In college, I tackled what was, for me, a really difficult music performance major. I’d gone into college with almost no musical experience, and I was hanging on my by fingertips in classes that assumed years of training. I was working like mad just to survive the workload in a competitive field of study where you were never really done. There was always more practicing to do.
About halfway through my freshman year, I was tired to the point of burning out. I knew something had to change. That’s when I came up with my Seinfeld and Cheesecake Rule. It was basically this: whenever Seinfeld was on TV, I’d stop and watch it. Whenever my favorite dessert cheesecake was available, I’d eat it. Strange, I know, but it was a way of putting intentional breaks into my overwhelming schedule. A method of telling myself when it was ok to stop. A reminder to enjoy life. To lift my head up for a moment from my work, look around, and regain some perspective.
Things got better. I found myself more rested and able to push through the hard times knowing I had those breaks to look forward to. As time went on, I worked to expand the exercise into taking a full day off every week. In Jewish and Christian traditions, it’s called taking a Sabbath day. In the Bible, it’s even one of the 10 Commandments (see below). Why did it make one of the Big 10? I think it’s because God knew our human tendency to go like the Energizer Bunny. To constantly try to achieve something, to be busy. To become human doings vs. human beings.
One of the big objections I had to this idea early on was the belief that I had too much to do. That I didn’t have time to take a full day off. I was afraid I’d fall behind in my work and not accomplish as much as I wanted to. But I’ve come to realize that, over the long haul, the opposite is true. When I take a full day off, I am renewed, rested, and motivated for the rest of the week. I’ve found that I actually accomplish more in 6 energized days than in 7 tired days. And it’s a lot more enjoyable way to live.
This concept is beautifully illustrated by a simple story I heard a pastor tell 30 years ago that still sticks with me:
A young woodcutter joined a logging crew. Eager to impress his older co-workers, he worked hard. At the end of his first day, he went up to the oldest logger and bragged, “I cut down five trees today.” The old logger replied, “That’s great, son, but the average around here is seven.” Determined to succeed, the young man went out earlier and stayed later the next day but only cut down four trees. The third day, he even worked through his breaks but only cut down three trees. In frustration, he went to the old logger and said, “I don’t understand it. I work harder and longer than anyone else but I can’t keep up.” The old logger smiled and said, “Son, that’s because we take the time to stop and sharpen our axes.”
Taking a day off a week isn’t being lazy. It’s not a wasted opportunity. It’s strategically taking the time to sharpen your ax. The concept of sabbath is recharging, renewing, and makes you more productive. It’s like taking a mini-vacation every 7 days. It gives you more joy in life and helps you keep perspective on what’s really important.
If this isn’t something you’ve done before, it will probably take some time to put into practice. Look at your schedule and pick the day of the week that you think will work best. Start crossing off commitments for that day. Work toward shifting some of the activities that you would normally do that day to the rest of your week. Better yet, take this as an opportunity to really look at everything you’re involved in and see what needs to go. Like decluttering your house makes your living space feel so much better, decluttering your schedule makes your life feel so much better.
So how about it? Do you want to take a guilt free mini-vacation every seven days and get even more accomplished? You can do this. It takes some planning and intentionality but it is SO worth the effort. Go for it! If you do, you’ll take another joyful and productive step toward Becoming Yourself.
Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don’t do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.
The Bible, book of Exodus, chapter 20, verses 8-11, The Message version
