03/10/2026
There is a quiet rebellion happening over here in my neck of the woods (so to speak). Last year, on March 10, a colleague and I created an entire campaign around National Day of Rest for Black Women. We planned a full day centered on self-care and spending time in spaces intentionally cultivated for Black wellness.
This year⌠not so much.
In fact, I am doing absolutely nothing other than allowing the day to be ordinary.
Why?
Because unless you are strategic about cultivating rest, many of us are simply recreating exhaustion in prettier settings. We schedule the massage, attend the brunch, show up to the wellness event and somehow we are still performing. Real rest, Iâm learning, is quieter than that. I donât need to post pictures for the âgram nor make announcements about my rest. Iâm simply doing it.
But if you are intentional and strategic about making today all about you, here are 5 ways to make today meaningful and sustainable.
Here are 5 ways to make today meaningful and sustainable:
1. Donât make this a one-day event.
Rest cannot be an annual holiday. If we are serious about wellness, this practice has to be built into our lives monthly, weekly, even daily.
2. Protect unscheduled time.
Leave space in your day where nothing is expected of youâno productivity, no caregiving, no emotional labor.
3. Choose restoration over performance.
Rest doesnât have to be curated, aesthetic, or Instagram-worthy. Sometimes it is simply staying home, turning off notifications, and allowing your nervous system to settle.
4. Step away from spaces that drain you.
Meaningful rest often requires boundaries such as declining invitations, limiting work conversations, and disengaging from environments that keep you in âpush-throughâ mode.
5.Let rest be strategic, not reactive.
Sustainable rest means planning your life in a way that protects your energy before burnout shows upânot after.
Because the real goal âflexâ isnât just a day of rest for Black women.
Itâs building a life where rest is normalized, protected, and sustainable. You knowâŚallowing our nervous systems to rest and rest.
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