Feel like you are constantly exhausted, cranky, or plain ole’ tired? Are you lacking the motivation to set goals for this year or create a plan to improve your home or family life? How is your calendar? Do you lack white space, margin or consistent rest rhythms? If so, these could be signs that you are nearing burnout or could already be there! If you want to learn how to rest more and avoid burnout this year, then read on! These ideas will help you to flourish and thrive in your life!

Why is burnout a problem?

According to a new study, burnout continues to be on the rise! More than half (59%) of American workers are experiencing at least moderate levels of burnout. This is up 8% since last year, and many experts agree that since 2020 and the pandemic, burnout rates are only going to continue to get worse.

But let’s back up. How do we get to a state of burnout? And why is it a problem? Isn’t having a busy, go-go-go life just normal?

Unfortunately, for most Americans, having a busy, overwhelmed, and chaotic life is normal! This is because our culture praises the “hustle” mentality, and we prioritize efficiency and production over slow and steady. Many even believe that they function “best” when their lives are busy, saying things like “I could never sit still!” or “I always need to be doing something.”

Another thing that leads to burnout is the pressure that our society places on “doing it all.” We feel like we need to give above and beyond at our jobs (sometimes working 10-20 hours overtime every week) while sacrificing our family and personal life.

Others feel they “have to” serve in multiple ways in their church or community…saying yes to every “ask” that comes their way. And many parents are feeling the societal pressure to put their kids in all of the activities, sports, musical lessons, etc., just so that they can be “good parents.”

It saddens me to think that living a slower lifestyle that prioritizes rest, family time, and hospitality seems to be a thing of the past.

Here’s the reality…

When we lack healthy boundaries around our rest rhythms, our life will inevitably lead to burnout.

And burned-out Christ-followers are doing no good for anyone. If anything, they are probably just trying to survive in their job, ministry, business, and at home. Burned-out people will eventually hit a breaking point where they will either decide to change their life, or they will go the opposite way into a depression or “give-up” state.

When Christian and I were burning out in our marriage, home, and ministry life, we hit a moment of rock bottom. We knew that this wasn’t the lifestyle we wanted to live, and we also were certain that if we continued to live this way, our marriage was going to take a turn for the worse. You can read more about Our Story HERE.

Through a long journey of counseling, learning, and growing our roots deeper in Christ, we learned some key ways to slow down and rest more on a regular basis. Some of these may be obvious, but others you may find to be unique. Incorporate a few new ones this year that you aren’t already doing, and enjoy a slower-paced lifestyle that will sustain you for years to come.

12 Ways To Rest More This Year

1. Pick a Hobby and Schedule It

Does your town still have a train hobby store? Unfortunately, I think they are becoming fewer and farther between.

I was talking to my dad the other day about his childhood hobby. When he was a teenager, he would go to the local train hobby store and use his paper route money to purchase model trains. He built an entire set-up of a model train town in his basement on a 4×8 piece of plywood that his dad bought for him. He had built an entire small town complete with painted roads, fake grass, trees, buildings, and people.

I share all of this because building a model train town was simply a hobby for my dad. It was something he spent his time and money on for the sake of having a project that brought him joy.

What activities or hobbies bring you joy?

The older I get, the more I realize how often adults suppress activities that bring them joy. If it’s not on the to-do list, making us money, or producing something, we count it as a “waste of time.” However, leaning into the very activities and hobbies that bring you joy can actually bring rest to your soul!

Think about a few hobbies that you used to have as a child or wish you had as an adult. Maybe it’s watercolor painting, fishing, building legos, geocaching, scrapbooking or woodwork. Identify one thing that you highly enjoy yet doesn’t feel like “work.”

What would it look like to carve out 1-2 hours a week for that hobby?

Start small! Who knows, after several weeks of making your hobby a priority, you might have an entire model train town set-up!

2. Start Your Mornings Off Slow

Does your morning start a little like this?

The alarm clock goes off. You hit the snooze button a few times until you finally roll out of bed. You hop in the shower and quickly get ready. Your wife is scrambling around the kitchen, packing the lunches while you are pouring cereal for the kiddos.

You have just a quick moment to drink a cup of coffee, scroll through the news and social media, and then rush the kids out the door for school. You’re frustrated because you never can leave early enough each day, so you are rushing them to school and praying you will get to your desk on time for your first-morning meeting.

