Why Rest Should Be Part of Our Professional Development Plan

Hi. My name is Dr. Shayla Walker, and I am passionate about rest. Rest to me is more than a buzzword. Rest is a practice, a value-based decision, and yes, a professional competency.

For the majority of my adult life, I treated rest like a reward, if I even acknowledged it at all. Rest, or more specifically “self-care,” was something to earn after I finished my day, marked something off my to-do list, or when I was feeling particularly proud of myself (likely due to some accomplishment). I thought that by working hard and “not putting off for tomorrow what you can do today,” I was being disciplined and productive. Now I know I was doing the opposite of what I should have been doing. I was fast-tracking burnout as my baseline, running on fumes and calling it ambition, and becoming an unrelenting high-achiever who failed to see her value outside of her achievements.

It wasn’t until the sixth year of my professional career, when I was working as a full-time tenure-track professor, a part-time outpatient therapist, and a full-time doctoral student, that I finally admitted that I had reached my limit. My body and spirit began whispering (and eventually shouting) for me to slow down. I was like a car, in that you couldn’t see the damage and repair needed until after you lifted the hood. I developed daily migraines, experienced significant weight loss, and had mood-altering neck and shoulder pain.

Ironically, my dissertation topic was achievement. I used autoethnography to explore my experience of achievement and what achievement meant to me. The most notable (and consequently my favorite) theme within my research was rest. I realized that rest is not counterintuitive to achievement but an essential, albeit overlooked, contributor to it.

So with that said, let’s talk about why rest deserves a permanent place in our professional development plan.

Rest Is a Skill, Not a Luxury

Rest is a practice, a skill, and a lifestyle. Like anything else, it takes practice, and that practice is often uncomfortable, clumsy, slow, and maybe a bit embarrassing. For some, developing rest as a skill may come more naturally, and for others, it’s something they have to really work at. Regardless, it’s a skill that we all should have and definitely need. 

So why isn’t rest taught or normalized more broadly? Well, many of us were raised in a capitalistic society. In layman’s terms, we’ve prioritized individualism, competition, and productivity and learned to glorify exhaustion as proof of our commitment, strength, and perseverance. We equated being busy with being valuable. But life shouldn’t be about how much we can endure. It’s about how effectively we live, inspire, and enjoy.

In my personal life, and sometimes when I facilitate professional development workshops on rest and restoration, I ask, “When was the last time you made a rested decision?” If you had to pause and think, that means something. (To reflect more on what it means to make a rested decision, you may enjoy reading “The Best Yes” by Lysa Terkeurst.)

In my own journey as a professor, speaker, workshop facilitator, and business owner, I’ve learned that when I’m rested, I’m more present, more innovative, and have higher levels of clarity, creativity, and compassion. I experience balance, boundaries, and most importantly, peace. Rest does not mean life will be easy; practicing rest prepares us for when things get hard (if for no other reason than ensuring we have the capacity to address the issue head-on). 

Rest Is a Value-Based Decision

If you have visited my Speaker page, you know that I offer workshops and presentations that center Critical Self-Reflection and Restorative Healing and Value-Based Decision Making. One of the go-to activities I use when presenting on value-based decision making is what I’m going to refer to as the Value Prioritization activity. Essentially (and sometimes with the help of a pre-written list), I encourage participants to identify the top 10 values they prioritize. Long story less long, we whittle the list down to the participant’s singular most important value. We then have a deeper discussion about how we embody this value, justify the value, and judge the value in others, but I digress.

When I think about the value that is most significant to me in my current phase of life, it’s authenticity. I define authenticity as being 100% honest and true to who I am and how I am feeling. It centers love, respect, honesty, and vulnerability. Authenticity is about being courageous enough to allow uninhibited self-expression and expecting it, or at least creating space for it, in others. 

But how can I be my authentic self if I am burnt out, depleted, apathetic, or resentful? Who would I be or could I be if I had balance, restoration, and healing from a society that demands so much? Every time I choose rest, I choose to be my authentic and perfectly imperfect self. I allow myself to be human, not a machine. I model that it’s okay to take my superwoman cape off and instead use it as a blanket. I honor the privilege I have to say “I’m tired” and actually go do something about it. Choosing rest allows me to authentically demonstrate my power, autonomy, and control over my decisions and my lifestyle. When I set boundaries, it’s not because I care about my responsibilities less, but because I care about myself just as much.

