🎙 Episode 20: Should You Make Rest Conditional?

Untangling guilt, productivity, and the right to recharge.

🔸 Samar opens with a relatable scene: sitting on your phone or relaxing—until someone walks in and you suddenly feel guilty for not being “productive.” This sparks the central question: Do we only deserve rest if we’ve earned it?

🔸 She reflects on her own phases—first tying rest strictly to productivity, then realizing that true rest comes naturally when her body signals it. Her experiments with walks, cozy nightly rituals, and scheduled downtime highlight how rest can shift from guilt-driven to intentional.

🔸 Wafa shares her structured approach: rest isn’t about what was or wasn’t accomplished—it’s part of the schedule, protected like any other priority. She emphasizes planning buffer time for tasks and how this reduces stress, prevents burnout, and makes rest restorative rather than indulgent.

🔸 Together, they weigh cultural and personal pressures: how upbringing, fast- vs. slow-paced environments, and social media shape our perception of “deserving” downtime.

🔸 We also explored:

* The cultural joke of Arab moms saying, “You’re wasting your time,” and how that conditions rest with guilt

* Differences in fast-paced vs. slow-paced environments (Beirut vs. North Lebanon) and how that impacts rest

* The trap of linking procrastination with “not deserving” rest

* Why scrolling social media often feels like rest but drains energy instead of recharging it

* The importance of defining rest for yourself—whether it’s silence, a walk, funny videos, or a cozy evening ritual

💡 Key Takeaways:

* Rest is a human need—like food or sleep—not something to be earned only after productivity.

* Conditional rest leads to guilt and burnout; unconditional rest restores energy and clarity.

* Balance is found when you know yourself: too little rest drains you, too much rest stagnates you.

* Protecting rest with structure and routines allows both productivity and relaxation to coexist.

📖 Read the full article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20-should-you-make-rest-conditional-personal-context-wafa-ncjec/

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