What if mornings could be different? Instead of being so rushed and chaotic- what if they could be slow and peaceful?

Yes, that might require you (and the kids) to get up earlier.

And yes, you may benefit from writing out a specific morning rhythm plan.

But I promise you, having a slow and peaceful morning is one of the best ways to REST! The more kids we have, the more we could be tempted to ditch the early morning rhythm and just give in to chaos. However, we have experienced and savored what a slow, restful morning feels like, and we will never go back!

Our Cornish Clan mornings typically begin about an hour before the kids wake up…and yes, that is very early. About 4:30 am for Christian and 5:30 am for me (when I’m not pregnant). We both do our own quiet time with the Lord and then get our children up around 6:15 am. This allows about 30 minutes for the kids to slowly wake up, get dressed and ready for school, and get to the table by 6:50 am for family breakfast.

We created this slow morning rhythm because we want the kids to feel centered and grounded before the day begins. We also want to disciple them through God’s Word by enjoying a family devotion together.

At first, this rhythm was tough to put into action. But after several months of sacrificing, tweaking and enhancing the rhythm, it has become one of our most favorite times of the day. Because we intentionally slow down and savor our mornings (even though it may feel inconvenient sometimes), it really does help us to rest more and avoid burnout.

What is one step you could take to have a slower morning?

3. Have More Family Meals

This goes along with the last point. Family meals (if you have a spouse or children) can dramatically impact your rest!

This is because it forces you to slow down.

Here are a few tips to making family meals more restful and enjoyable:

1. Plan your meals ahead of time so that meal prepping and cooking are enjoyable and peaceful.
2. DO NOT allow phones, tablets, or other devices at the table.
3. Sit at the table. Not in front of the TV or in your bedroom. Sit together at the table so that you can be focused on one another.
4. Have an intentional conversation. Share your highs and lows for the day with each other. Ask each other thoughtful and meaningful questions.
5. Create a rule that no one may be dismissed from the table until everyone is finished! Not only is this respectful for those that eat more slowly, but it also opens the door to having more meaningful conversations. (Do you want to have more meaningful conversations during dinner? We have a FREE download for you! Click HERE to download your copy of 30 Questions That Will Take Your Table Conversations Deeper).

Making family meals as a priority is a simple yet powerful way to rest more this year and avoid burnout. Your “quality time” tank with your family will stay constantly full!

4. Journal Daily

This is one of those habits that you either love and do it all the time, or you have tried and never kept up with it. Here’s a tip for those that think that journaling isn’t for them: journaling does not have to be writing a novel every day!

To make journaling a restful activity try these ideas:

1. Write a few sentences about where you saw God move in your day or how He blessed you.
2. Record a core memory that happened that day.
3. Make a list of 5 people/things you are grateful for.
4. Reflect on the Bible verses you read that day.
5. Answer the question: “What did I learn today?”

Journaling can be whatever you want to make of it! As an avid “journaler” myself (since the 3rd grade!), I have found that sitting down to intentionally write my thoughts, emotions, and feelings through pen to paper is a release for my mind and soul.

There is something so restful about slowing down to write down what is going on in my heart and mind. I mostly journal about what I notice God is doing in my life and my family, and I use my journal as a place to process my fears, emotions, grief, and challenging situations.

To get started with journaling, get a journal that you love and are excited to write in. Then make a decision about how often you want to journal. Will it be every morning during your quiet time? At night before bed? Once a week on Sunday evenings?

Keep your journal in an easily accessible place! And then commit to consistency. Even if it’s just a few sentences a day, that is better than nothing. Journaling truly does help us to rest more and avoid burnout because it creates an opportunity to slow down for inward reflection.

5. Have a Weekly 24-Hour Rest Day

Otherwise known as the Sabbath, a weekly 24-hour rest day is a gift from the Lord to stop all work and to rest and delight in our Heavenly Father. To many Christians, practicing the Sabbath seems to be a long, lost tradition. You might even think that it doesn’t apply to us “modern day Christians” anymore. However, this could not be further from the truth. Even Jesus practiced the Sabbath!

