honestly felt a little empty, so in order to stay active, I decided to rack up some more work experience and have a wander through some fields too.

That’s the active part: resting from one thing, but staying busy with something else. It keeps things interesting and dynamic, but still allows the necessary parts of your thinking to get some much needed recharge time. This past week has seen a cross-country road trip to the heart of Devon with some friends, and more press-related antics in the capital.

Hiding out in the countryside with some friends was a great way to switch off, but keep active.

Driving nearly 500 miles over Easter weekend proved a little more work than I first expected, especially given the mass amounts of traffic on the roads (I should’ve seen this coming I know). However, getting out into the countryside and away from emails, phone-calls and even just my desk was simply perfect. Staying active with some decent scenic walks certainly kept my brain awake too, so it was very much the best of both worlds.

Swiftly following my return from Devon was a trip into London for the press junket of the new film The Huntsman: Winter’s War, meaning that I got to sit in a room filled with famous people and feel important for a little bit longer. This opportunity came from The National Student, a student magazine a little further afield than The Edge. Again, it kept me sincerely motivated to work, especially after finding myself face-to-face with a few of the film’s stars for some one-on-one interview time.

 Work experience helps engage different parts of your brain too. In my case, the fan-boy side.

The whole time these things were going on though, I felt oddly rested. It was as if in doing all of these relatively active things, I was somehow relaxing. This is proof that you don’t have to be lying down or doing absolutely nothing in order to recharge those mental batteries.

So, if you know you need a break from university or school work (we’ve all been there, there’s no shame), but for whatever reason you don’t want to stop, you don’t have to. Just occupy your brain with something else, that’s challenging in a different way.

Anyhow, I’m nearly at the final sprint finish now. I guess that means that all this active resting should probably take a break itself until the summer.

The end is nigh, after all!

Ben