“Sometimes I don’t know whether I am coming or going.” a friend told me recently. “I’m constantly in motion. By trying to never miss anything I miss everything.”
“Maybe you need to push the pause button,” I responded.
I find fewer of us are comfortable pushing the pause button due to Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). The result is we never really enjoy where we are because we are always worrying about where we are not. We also focus on what’s ahead of us instead of what’s right in front of us. We’re so busy trying not to miss out on anything that we actually miss enjoying anything fully..
Maybe it’s our self-imposed deadlines (yep, guilty!). Maybe it’s the 24/7 life of needing to respond to every email and social media post in a timely manner. The thing is timely is relative. So is the concept of what’s time-sensitive. Sometimes you need to reset your inner clock and do things on your time, not someone else’s. Maybe we are trying to do too much in too short of time.
That’s when it’s time to push the pause button. It may be hard at first but once you get into the habit you will notice the difference in your sense of well-being. Here are five tips:
1. Allocate your social media time to specific times of the day rather than checking in all day.
2. Put an auto response on your email to let people know you will respond in due time if you can/or don’t plan to respond in 24 hours. It’s considerate for both your time and theirs.
3. Limit your “to do” list to five or less items per day.
4. Make meal time talk time not tech time.
5. As the saying goes, “Get out of your own way.” Stop competing with yourself and comparing yourself to others. You are probably doing just fine and the best you can. Why think any other way?
In fact, give yourself more applause for who you are and take a pause to enjoy life in the moment you are in rather than where you are going next. Life is not a race; go at your pace.
Pausing in Pawley’s Island,. SC
