Gemma Speck

That is what rest does for you.

Researchers in a 2009 paper found what they call a positive incubation effect when you step away from a problem, when you let your brain rest and then you come back because it allows you to have more open-ended creative thinking.

You will literally waste less time by taking time away.

You will be able to like rejuvenate cognitively

by not forcing your body and your mind to do these long stretches of productivity.

That is one of the easiest and most counterintuitive life hacks you could try today and you would see results.

And I think most people won't do it because it seems so contrary to what we've been taught about hard work.

So the big question we've kind of been running up to this whole time, this whole episode, you and me, is...

How do we actually do it?

We know it's important to rest.

We can tell it's going to make us smarter.

How do we stop the guilt, the guilt from coming in?

I have four key shifts for you, starting with this one.

Stop treating rest like it's a reward.

When you treat it like it's a reward, you put it at the mercy of your mood and your to-do list.

Your to-do list is designed to win.

It's literally endless.

If you're a long-time overworker, high achiever type, you will always find something to do.

I know people like you.

I am somebody like you.