Let’s talk about the power of the pause.

When you allow yourself to take your foot off the gas from time to time, it can be very powerful in your leadership, in your personal productivity and in your well-being. 

I want to share with you three different types of pauses that I have been very intentional about recently, throughout this whole year. The first is what I call a micro-pause. These are those opportunities where, for example, I decided I would step outside and record this quick video outdoors instead of staying within the four walls of my office.  A micro-pause might be taking some deep breaths in between back-to-back Zoom meetings, getting fresh air for 30 seconds between ending a meeting and starting the next task on your list. Micro-pauses really are about giving your brain and your body a quick reset, and it really helps with sustaining energy and focus. 

A Spontaneous Break

The second type of pause is more of the spontaneous pause. Yesterday was a great example of that for me. I was really in the flow, working on some content for a new training,  and it was about 3:30 when I finished working on it. I knew that I had accomplished a lot and I had reached a really good stopping point. Instead of telling myself that I should keep working until 5:00, I allowed myself to spontaneously wrap up my workday at that time because it just felt right. I knew that I would be able to recharge my brain and my creativity if I stopped before I hit that diminishing point of return. This second type of pause can be very rejuvenating. And in that instance, it was really a decision to preserve my creativity and to help me be excited when I stepped back into the creative process the next time I worked on the training content, the next day or a couple days later. 

Pausing with Intention

The third type of pause is the one that we’re more familiar with. I call it the intentional pause, when we are designating specific days or weeks to step away from the business. There are some really key components that have to be put in place for us to truly check out, sign off, and detach ourselves from our business.  The first component is communication – communicating the boundaries of being unavailable and what people should do when you’re not their go-to contact. The second is to make sure you have systems in place so the work can continue without you. The third is really about empowering your team and making sure that you are building into your business and developing your team and your leaders within your organization – empowering them to operate with confidence without you being a wall away, a house away or a phone call away. 

Taking Action

I want to encourage you to really think about how you are building into your schedule the short-term, micro pauses, the spontaneous pauses, and being intentional and strategic about the longer pauses.  

We all know the benefits of getting outside of the day-to-day. Stepping away is when we typically have great ideas. We can be more of an innovator and allow our brain to wander about what’s next and what’s possible.  Yet there is often a big gap between what we know and what actions we actually, consistently take. 

Are you embracing the power of the pause? How can you & the members of your team and organization embrace the power of the pause to recharge, reset, and refuel, and reimagine what’s possible for your business?

Check out the full video here:  YouTube video.

Elisabeth emphasizes the importance of self-care, simplifying focus, and communicating boundaries to enhance productivity. Explore how to assess priorities, strategize your approach, create routines and habits, execute with intention, and develop systems for success.

With The Ascend Method™, you can unlock your full potential and achieve your desired outcomes. Embrace the power of productivity and propel yourself towards success.

Something about this concept has always rubbed me the wrong way.

Just like the unrealistic magazine images of perfectly organized closets (no one’s clothes are that crisply hung or has every hanger spaced out exactly 1-inch apart!) and sparkling clean kitchen counters (do any of you have functioning kitchens with nothing sitting on top of your countertops?), the term work-life balance immediately makes me feel I have failed before I have even joined the game.

Balance implies to most of us an equal distribution of our time, attention, and energy between all parts of life; a 50/50 split between the “working” part of our life and the “living” part of our life. Last time I checked, we are all living while working, and a lot of the personal responsibilities of life feels like work!

As professionals, leaders &/or business owners, most of us can access just about everything we need to complete our professional responsibilities from the palm of our hand or from the laptop that never leaves our side. While this “convenience” allows for flexibility in where, when, and how we work, it also creates the opportunity (and sometimes expectation) to always be accessible, to always be producing, to always have some percentage of our focus and attention on work and getting things done.

Let’s be honest: work-life balance is a concept of the past.

Creating Your Ideal Work-Life Integration

When I work with clients and train groups/teams, I specifically talk about creating manageable and sustainable work-life integration.  In my mind, integration is the most realistic description of the way we live our lives. More often than not, we weave in and out of working time blocks and personal time blocks. Most days, we tackle professional to-do items as well as family or household tasks.  At any given time, we are pushing forward workplace initiatives and personal projects. When we try to isolate or separate one part of our lives from another, it typically creates conflict and struggle rather than clarity or convenience.

Whether you prefer to call it integration or balance, there are a few initial steps to take to ensure you are proactively creating the professional and personal life you desire. 

Take a big picture view.

