Rest is not laziness. Rest is long-term productivity.

Short-term productivity is cramming as much work into as little time as possible. It leads to burnout and no good habits are built. It often stems from a burst of inspiration that doesn't last, and can't be sustained. One feels so good after that burst, they often stop and lose all their progress.

People focus on short-term productivity when they don't rest. No work happens when one rests, so it's easy for rest to feel wasteful. How can one be productive when they waste time doing nothing useful?

But rest is productive, since rest is what turns the snipped thread of short-term productivity into the continuous, winding thread of long-term productivity. The progress builds into serious change, habits form to keep this change growing with little effort, and that burst of inspiration becomes a steady stream of principle.

Productivity is an endless jog. Go full speed and you'll soon collapse and lose your momentum. To get moving again it feels like you're starting over and will likely never finish. It's important to go at a reasonable and steady pace, taking deep breaths, and hydrating and slowing down when needed. That's how muscle gets built, large progress is made, and the finish line is reached.

Resting doesn't make someone lazy. Productive people know proper rest, at the right time and place, and makes them more productive in the long run.

Don't feel lazy and undeserving for taking the time to rest. As long as you remember to get back to work once you're rested.