“Rest until you feel like playing, then play until you feel like resting.” — Martha Beck

We all experienced the “post-lunch dip”—that familiar drop in energy after midday.

One of the most effective ways to overcome this slump is by taking a nap.

Personally, I love taking naps (or “Siesta”). They replenish my body battery and help me refocus after intense deep work sessions in the morning.

The ideal nap time is when adenosine ¹ levels peak—usually in the early afternoon (1–3 PM) or 7–8 hours after waking.

You can enhance your nap with techniques like “Nappuccino” or guided breathwork / body scan exercises.

My favorite is Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR), coined by Dr. Andrew Huberman. NSDR is a zero-cost, science-backed protocol that restores your mental and physical energy, even if you don’t fall asleep. ²

To make things easier, I built the “Brain Recharger” shortcut. It covers the essentials of my reset ritual—connecting headphones, adjusting the volume, locking the screen, and playing NSDR scripts ³—providing a quick energy boost for the rest of the day.

“The right way to work is like a lion. We’re not meant to graze all day. We’re meant to hunt like lions. So, as a modern knowledge worker, an intellectual athlete, you want to function like an athlete. This means you train hard, then you sprint, then you rest, then you reassess. You get your feedback loop, you train some more, then you sprint again, then you rest, then you reassess.” — Naval Ravikant

I used to struggle with giving myself permission to take breaks. Whenever I did, I felt guilty—often sneaking in bits of work rather than allowing myself to fully recharge. I was constantly in hustle mode—chained to my desk for hours and caught in The Busy Trap, a treadmill that led nowhere.

Now, I learned the importance of prioritizing downtime and sharpening the saw. To perform at my best, I have to work with my biology, not against it—I’m human, not a machine. If I want to speed up later, I need to slow down first—because slow is smooth, smooth is fast, and slow and steady wins the race.

So, stop treating rest as a reward—it’s not a special indulgence, but an absolute necessity. Downtime deserves time management as well. Replace the label “relaxing” or “relaxation” with “recovery,” so you don’t see it as wasted time. Think of relaxing as recovery, because it truly is. Remember: If rest increases your output per unit of time, it’s productive. Learn to rest, not to quit.

I use the “Brain Recharger” shortcut almost every day. With customizable steps—like adding a timer or your favorite mindfulness audio—it’s easy to create a reset routine that fits your needs.

This tool will help you to get most of your work done outside of work.

Happy napping!