The Rhythm of Rest: Why You Need to Make Time for You

Guest columnist Chris Coladonato emphasizes the importance of rest.

My friend and colleague Chris Coladonato guides people to step away from the hustle, unplug, and reconnect with themselves. I wholeheartedly endorse her message and her mission to help us slow down and rest. Take it away, Chris!

I’ve been thinking about rest a lot lately. Not just because it’s part of the work I do—which it is—but because it’s fall here in the northeast U.S.

The trees are changing colors and shedding their leaves. Squirrels are dashing across my lawn, cheeks stuffed with acorns. And bears will be hibernating soon. They are all preparing for winter. It’s their season of rest. It’s instinct.

It used to be instinct for us too. Before electricity, machines, and the endless glow of screens, we lived in rhythm with nature. We worked and rested in cycles.

But in this modern world, we’ve lost that rhythm. Everything seems to be calling for our attention: notifications, to-do lists, deadlines, family…sigh…life itself! The pace never seems to slow down, and rest gets pushed to the bottom of the list—or off the list completely.

I mean, I get it. For years, I was so busy I never made time to rest. I pushed hard through projects. I kept my work phone on during vacations. I was always on, always available. And honestly? I wore that like a badge of honor.

But it came at a cost. Burnout — of the epic kind. Looking back (hindsight is 20/20!), I can see that it wasn’t that I didn’t have time to rest. It’s that I didn’t make time to rest.

As Alex Soojung-Kim Pang writes in his book Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less:

“Rest doesn’t just magically appear when we need it. Taking rest seriously requires recognizing its importance, claiming our right to rest, and carving out and defending space for it in our daily lives.”

Carving out. Defending. The way you’d fight for anything else that matters. And yes, rest matters. It isn’t a luxury, it’s not indulgent. It is necessary for survival.

And yet, we treat ourselves as the only species exempt from the rhythm of rest. Too often, we treat our phones better than we treat ourselves. I mean, you wouldn’t go a day without charging your phone, right?

But humans are a part of nature, too. We are human beings, not human doings. We need pauses, cycles, and seasons. Our lives are music — and without the rests, it’s just noise.

Think about that for a minute. Music without rest is just noise.

Musicians instinctively build in rests throughout their songs, because without them, the notes blur together. There’s no room to breathe, no contrast, and it becomes overwhelming. Think about your favorite song. If there were no pauses or spaces, it would be a relentless, never-ending sound.

Sound familiar? Without rest, your life becomes overwhelming and noisy. There’s no room to breathe, and eventually, you will collapse because you can’t survive at a never-ending pace. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but it will happen if you don’t make time for you.

So stop waiting for the “perfect” time to rest—because there usually isn’t one. It’s not a reward for when you finally get it all done (let’s be honest, there will always be more to do). Rest is the fuel that lets you keep going.

And if you want to keep showing up in this world, making a difference, and living a full life? You need to make time for you.

Because while your work matters, and your people matter, you matter too.

So this week, choose one way to show up for yourself — in a way that works for you. It might be five minutes savoring a cup of coffee without distraction. Maybe it’s taking a short walk without music. Or simply pausing to breathe before you move on to the next thing.

Whatever it is, build it into your schedule, your rhythm. Protect it. Savor it. And let it remind you of what’s always been true: you matter too.

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Chris Coladonato helps busy humans slow down and create a rhythm of rest that truly works for them—so they can breathe easier and feel human again. Through workshops, coaching, and her coloring book Color Me Unplugged, she guides people to step away from the hustle, unplug, and reconnect with themselves. Learn more (and connect with her) at connectioncatalyst.com.

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