Three Tactics for Personal Renewal (You Need Them All!)

If you struggle to experience rest even when you’re resting, this post is for you.

I’m exactly two weeks removed from leaving my role at Woodstock City Church.

Yes, it’s a bit weird.

I knew taking a little time off to rest and reset would best position me for my next adventure. I committed to take two weeks off and do nothing related to work — no meetings, writing, content development, preaching, and the like. It sounded like a glorious plan. Leave Woodstock City Church on Sunday, August 1, and ride off into the two-week staycation sunset.

Outside of an afternoon massage and dinner with friends, I awoke Monday morning with an empty calendar. I walked downtown for some coffee. I sat outside under a tree. I looked at Instagram … And I wondered what was happening at church.

That was the single thought that I couldn’t shake. “I wonder what’s happening at church this morning?” “I wonder what meetings I’m missing?” “I wonder what decisions they are making without me?”

I literally had previous work FOMO. I felt I was missing out. And that emotion wasn’t that relaxing. I was trying to rest and reset, but my mind was still back at my old job.

Your current circumstances are different than mine. But, let me ask you a question: Have you ever physically been on vacation but emotionally remained at work? Have you ever taken time off but not felt “off” at all? Have you ever needed a break from your vacation?

It took me a full 3.5 days to start emotionally feeling “off.” That’s a long time. Think about it: If you take a week-long summer vacation and it takes you half the week to begin vacationing, that’s not a great use of a vacation week.

Here’s what my last two weeks taught me (or reminded me): If we want to refresh well, we need to practice resting well.

In this NEW POST, I give you the three tactics to ensure you remain refreshed.

I dare you to give them a try!

Does Working for the Weekend Work Against YOU?

AT A GLANCE…

Read this if…
You sense there is a connection between time and momentum.

This post in one sentence…
Does time away take away? From our momentum? From our progress? From our purpose?

How you can engage…
Create a “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” list of your own and share it with me in the comments below. And share this post with others who might need to consider the idea, too.

POST:
Is it good to take time off?

I know, I know… sounds like a trick question. But let’s think critically for a moment. Is taking time off ALWAYS a good thing? Loverboy sang “everybody’s working for the weekend…, “ but does working for the weekend ever work against us?

An Observation that Initiated the Question:

I recently took time away from writing. Outside of a few random posts, I didn’t blog for a couple of months. I didn’t really write anything. I won’t bore you with the reasons, but I was excited to get started again. I felt ready to pounce on a blog post like a lion stalking prey. I was mentally refreshed (or so I thought). I assumed two months away would allow me to come back with ideas upon ideas. It was going to be a landslide of great writing. After all, every time I write, I use up an idea; so taking a few months off should in theory create a backlog of options.

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