Jump Start Your Year with a Pause

When someone tells you to pause, do you come full stop or move forward slowly? From a physical or emotional standpoint, do you think of a pause in life as unachievable when there’s just so much to do? What if I told you that taking a pause in your life doesn’t have to be some grandiose sabbatical for months or years, but rather it is the small, everyday moments that matter most.

For the past few months, I’ve been making it a priority to pause. What is pause? Specifically, I’m talking about taking mini pauses throughout the day in between tasks. I pause before I speak. I pause before I make a decision. Yes, those are standard. But most of all I pause in between the everyday, mundane tasks. When I’m working during the day and I need to take a break, I don’t just hop up from my computer and run downstairs to make lunch. I pause first. I just sit there quietly, take a deep breath, stretch, and adjust. When it’s time to grab my kids from school, I pause before hopping in the car or turning the ignition over. When I get home from running an errand, I sit in my car and pause before heading into the house. I may listen to my favorite song or scroll social media. There is so much power in a pause.

I realized I had been on “go” for so long. Jumping from one thing to the next without a thought. I felt feelings of frustration, overwhelm, and burnout. They had completely taken over. Then, I realized that a huge part of my issues was feeling like I was always in a rush. Now, I will admit that as a mom of 4, I am often always in a rush. It is inevitable. But it was my approach that was lacking. By not allowing myself time to process what I had previously accomplished before beginning something new, I was unable to focus on what was important.

Incorporating these mini pauses allowed me to refocus my thoughts and efforts so I could go into the next activity with clarity and my full attention. Whether that’s taking the time to savor my lunch, tending to the after-school rush (snacks, homework, playtime, etc.), or taking a pause after a meeting before jumping into executing the action items discussed.

And then sometimes these pauses are longer. Midway through my 4th pregnancy, I learned that my baby wasn’t progressing in size for babies at her gestational age. Officially, I was diagnosed with IUGR or intrauterine growth restriction. I was then subjected to weekly appointments to access her size and ensure all was well. The anxiety and fear from this realization left me stuck. I had just begun my blog and while I wanted to hit the ground running, entering a high-risk pregnancy caused me to evaluate what was most important— my mental and physical health. So, I paused my blog and leaned in on having a healthy pregnancy. Baby girl was born just perfect.

A quick search on Google for “pause in life” will yield several pieces on its importance and implementation. Robert Boynton, author of Do Pause: You are Not a To Do List, wrote in an article for The Guardian, “There is more to life than getting things done. Time isn’t a commodity, scarce or otherwise. Time, as we experience it, varies wildly.” In that same article, aptly titled, “If You Want to Get Things Done, Pause”, Boynton offers a simple mantra to help him center when things get stressful, “There is time for everything.”