My relationship with rest has always been complicated. In my late teens, I was staying up until 1 a.m. designing, then getting up at 5:30 a.m. to run a beach walking club with my family. Sleep debt felt normal. Less sleep felt like an easy and effective way to put more hours into my day.
It was difficult at times, and it meant I would crash every so often, but my youthful body was willing to act as a shock absorber.
It has been about 20 years since then, and I’ve learned the real truth: if I don’t get quality rest, I do not produce quality work.
How did we get here?
Before the invention of the lightbulb, humans slept significantly more than we do today. That sleep was natural and closely tied to daylight hours. Most people had physically demanding jobs, and sleep was essential for recovery.
Fast forward to Generation X and Millennials coming of age. The official recommendation of eight hours’ sleep felt unattainable. We pulled all-nighters and regularly ground through our days on six, five, or even four hours of sleep. It became a badge of honour—a signal that we were hardworking and productive.
But then things started unravelling. Burnout, mental health challenges, declining productivity, and chronic disease became increasingly common.
While there are certainly other contributing factors, I’m convinced our toxic relationship with work has played a significant role.
Operating instructions
We were not made to work constantly. As humans, we are designed to function best in rhythms of work and rest. These rhythms are not only self-evident; they are written into humanity’s instruction manual. Both in the biblical creation story and in the Ten Commandments, there is a clear command to rest.
The concept of Sabbath permeates the Bible in countless ways—from weekly rhythms to agricultural practices and even financial systems. God understood that rest would be essential if humans were to live full and abundant lives.
What does that look like?
As a business owner, I care deeply about productivity. I want my team to produce consistently excellent work. If that matters to me, then I also have a responsibility to ask how I can help ensure they are getting optimal rest.
That isn’t always simple. Because we are an international team, some members occasionally need to attend meetings outside their normal hours. Even so, we work intentionally to build enough slack into the system (weekly and annually) so that rest isn’t treated as an afterthought, but as a prerequisite for great work.
In addition to this I have plans to extend our commitment to rest to include even more radical ideas as Blue Vineyard grows because In the end, rest isn’t the enemy of productivity, it’s the foundation of it