Practicing the Sabbath has completely transformed our family’s life. We learned to live differently the other 6 days of the week, and it has taught us so much about how to slow down, prioritize rest, and surrender to the Lord in all areas of our life. Our family will never be the same again since we started this rest rhythm.

Sabbath is a gift from the Lord to every person. The only way this gift is meaningful is if you choose to accept and unwrap it. Will you choose to accept this gift? If you want to learn more about how to begin a Sabbath rhythm, check out our blog post 3 Steps to Getting Starting With the Sabbath.

Having a weekly 24-hour, set-aside day of rest will protect you and your family from a chaotic lifestyle. It will replenish and revive you in ways you didn’t think possible. And it could be one of the most impactful ways to rest more this year and avoid burnout.

6. Host More and Linger Around The Table

Linger.

Isn’t that such a special word? Just reading it makes my soul feel at peace.

When do we really create moments in our daily life to just linger? To savor the moment?

One of my favorite parts about hosting is when dinner is finished, the candlesticks are still burning, and we pour a hot cup of tea or glass a wine for our guests so we can linger around the table. We sit there having a meaningful conversation, sharing stories, and laughing together.

Those moments of lingering over candlelight, tea, and dessert are some of my favorite “slow” moments in life. There’s no rush, nowhere to be except together with our guests.

Take time this year to host more and linger around the table together. Savor the food and the conversation. You will find that these moments give so much rest to the body, mind, and soul. When we create space to “linger” with people we love, we truly enter into a special state of rest, and this quality time and connection with people helps us to avoid burnout over time.

What would it look like for you to host more this year with life-giving people who “fill your cup?”

7. Move Your Body Daily

This might seem like the opposite of resting, but it actually isn’t! There are so many benefits to moving your body daily like increased energy levels, a release of good-feeling hormones, and better, quality sleep at night (Healthline)!

And moving your body doesn’t have to look like a formal exercise program or even going to the gym! You could move your body right in your own home. Being a momma of (almost) 6 babies, I am partial to Youtube workout videos where I can do them around the kids (check out my favorites- Gro with Jo and The Body Project)! Christian loves using a CrossFit app that tells him what workout to do, and he often does that in our home.

But other simple ways you could move your body daily could be taking a walk, having a dance party with your kids, or going on a family hike (which we often do here in Asheville, NC because we are blessed with so many hiking trails).

Just 15-20 minutes a day is enough to give you benefits!

What is an easy way you could move your body every day?

8. Put Yourself to Bed On Time

Many go to bed whenever they feel like it. There is no exact bedtime. They might have an idea of when they want to be in bed, but it’s not like a “strict bed time.”

This is one habit I continue to have opportunities with! I like to go to bed when I want to go to bed. I like the freedom of deciding when I want to be in bed each night. Some nights it’s earlier, and sometimes it’s really late. This random bedtime schedule significantly impacts my sleep…and also my morning wake-up time.

As an adult, going to bed “on time” feels a little childish to me. Put me to bed on time? What’s “on time?”

Well, “on time” is whatever time that is going to give you the adequate rest your body needs and help you be ready to wake up at the time you want to get up in the morning.

Here are some questions you may consider to figure out what your specific bedtime is:

How many hours of sleep do you desire?

When do you want to wake up in the morning?

How many times a night are you being woken up by a kid?

All of these answers factor in! It’s essential that you take into consideration the season of life you are in. Regardless, we could all benefit from having a specific bedtime that allows us to wake up fully refreshed and ready for the next day ahead. Putting yourself to bed on time will reap many benefits for you this year including getting more rest to avoid burnout!

9. Simplify Your Home

Fewer things mean less to take care of. I cannot tell you how many homes I go into that have WAY too much stuff! Not only is having too many things distracting to the eyes, but too many things can be distracting to your heart and mind.

Besides, having too many things in our homes has an impact on your responsibility load. Don’t you already have too many things to take care of?

The big question I want you to ask yourself is: How do you want to feel when you walk into your home after a long day at work?

When I walk into my home, I desire to feel peaceful and relaxed.

I once heard that the average American home has over 300,000 items. And no, that is not a typo. Whether or not that is true for you, we can all admit that there are parts of our homes that we can simplify and declutter.

