Remember recess as a kid?

It was just a given that we would take a break in the middle of the day. Lunch, recess, and then come back to class.

We accept that for kids. We would never say “you need to power through” to an eight-year-old.

So why do we say that to ourselves?

Is it because we’ve “grown up”? That kids need those breaks and adults don’t? That this is just how we “adult”?

Maybe. But I also think that we carry a lot of old stories about work and rest with us. I mean, I remember constantly being told that I couldn’t play until I got my work done.

And when you grow up with that message, it’s pretty easy to start believing that rest comes after the work is done.

Except the work is rarely done.

And in a world that rewards being available, productive, and constantly connected, there’s not much reminding us to stop.

And yet, pauses and breaks — yes, essentially recess — help us work without running ourselves into the ground. They give us space to be creative and allow new ideas to come forward.

So maybe the problem isn’t that we don’t want to rest or don’t have time to rest.

Maybe we just stopped designing rest into the day.

My invitation for you this week

Build a little recess into your days. Whatever that might look like for you. A few ideas:

• Take a real, scroll-free lunch break.
• Have a dance party in the middle of the afternoon.
• Take a walk outside for a few minutes.
• Read a few pages of a book.
• Play with bubbles, color, or do whatever delights your inner child.

I'd love to hear what recess looks and feels like to you...hit reply and share!

Sending love and recess vibes, Chris

PS: If you’re craving a little more of that recess feeling in your everyday life, that’s exactly what we’ll be exploring in The Rest Experiment. We start September 15.

PPS: I made a short video about this topic and had some fun along the way. And there are bloopers at the end. 🤣

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