Rest Isn’t Lazy: Building a Wellness Day into My Routine
Something I’ve learned about myself over the past couple of months is that I love routine. I like structure, and I like knowing what comes next throughout my day-to-day life. I can sometimes find it challenging to fit something new into my routine because when I want to add something that I know will help me in the long run, it can make me frustrated or annoyed with myself. After all, I am interrupting a routine I have built in my mind that I know works for me. Because of this, instead of making big changes in my daily routines, I have learned to start small. I will add something small to that day, and every few days or weeks after, I make that small change in the routine. I will add something else and follow that structure until my new routine for the day or week is set.
Honestly, I know I'm not alone here—does anyone else find it bizarrely hard actually to rest on their “rest day”? In Western culture, it sometimes feels like we’re expected to always be on the go and achieving something new. But I know this isn’t the case everywhere—in some parts of the world, people are much more intentional about rest, making it a natural and celebrated part of daily life. I think we could really learn from that! In a world that celebrates hustle, slowing down can feel like swimming upstream, but I've realized that real rest is just as important for my well-being as any productive habit.
An example of this for me right now is creating a rest day, and for me, that is Sundays. I value rest, but I also like to keep going. I find it hard to set aside a day specifically for rest. As a Christian, having a rest day or Sabbath day is really important, and I’m actively trying to build a day of rest for me that not only gives me rest but also glorifies God. I know everyone’s background is different, so if faith isn’t part of your routine, feel free to adapt these ideas to fit your life and beliefs.
I have known for a while that I’ve wanted Sundays to be my rest day, so when I started working more, I made a note to myself that I wanted to have Sundays off completely, and every single week on Sundays, there is a block in my schedule that makes sure that I don’t have to work on that specific day. For a while, I have always said that Sundays were my “rest days”, but I am never actually rested on Sundays. I often follow the same routine every Sunday: wake up, go to church, go home, scroll on my phone, go to bed. On several occasions, it has crossed my mind that I need to make Sundays restful for myself while also finding a way to glorify God.
For example, I am going to share my “ultimate sabbath/rest day routine.” I’ll admit, I don’t do every single thing on this list, but I am actively striving to do everything on it one Sunday. This is a shortened list because sharing absolutely everything on it would make this blog super long. Still, as I said before, this is currently what I am striving to do, and I hope that this will encourage you also to find a day in your schedule to take as a rest day where you aren’t doing anything and just giving yourself the rest you need for the week ahead.
My Sunday Rest + Reset:
Faith
Go to church
Spend quiet time with God
Read my Bible + reflect on what stood out
Pray over the week ahead
Reset
Wash my sheets + do laundry
Clean and tidy my space
Reset my bathroom + bedroom
Put everything back where it belongs
Prepare
Look over the week ahead
Choose my top priorities
Prepare for Monday
Make sure my bags, devices, and essentials are ready
Care
Take an everything shower
Do whatever self-care I need that week
Put on clean, comfy clothes
Slow down and take care of myself
Rest
Spend time outside
Read, journal, or do something creative
Spend intentional time with people I love
Step away from social media
Do something simply because I enjoy it
Close the Day
Make my space cozy
Put my phone away
Reflect on what I’m grateful for
Ask myself: What do I want to carry into this week, and what can I leave behind?
Pray + get a full night of sleep
Starting in September, I’m going back to school with a very full course load and work schedule, so having Sundays as my designated rest, recharge, and wellness days is important for me to find time to sit down and recharge after a very full and busy week of school and work.
