I cannot count the times I’ve crawled under my desk, at home and at work, to unplug the cords to my computer. It seems that when I call for technical assistance, this is the first thing they suggest: unplug everything and count to 60 and then plug everything back in again. Sometimes, that is what I need to do as well. Unplug and pause. 

Take a Pause

Though I want to finish correcting that stack of papers on my desk, put the finishing touches on a set of lesson plans, or answer all my emails before the end of the day, it doesn’t always happen. My brain is too scrambled. 

Then at home, the story repeats itself. There is always a pile of mail to sort through, a checkbook to balance or a load of laundry to throw in the washing machine. But, my mind and body do not want to cooperate.

  Hyper vigilance to any task, can diminish, deplete and drain our energy. Too much of any one chore takes its toll on our bodies and our minds. If we tune in to when we need to pause, ourselves from a task, we might be able to do the reboot and do a better job at our task. 

By the time my students leave the classroom at the end of the day, the only chore I can successfully accomplish is to sharpen pencils and sweep the floor. Attempting to read or write any lesson plans for the next day only brings blurred vision and a tension headache. So, I sharpen pencils and sweep the floor knowing that in the morning I will be refreshed, rested, and ready for that job that requires much more of my attention. 

At home, it might cross my mind to do that load of laundry, sort through the mail or balance that checkbook, but what my body and mind are really telling me is that I need a ten minute nap. 

Giving in to what my body and mind need and stepping away from yet another thing that has to be done, may make it easier to finish the task later instead of presently. Walking away from the computer, the ungraded papers, the dishes, or that pile of mail will not bring an end to the world. It will only bring an end to our frazzled feelings.

Why bother to press pause? Walking away from that chore, even for a few moments, is guaranteed to restore our power. Just press pause and see what happens.