My word for 2020 was “confidence” and my word for this year is “nurture,” more specifically, to nurture what all that I planted in confidence. Nurturing takes hard work, but I’m also learning the necessity of breaks. Resting is just as important as putting your hand to the plow. Even God rested, sis! Here are a few ways to create more room for rest in your life.

Go to the Creator. Before we can get into what you can do, we need to cultivate confidence in what God has already done. Sis, you’re known. The real you—void of other people’s expectations—is known. Psalm 139 is tatted to my right shoulder and many of the verses flow through my mind with ease because I’ve spent years training myself to do so. Before I begin to do anything else, I need to first know who my Creator has called me to be. From there, everything else will flow and I can make decisions about everything from work to engaging on social media.

Reflect on Relationships. We are wired for relationships and our life isn’t lived in a vacuum. In addition to work culture, many times our relationships with family, friends, and romantic partners can impact how we choose to be vulnerable versus how we code switch or shape shift. Navigating relationships is never easy, but it’s nice when you have people in your life who can encourage you in times of doubt. What messages or lessons have you learned through your relationships that you still carry with you? How do those ideas and beliefs serve you today?

Algorithms. If you’re like me, you probably try to take mental breaks throughout the work day by turning to social media. But what are you consuming? Maybe taking a break from social media isn’t possible, or you’ve gone through many “social media fasts” only to return to the same problem—the same exhaustion. Have you tried changing your algorithms? I’ve done this (somewhat) on IG and it’s made a difference in how I enjoy the platform (still working on Twitter!).

My suggested posts from IG, because of what I choose to consume, consists mostly of NYC skylines, cozy homes with plants, Scripture, Black love, and funny memes. It takes time, but social media can be a place where we can follow pages that inspire us and evoke joy instead of dread. “Doomscrolling” does not have to be your reality.

Write now. I use reflective journal prompts and a gratitude journal regularly. As a writer, this also helps guide how I pray. It’s a practice I use to start and end my day, but I also use it if and when I need to take a mental break in the middle of the day. Try using writing prompts from The Write In.

Speak with a therapist or professional coach. Sometimes it’s great to speak with a therapist or professional to address the root of many of our problems and cultivate new habits or set necessary boundaries. My therapist and business coaches (yep, plural— shoutout to Marlena and Pri! Check out their businesses Big Idea Food and Full Collective, respectively), have helped me work through family history, imposter syndrome, and set challenging yet realistic goals to do the work God has called me.

Set strict boundaries with your work. What’s your official “off” time from work? Do you still get work-related email or Slack notifications to your personal phone? I know the privilege of “signing off” will look differently for everyone so consider practical ways you can unplug, even if it makes other people uncomfortable. After going back and forth, I chose to draw a line between myself and the organization I work for by removing email from my personal phone (I still have Slack, but notifications are turned off), and choosing not to have information about that organization on my personal social media pages (ie. in my bio). I used to think it would help with networking, but instead it made me feel like I wasn’t a whole person outside of a nonprofit organization whose views are not completely my own. As Toni Morrison put it, “you are not the work you do, you are the person you are.”

What are some other ways you set boundaries and take breaks? Share in the comments below or connect with us on Instagram.