EP 279 - “We are designed for rest.” Guest: Steven Langer, Founder & CEO, Well By Design

Steven Langer - Paper Napkin Wisdom - We are designed for rest

Napkin: “We are designed for rest.” 

If you’ve ever worn exhaustion like a badge of honor, Episode 279 is a friendly intervention. Steven Langer—international keynote speaker and workplace wellness strategist—joins me to challenge a deeply ingrained belief: that rest is something we “earn” only after the work is done. Steven’s life’s work is helping organizations design healthier cultures from the inside out, and his company Well By Design boldly leads with a simple truth right on the homepage: we are designed for rest—and when we honor that design, we become more present and more productive at work and at home.  

Steven brings a deep, practical background to the conversation—over 17 years as a senior leader across the public and private sectors, plus a Master’s in Education (Leadership) and training in change management, organizational behavior, HR, and strategic planning. He’s led teams, built capacity, and now equips leaders and staff to prioritize well-being without sacrificing results. He also speaks and writes extensively about moving beyond the buzzword of “work-life balance” toward something more realistic and sustainable—what he calls coherence.  

Early in our chat, Steven underlines why the napkin says rest and not sleep: 

“To me, rest is different than sleep… it’s the things you’re intentionally doing that get you back to baseline.” — Steven Langer  

That distinction matters. Sleep is essential, yes. But many of us are sleeping and still living at a chronic fatigue level because we never step off the gas during the day. Steven argues that rest is a practice, not a reward—discrete, intentional moments that bring your nervous system back to baseline so you can do better work. As he puts it: 

“We are designed for it. We need it.” — Steven Langer  

We also talk about hustle culture and the entrepreneur’s myth of invincibility—those throwaway lines like “I’ll rest when I’m done” (or worse, “when I’m dead”). You’ll hear us explore how that mindset quietly taxes creativity, clarity, and decision quality. At one point I say on the show, “We are 70% less productive when working at a fatigue level,” and Steven meets leaders right where many of us live—aware we’re gassed—and shows how to navigate out of it (episode transcript). 

The most useful part of our conversation is how doable Steven makes rest. It’s not a week at the cottage—it’s minutes, even seconds, woven through your day on purpose. Micro-rests. Done-lists. Breath that flips your body out of fight-or-flight. And leaders: you’ll hear how modeling and scheduling rest is one of the highest-leverage culture moves you can make. 

5 Key Takeaways (with Take Action for entrepreneurs & leaders) 

1. Rest ≠ Sleep Insight: Sleep restores you overnight; rest restores you during the day. It’s the intentional reset that brings you back to baseline so you can think clearly and lead well. (“Rest is different than sleep… it’s the things you’re intentionally doing that get you back to baseline.” — Steven) 

   Take Action: Build a “3–2–1 Reset” into your calendar: 3 mini-breaks (2–5 min) mid-morning/afternoon/eod, 2 mindful breaths before meetings, 1 screen-free lunch away from the desk for 10–15 minutes. Protect it like any mission-critical appointment. 

   
   

2. Baseline Before Breakthrough Insight: Operating under chronic fatigue becomes your new normal, and you won’t notice how compromised your thinking is until you reset. 

   Take Action: Track your daily baseline check at 11:30am and 3:30pm on a 1–5 energy scale. If you’re ≤3, take a micro-rest: step outside, box-breathe (4–4–6–2), or do a two-minute body scan. Reassess. No heroics—just reset. 

   
   

3. Intention Beats Intensity Insight: You can’t out-hustle a dysregulated nervous system. Short, intentional rests beat sporadic, heroic vacations. 

   Take Action: Create a Done List ritual at day’s end: write 3 things you finished (dopamine well-earned), 1 person to appreciate tomorrow, and 1 reset you’ll schedule before your first meeting. Close the laptop only after the list is written. 

   
   

4. Leaders Set the Wellness Weather Insight: Teams imitate what leaders normalize. If you glorify grind, people hide fatigue; if you model rest, they learn to recharge and perform. 

   Take Action: Establish two norms for the next 30 days: (a) No-meeting Zones from 12:00–1:00 and 3:00–3:15 (micro-rest windows) and (b) open every staff 1:1 with, “Where’s your energy today?” Capture one system tweak weekly to remove a stressor. 

   
   

5. Design Your Culture for Rest Insight: Healthy cultures design for restoration—language, schedule, space—so people don’t have to earn it. Take Action: Pilot a “Rest Menu” your team can use in 2–10 minutes: step-out walks, stretch corners, breathing scripts, mindfulness audio, quiet rooms, focus sprints with recovery. Review usage at month-end and keep what sticks. 

Favorite Quotes from Steven (episode transcript) 

• “Rest isn’t a luxury we tack on when we’re finished. We are designed for it.” 

• “If you don’t plan your resets, fatigue will plan your results.” 

• “Leaders who model rest get better decisions, better creativity, and better people.” 

About Steven Langer 

Steven Langer is an international keynote speaker and organizational wellness expert who helps leaders create the conditions for healthy, high-performing workplace cultures. He’s led teams in both public and private sectors and holds a Master’s in

Education (Leadership) with additional training in change management, organizational behavior, HR, and strategic planning. He is the Founder & CEO of Well By Design.  

Explore Steven’s work: 

• Website — Well By Design: https://wellbydesign.ca teachingmindbodyandsoul.com 

• LinkedIn — Steven Langer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-langer-b9b64945 LinkedIn 

• Talk — Stop chasing work-life balance — do this instead (YouTube) YouTube 

Your Turn 

Take the napkin idea—“We are designed for rest.”—and make it real this week. Choose one micro-rest practice, one baseline check, and one leader behavior to model. Then tell us what shifted. 

Call to Action: Post a photo of your own napkin with your takeaway, tag a leader who needs to hear this, and use #PaperNapkinWisdom. Let’s turn small ideas into big results—together.