Time keeps ticking. The sun rises and sets each day. Is it just me, or do the days feel like they are passing at an accelerated speed? Here we are at the start of summer, yet it seems like 2023 just began. The days are packed with things to do, organize, and follow up on. Special days are punctuated by birthdays, graduations, births, weddings, and anniversaries. Especially during this time of year, there are many endings and new beginnings. These celebrations increase the passage of time awareness.

You experience longer pauses each day when you sleep. But often, during the non-sleeping hours, you are going, going, going. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for making the most of each day and being productive. However, there is also tremendous value in taking a timely pause or break from your routine. It’s wonderful if you can build in short daily pauses. Mine include mindfulness meditation, nature walks, or slowly sipping iced coffee. What are your short breaks like?

Long, planned pauses are also beneficial. These extended breaks, like a day off, long weekends, or vacations, nurture your well-being. Routines are helpful to establish, but switching your patterns can be restorative and energizing. It’s easy to forget the importance of not-doing and taking a break, especially when working so much. You will burn out if you get consumed in doing and accomplishing without pausing.

My husband Steve and I just celebrated our 40th anniversary. Talk about time passing quickly! I don’t know where the years have gone. To celebrate, we traveled to Turks & Caicos. We loved it, especially the slower “island time” pace, which was palpable and contagious. Within a few days, the warm air, soft white sand, clear turquoise water, and calm pace worked their magic on us. We leaned into the pause 100%. We woke up without alarms, went to bed when we wanted, and spent hours floating in the beautiful sea each day. We had no plans and allowed each day to unfold with a few exceptions.

Life is about contrasts- night and day, warm and cold, activate and pause. I appreciate working hard but I also know how essential it is to take breaks. Even tiny ones are helpful. But after taking a break for over a week, I also recognize the value of long pauses.

Time keeps ticking. Prioritizing time to play, relax, wander, swim, float, and celebrate with my best friend and husband of 40 years is essential. It’s been a while since we took that much time off, and I’m so happy we did. There are more pauses in my future- some short, some extended. They are essential.

“You will burn out if you become consumed in doing and accomplishing without pausing.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

How do you know when it’s time for a pause? What do your breaks look and feel like? I’d love to hear your thoughts and invite you to join the conversation.

Time constantly moves, but sometimes we need to be still. We have to just breathe, not do, and quiet ourselves. Vacations provide a wonderful break to do this, but they can be few and far between. What are the benefits of introducing stillness more frequently? With our busy lives, how can we embrace the pause?

On a recent spring weekend afternoon, I basked in the quiet comfort of our hammock. As I stretched out between two giant oak trees, the birds chirped and the breeze barely blew. Restful greens surrounded me. The light blue sky peeked through a ceiling of trees. The hammock swung ever so slightly. I wrote, read, and thought while appreciating the calming effects of the scenery, sounds, and scents.

The benefits of the quiet were noticeable. I slowed down and felt better balanced. That sense of constantly needing to do and accomplish took a hiatus. Feelings of stress and restlessness went away. Energy was restored. Clarity returned to my thoughts. Gratitude for the surroundings, peacefulness, and pause filled my being.

If you don’t have a hammock what are other ways you can experience the pause? Some like to meditate, pray or do yoga. Others prefer being near water, woods, or mountains. Porch or playground swings can be relaxing. There are many ways to quiet the self.

Time is for doing and it's also for just being. What benefit do you get from pausing? What works for you?

@2011 Photo by Linda SamuelsLife has mishaps. Stuff happens even to the most organized people that interrupt all those well thought out plans. I don’t plan everything. That's too restrictive. But I do a certain amount of planning and organizing. When things don't work out as anticipated, I enlist four coping strategies: humor, flexibility, positive spin and other people.

So, the "plan" this past weekend was to write, update financials, catch-up on correspondence and cook in prep for the impending snowstorm. Thinking I’d have a few solid days ahead to work, I gladly went out with friends for dinner, a movie and fun on Friday night. With list and plan in hand, on Saturday morning I was ready to get going. First, I headed to the grocery store. As I left the market, the snow was already falling quickly. When I arrived home, I put on music while I unpacked groceries and began cooking. There was a huge pot of vegetable soup warming on the stove and a pot roast simmering in the crockpot. I was happy and content as I sang along to the music, smelled the delicious kitchen aromas and watched the beautiful snow covering the brightly colored fall leaves.

The plan was moving along seamlessly when all of the sudden, the power went out. Everything stopped. The soup was done, but the roast had hours left to cook. Thinking that the power would be restored soon, I figured there was hope for the roast. I was wrong. Days passed. We had no heat, no power, no phone or Internet, and no roast.

The other work I’d planned for the weekend also needed electricity. The longer the power outage lasted, the colder our home got. It was time to bundle up. I wore many layers of clothes (I could barely move), extra blankets at night, and candles and flashlights to illuminate the way. On the positive side, no power gave us more quiet time to talk, sit, read and just be without the pull of electronics, beeps or buzzes calling for our attention. It was a gift- a tech-free vacation.

Friends and family extended lovely offers to use their showers, beds, warmth and electrical outlets. While we appreciated their generosity, we opted to wait things out. We went out to more movies, visited more local eateries and became Starbucks’ fixtures, hanging out with other locals out of power. I even met a USA Today reporter at Starbucks who interviewed me about how we were coping.

The power outage and its inconvenience were a disguised blessing. It made me grateful for all the times that life goes smoothly and closer to the plan. I realized that when life gets off track, friends, family, flexibility, humor and a positive attitude are there to lift my spirits, give me perspective and ease the way.

What is a strategy you use to cope with life’s curve balls? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Come join in the conversation. 

Holidays are an interesting time of the year. With fall comes the big Thanksgiving feast, some extra time off from work, eating lots of delicious food and visiting with family and friends that we may not get to see so often. Routines are altered in a variety of ways. For some this change becomes very stressful and for others the time is enjoyable.

To be honest, I suppose I experienced a bit of each. There was some stress involved in preparing to host twenty-one people for Thanksgiving dinner. In the past, I’ve planned several weeks in advance for big events like this. However, all I had prepared in advance this time was buying the napkins. Since the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving had been particularly busy, I never stopped to plan the meal. It was only a few days before that my husband and I had our discussion to figure things out. This was unusual for us and that’s where the stress came in. 

Interestingly enough, once we did talk, everything fell into place with the shopping, cooking and cleaning. With our plan in hand, we knew what we needed to do and when. By the time everyone arrived Thanksgiving day, we were able to totally enjoy our family and the meal. There is nothing quite as wonderful as filling your house with the people that you love. I was grateful to have everyone together.

During the next few days, I had the chance to just play and relax. These were my “resting days,” as my mom called them. As she has often said, “We all need time to relax.” This is so true. Taking a break from our routines and busy schedules is essential to our well-being. It is all too easy to get caught up in the cycle of continually doing and not give ourselves the time to just be.

As today was uncharacteristically warm and sunny for a New York fall day we decided it was the perfect day for a walk. My husband suggested going on a path we’d never taken before. The route took us along the Hudson River and it was spectacular. Parts of the path led to sandy areas. The wonderful scent in the air reminded me of our beach vacations. Allowing myself to enjoy the day, enabled me to come back home feeling energized and ready for the surprises ahead.