I have often found that my home typically represents how clear or unclear my mind is. So when I can create more breathing room and space in my home, my heart and mind feels lighter and fresher! I also feel like I can rest and relax easier when my home is simplified and clean.

What is one area of your home that you could simplify to bring more peace, joy and rest to your soul?

10. Schedule Margin in Your Calendar

This is such an underrated idea for gaining more rest. Like you would do for any other important appointment on your calendar, try scheduling margin or white space. If you aren’t currently doing this practice, this might feel very foreign. Eventually, you will begin looking forward to that white space and margin to slow down and rest more.

You could use the margin for anything that you need at that moment! Maybe it is simply opening your Bible and reading a chapter. Or it could be going for a walk or drinking a cup of your favorite tea. Whatever you do, don’t fill up your margin time with more work. Use it as a true form of rest and renewal.

Start by scheduling 15 minutes of margin per day. You may increase that over time, but baby steps are always a good place to start with a new habit. People who live a less stressed and restful life are those who have margin and white space in their life. When you intentionally incorporate margin in our schedules to rest and replenish, you will avoid burnout!

11. Put Your Phone Away Daily

As a mom of 6 kiddos, wife, and business owner, I know firsthand that balancing phone use can be difficult. Whether it’s the temptation to scroll social during periods of boredom, check emails or text messages for client communication, or be sucked into a Youtube video, I think we can all admit that our phone usage has gotten out of control!

In today’s technology driven society, it’s more important than ever to have healthy boundaries around our phone usage. Our phones can be a blessing when we intentionally use them for our work, businesses, or connecting. However, they become a curse when they consume our time, keep us from the loved ones in front of us, or keep us distracted from our most important things.

Our phone usage can absolutely contribute to burnout. To avoid burnout and rest more this year, determine a time (or multiple times) of day that you will put your phone away. As much as you might feel like you need to have your phone with you 24/7, I can promise you, you don’t.

Designate a “home” for your phone when you want to put it away. Maybe that’s a specific drawer, cabinet or cubby. Some times you may want to have “phone free” time would be in the mornings when you are with your family or doing your quiet time with the Lord, during mealtimes while you are enjoying your food or the presence of others, and at least 1 hour before bed.

The key is this: Be the master of your phone. Don’t let your phone be your master.

12. Increase Silence In Your Life

Our lives are filled with so much noise! From the kids throwing tantrums, to the dogs barking, to the constant background noise like the TV, music, or podcasts playing in your earbuds. We very rarely have true moments of silence in our lives. And this neverending noise (although many things) is impacting our hearts, minds and souls.

One of my favorite authors, Ruth Haley Barton talks about the power of silence in her book “Sacred Rhythms.” She says

“In silence we choose to unplug not only from the constant stimulation of life in the company of others but also from our own addiction to noise, words and activity. It creates a space for listening to the knowings that go beyond words, and feeling no pressure at all to put the depths of the human soul into words….Exhuastion sets in when we are too accessible too much of the time.”

-Ruth Haley Barton (Sacred Rhythms pg. 34 and 35)

The practice of silence is an ancient spiritual practice and for good reason. Silence allows for space to lessen the noise of the world in order to hear more clearly the voice of God.

I have found that the most deeply rooted people make time for regular moments of silence (and solitude) in their life. It’s a vicious cycle once total exhaustion and burnout set in because it leads to an avoidance in our spiritual practices, disciplines and rhythms that actually bring us life.

So how do we rest more and avoid burnout this year?

We find meaningful ways to rest and rejuvenate on a soul level. And one way to do that is by having a regular rhythm of silence in your life. 100% zero noise including music, podcasts, and “technological” noise.

This practice will be more difficult depending on what season of life you are in. If you are like myself, with a bunch of little kids at home, you will benefit from scheduling a time that is away from the children. Maybe you and your spouse could work out an opportunity for you to have a day in silence once a month? Or maybe you could wake up earlier before your kids are up to have silence before the chaos. Whatevever season you are in, being in silence is going to require you to be intentional and disciplined. It is not easy, but it is 100% worth it.

I have been enjoying the benefits of regular silence for several years now, thanks to one of my best friends Marni who invited me to my first 48 hour silent retreat. Now, I make silent retreats, whole days of silence, and daily times of silence a regular part of my life. Check out my article on how silence transformed my life.