Hello, from the pandemic! Still!!!
We are coming up on a year since everyone’s lives made a huge turn with the global pandemic. It seems like such a long time ago, and also like we are still so new at all these pandemic-related skills.
No matter what your pandemic experiences have been – easy, hard, some of both – this change across the entire planet has been a challenge to learn to work with on a daily basis. And while it’s not useful to keep focusing just on all the hardships we have had to face – it’s impossible not to acknowledge that things have been tough. That isn’t going to change any time soon.
One of the big messages we are hearing from members, and from across the library profession, is how hard things have been lately. Not just “regular pandemic hard” but turned up a notch.
So, we are going to be sharing some self-care ideas for you each week. It’s a pretty popular topic, with good reason; but we specifically want to include it with your other professional material because we want to emphasize the importance of this for everyone. Your self-care is for you, and feel free to use it in the library, in the classroom, with your family – wherever you are. Share some self-care with everyone around you. And maybe we will all feel a tiny bit better today.
We are sharing an excerpt from a TED-Ed Blog article, that is based on this TED-X talk in the video above. “Saundra Dalton-Smith MD is a physician, researcher and the author of the book “Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity.” Her work has been featured by Fast Company, FOX, MSNBC and Psychology Today. Learn more at DrDaltonSmith.com or by following her on Instagram (@DrDaltonSmith) or LinkedIn (Linkedin.com/in/drdaltonsmith).”
She is talking about seven different types of rest we all need. And I think this is probably something everyone has experienced during the pandemic, and during “regular” life. If we can take one thing away from this time, the focus on getting more rest could be really great for us all.
“Have you ever tried to fix an ongoing lack of energy by getting more sleep — only to do so and still feel exhausted?
If that’s you, here’s the secret: Sleep and rest are not the same thing, although many of us incorrectly confuse the two.
We go through life thinking we’ve rested because we have gotten enough sleep — but in reality we are missing out on the other types of rest we desperately need. The result is a culture of high-achieving, high-producing, chronically tired and chronically burned-out individuals. We’re suffering from a rest deficit because we don’t understand the true power of rest.
Rest should equal restoration in seven key areas of your life:“
She names each of the seven types, and in the full article, and her video, explains each and how you can get it done.
- #1 Physical rest
- #2 Mental rest
- #3 Sensory rest
- #4 Creative rest
- #5 Emotional rest
- #6 Social rest
- #7 Spiritual rest
She concludes with: “As you can see, sleep alone can’t restore us to the point we feel rested. So it’s time for us to begin focusing on getting the right type of rest we need.”
Try to identify a type of rest you need today. Even if you can’t nail all seven this week, aim for at least a couple of them. And think about how you can help your patrons and students to achieve some type of rest when they are in your library – in person or online.
You profession wants you to be as well rested as you can be right now. Make time, and take care of yourself this week.