The work isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it just keeps coming, and it doesn’t care that our energy is as fickle as the weather. Our productivity ebbs and flows to the whims of the daily grind.
But there is one thing we can do to bring back focus: take a break, preferably an active one, even if it lasts just one minute.
A simple pause not only recharges but also stimulates our thinking. Why?
Doing something else like reading a book, doing pushups, eating an apple, going for a walk, grabbing a coffee, etc. provides just enough space to unleash our mind from the prison of chronic over-thinking.
Our dominant narrative and behavior are often on autopilot, which may be suitable for flow but bad for seeking clarity. Rest is a form of deviation, a pivot that shocks everydayness just enough before returning to baseline happiness.
“We like lists because we don’t want to die,” once wrote Umberto Eco. Whether it’s to our work and/or others, responsibility makes us feel important and keeps us alive. After all, good thoughts come from action.
But the extra awareness and restoration that comes from pause, to destress, unthink, and debug our heads, may help us see things just a little clearer.