There are many articles out there discussing how to get you through overwhelm and most will say things like; write down everything that’s getting on top of you, make a list, take small steps to finish a task or worse, meditate.

However, my theory is to stop. Or better yet, pause.

Pause, as much as you possibly can.

Obviously life can’t shut down completely, some us have jobs to attend, families to care for, commitments that must be met but there has to be other options other than re-prioritising task lists and working doggedly through overwhelm.

I recently had a need to take a pause, the overwhelm had crept up on me and something needed to change, even for a short time. I was so overwhelmed though the thought of practising gratitude, exercising, eating well or untangling the mess I felt I was in was beyond me.

Instead, I thought, what if I rolled with it? What if I trusted that a real break was needed and I paused, just for a moment.

Of course what works for some may not work for others but the below is what helped me get off the hamster wheel for a bit.

I Stayed Away From My Laptop.
I love my laptop. We spend a lot of time together. We write together, check emails together, organise my social media together, banking, research, webinars, the list goes on and my laptop is with me every step of the way. But I’d gotten to the point that my heart raced every time I looked at my laptop. By not even opening the laptop I let my brain know there was no work to be done, it was time to be unproductive.

I Reached For a Book Instead of My Phone
When I’m mentally drained or even feeling a bit low it’s so easy to find my phone and scroll away on it but I think we all know that phone scrolling doesn’t give you a high. For me it makes me feel even more sluggish and a bit down about all the wonderful lives people are having. I then feel a bit down about what sort of person I am that I’m not feeling happy for people?! By reading a fiction book it allowed me to escape into a different world where I was still having down time but it didn’t make me feel like I should be doing something.

I Went For a Walk Instead of a Run.
I’m not saying to forgo exercise as exercise can be a foggy head’s best medicine but when I’m feeling overwhelmed, exercise can feel like another task I need to tick off. By saying I was going to still be active but at a more leisurely pace I found a new love of walking. Going for a walk let me clear out the cobwebs and come back home calmer. Plus, my dog was happy and exhausted and not following me around reminding I still need to take him for a walk.

I Watched TV. Note: Not Streaming Channels, Actual TV.
There is something about flicking through channels and landing on random shows about house renovations or train rides or even classic TV shows from the eighties. Doing this took me back to my childhood when I was forced to watch whatever was on offer on the four channels we had. (I have wonderful memories of soaking up Elvis movies and Jerry Lewis movies) Having a number of TV series on the go means watching a show to relax can become a task in itself as I try to get through twenty odd episodes of a seven season series!

I Did Some Physical Jobs.
I knew I wouldn’t be in a good place if I laid on the couch and watched TV. So I worked on painting my children’s cubby house, a task I had been wanting to do for a long time but it never happened because I was always working on my laptop. I loved doing this, it was a small project, was mindless work and had me spending a lot of time outside. The painting led onto some gardening and I spent a lot of this time working in silence. A lot of the time if I am doing outside work I put on a podcast about writing so I can feel like I’m killing two birds with one stone but this way I’m missing the meditative win of doing menial work.

I Gave Myself No Expectations
I think this is the most important. All I told myself was that my mojo would eventually come back and that I needed to trust myself that things would get better and that my processes were set in place enough so I could pick up where I left off. It was a tough one to reconcile in my head sometimes but trust played a big part and I was rewarded when eventually after some inspiration I was able to step back into my work and it was okay. The work still had to be done, sure, but there wasn’t a tonne more work on top of it. The more productive we are the more the work flows to us and we keeping being productive through it. But as I found, by being unproductive, the work flow also stops rather than keeps building and building. I often think that if I stop being productive then all the hard work I have done will be wasted and I will go backwards but taking this pause showed me the total opposite. In fact, a lot of jobs I thought had to be done, dropped off as unimportant leaving more fresh head space for valuable work.

I’m back at work now and feeling good. The pause gave me a chance to re-evaluate where I was going and why I was going there. Plus, it showed me that taking a total break did not have my whole life imploding, if anything it improved every aspect of my life and made me make some changes that have me excited about the future not overwhelmed by it.

What about you? Do you ever take a pause on productivity?

PS: Please note, I do realise not everyone has the ability to put a pause on their work, sometimes deadlines need to be met, clients need delivery but if you can push back on a few things, including yours and others expectations, I guarantee the pause will be worth it.