Every year I joke about the first time I hear someone say “the nights are drawing in”. It usually sounds like bad news.
If I’m honest, I often feel the same. I love the long, sunny days. Nevertheless, when the clocks go back at the end of October, I’ve started to see the darker evenings differently. They invite us to slow down and rest more. Something close to hibernation, which, given how busy most of us are, may not be a bad thing at all.
What we get wrong about rest
What I think we often get wrong is treating rest as the opposite of productivity. It isn’t. Rest is part of what makes us productive. It supports the work rather than competing with it.
Many of us carry a quiet rule that rest has to be earned – that we can only stop once everything is done. But “everything” is never quite done, so rest keeps getting pushed back.
Rest that restores
Not all rest is equal. Some things feel like a break but leave us more tired. The kind of rest I mean is slow and absorbing – something that fills you up rather than drains you.
Think of something you’ve put off for ages because it felt unnecessary. Sorting old photos. The book on the shelf. A creative project you keep meaning to start.
Pick something slow and absorbing that restores rather than drains you. The darker evenings might be just the right time for it.
A question to sit with
How will you spend the longer evenings?