Practice Intentional Pausing

Think of a pause as a gap in proceedings, that could be a conversation, a meeting, your day, week, a project or longer periods like a quarter.

We get a lot more pauses than we think we get, we just don't use them very well, so we often don't feel like our pause has done anything for us.

An intentional pause is a great strategy to manage stress and ensure that we utilise the appropriate coping strategies we have to meet the demands (stress) placed on us.

So here are a few ways to think about pausing intentionally, so that when you get back to it, you actually feel like you have paused...

1. 🤔 Pause to think mid-conversation to select different language and influence outcomes.
2. ❌ Pause from screens. Turn them off or leave them whilst you go and do something totally separate from the previous task.
3. 👱🏼‍♀️👱🏻‍♂️ Pause from people, maybe everyone (!) or just put those unavoidable toxic people at arm's length.
4. 😮‍💨 Pause and breathe. More specifically, some intentional breath work be that calming, re-centering or focusing breath work. Unlock Pandora's box with this one.
5. 🤯 Pause from your busy thoughts. Choose an activity which encourages you to zoom in on a different task.
6. 📈 Pause the project. Keep your mind fresh and creative by stepping away. Minutes, hours or days you can refresh by pausing.
7. 🏝 Pause on a break. Slow down, stop rushing and watch the world (and your thoughts go by).

We can't go on holiday every week, but we can pause intentionally anywhere and feel refreshed after only a few minutes.

It's how you invest your pauses that counts.