Rest Honors Our Humanity (and Our History)

For Black women in particular, rest is more than a health practice; it’s a radical act of self-preservation. We, as Black women, come from lineages that were taught to push through, carry on, and keep going no matter what. This perseverance (heavy on the severe) was a means of survival. The Strong Black Woman schema originated during chattel slavery as a means to dehumanize enslaved African women and justify their brutality. We, as Black women, learned to model strength, independence, and endurance for the preservation of ourselves, our families, and the Black community. This is the legacy we were born into, but we also come from ancestors who dreamed of a freedom that included ease. If I am my ancestors' wildest dreams, would one of their dreams not include rest?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: even though I preach about rest, rest didn’t (and sometimes still doesn’t) come naturally. My platform on rest has come after years of unlearning the idea that my worth is calculated by my output. Instead, I learned to choose to redefine productivity, value, and strength to include pausing, reflecting, relaxing, and simply exhaling.

Rest is an Ethical Imperative

Rest is a skill, a practice, an acknowledgment of our humanity, and as a social worker, rest is also an ethical imperative. The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics states, “Professional self-care is paramount for competent and ethical social work practice. Professional demands, challenging workplace climates, and exposure to trauma warrant that social workers maintain personal and professional health, safety, and integrity. Social work organizations, agencies, and educational institutions are encouraged to promote organizational policies, practices, and materials to support social workers’ self-care.”

I need to check if I have published a blog post about the differences between rest and self-care, but in a nutshell (and as you may glean), while rest and self-care are similar and at times overlap, they are not the same thing (hence me always talking about rest and rarely mentioning self-care). I view self-care as the fun activities we do while navigating challenging systems, heavy workloads, and unrealistic expectations. Rest, on the other hand, evaluates the systems, questions the heavy workloads, and recalibrates expectations to ensure they are healthy and sustainable. Self-care is the bandaid to a bone that’s already broken while rest is what identifies the risk and prevents the bone from breaking in the first place. Self-care pours into our cup before it becomes empty. Rest ensures we are working from the overflow and pouring from the saucer.

Even if you are not a social worker, if we recognize that self-care prevents burnout and helps us “maintain personal and professional health, safety, and integrity,” it’s arguable that no matter the profession, field, environment, or situation, if self-care can be that beneficial, imagine the rewards of rest.

Growth, development, joy, replenishment… none of these things should compete with survival. We cannot learn, produce, or progress meaningfully if we are constantly in fight-or-flight mode (and if you don’t believe me, google “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”). Rest gives our brains (and bodies) the time they need to connect the dots, reflect on new insights, and apply them in meaningful ways. It’s what turns professional development hours into professional development impact.

Let’s Rethink Growth

Sustainable success requires sustainable practices. When we build rest into our professional development plans, we not only gain perspective, but we increase our productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness.

If you’re serious about growing as a leader, educator, helping professional, or simply as a person, then I challenge you to add rest to your list of professional goals. Schedule it. Protect it. Honor it. No matter what.

✨ Rest is not resistance to work. Rest is readiness for what’s next.

Call to Action: Ready to Redefine Professional Growth?

If this message resonated with you, I invite you to explore my professional development workshops and on-demand continuing education courses. I intentionally developed my ASWB-approved continuing education courses to be self-paced so they can fit into your schedule where you want them. 

I never want anyone to choose between a client session, spending the afternoon with family or friends, giving up another weekend, or taking time off work to complete their required continuing education responsibilities. That’s why my courses are different. They are available when you are.

You likely won’t retain information if you are too exhausted, stressed, or pressured to focus on the content. If you've ever signed up for a training, completed it, and then felt like nothing really stuck, it might not have been the course. It might have been the lack of rest surrounding it. But with 30 days to complete any one of my on-demand, self-paced, virtual courses, you can earn your CE certificate at the time that feels best for you.

FAQ: 

Q: How can rest actually make me more productive?
A: Rest supports creativity, decision-making, and emotional regulation, all of which are critical components of effectiveness. When you rest, you return to your work with clarity and renewed energy, making you more efficient and thoughtful.

Q: What are some practical ways to build rest into my professional routine?
A: Start with intentional pauses: block “no-meeting” times, step away from screens between sessions, take walking breaks, or practice reflective journaling after a training session. These moments of stillness improve retention and integration. You can learn more by reading last week’s blog post.

Q: Is rest relevant for high-performing professionals or executives?
A: Absolutely! In fact, leadership and well-being training often highlight rest as a key driver of sustained excellence. Executives who rest are better equipped to make strategic, value-driven decisions and foster healthier workplace cultures.

Q: How does this connect to social work and helping professions?
A: In helping professions, our capacity to care for others begins with how well we care for ourselves. Continuing education for social workers that emphasizes rest and restoration helps prevent burnout and ensures ethical, empathetic practice.