Whether you are planning your day, week, or month, be sure you are identifying both professional and personal dates, events, and deadlines that are important and need to be prioritized.  The week of a holiday or family member’s birthday is an ideal week to schedule fewer client meetings, eliminate travel, and/or decline optional invitations for happy hours or non-vital networking events. A tool like the Full Focus Planner is a great way to build this proactive habit.

Define your own boundaries and constraints.

There is a difference between expecting yourself or team members to work within unrealistic constraints (ex: no personal phone calls between 9:00-5:00) and working/living with no boundaries or constraints. Using a visual representation of your day, create as many “pieces of the pie” or building blocks to fill out the 24 hours, then determine which (and how many) of those pieces will be devoted to work tasks, parenting tasks, self-care activities, etc.  Break out of the confines of an 8-hour work day, and step into the mindset that the quality of your work is what matters.  Some of us need long periods of time to dig in, focus, and find our flow. Others do their best work in shorter spurts and with rotating focus from work to personal back to work.  Give yourself permission to work in a cadence that matches your needs.

Find the intersections.

I used to experience extreme guilt if I ran a quick, personal errand while driving from the office to a client meeting, even though it was on the way and saving me time in the grand scheme of my day. Guess who was to blame for that guilt? Me, myself, and I. No one else was making a judgment. It was previous programming from being a public school employee, where it was unacceptable to do anything personal during working hours.  It took me a few years to reprogram my system and to recognize that taking advantage of those conveniences was a “perk” of integrating my work and life. Now, I look for intersections whenever possible. If I am on a roll making work phone calls, I throw in a few personal calls while I am “in the flow” utilizing my communication skills.  If it’s a quiet Saturday morning at home and the kids are paying at the neighbors, I clean out my inbox for an early weekend win.

Lead By Example  

If you are the owner or leader of an organization, I strongly encourage you to embrace the concept of  work-life integration. Show your team members you trust in them by giving them the autonomy to prioritize their professional tasks and responsibilities along with their personal and family needs.  Be intentional and talk about how you integrate your roles and responsibilities, communicate your own boundaries and constraints, and celebrate your team when they find intersections that allow them to work smart versus hard.  Let them know and see you don’t live a life that is perfectly balanced, and explore ways you can create a workplace culture that promotes integration so that everyone can experience a double win, in work and in life.

GRIT

Grit is having passion & perseverance for long-term goals. It involves being able to focus when needed and to positively and creatively problem solve. Those with grit are willing to falter & fail on the path towards growth and accomplishment.

SUPPORT

Peak Performers know that success is not accomplished alone. They surround themselves with other experts, creative thinkers and driven doers, and believe fully that together everyone achieves more.

HEALTH

Performing at one’s peak requires a healthy and strong body, mind, and spirit. If physical & mental health are ignored, individuals cannot fully discover their greatest potential. Routines & habits focused on health are the foundation to peak performance.

RECOVERY

Peak Performers require downtime; time to refuel and recharge so that they can tap back into their passion and purpose during the high intensity, action-oriented parts of each day/week.

Ready to become a peak performer like the greats? Send me a message and let’s discuss the path towards your potential!

Little did he know that this simple #birthdaychallenge would challenge and stump me!

What will you accomplish by your next birthday?

For some reason, this question carried massive weight for me.  What did I want to do that was novel and outside my usual daily routine? What did I want to commit time and energy to that was not yet on my to-do list? When was the last time I’d thought about my proverbial “bucket list”? 

My mind was BLANK. 

I honestly couldn’t think of one realistic response to send his way! 

Sure, I have lots of things on my “One day” list: 

*travel to Australia

*Learn to surf

*Swim with dolphins

*Retire and read the 5,000+ books on my “To Read” list

But what could I ACTUALLY commit to in the next year? 

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How often do you think about expanding your skillset? Not in work, but in LIFE? 

Obviously, this was a “muscle” that had atrophied in my mind. And this served as a really big wake up call for me.

I wonder how quickly and easily you were able to respond to this innocent question? Or, are you too still searching for an answer?

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As you close out the year, reflecting on the highs and lows of the past 12 months, I hope this article  reminds you that one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself is the gift of strengthening your mind and mindset.  

It is so easy to get stuck in a rut.  

It is so easy to operate with blinders on.

It is so easy to let a week, a month, a season pass by without really lifting your head and taking a deep, reflective breath.

It is so easy to stay inside the lines of your life.

But the truth of the matter is, when you set out to do something new, to learn a new skill, to “try on” a new perspective, to step outside your comfort zone, you gain so much!  Your brain literally develops new neural connections (aka:neuroplasticity) which contributes to the overall health of the brain. This form of “exercising” your brain leads to improvement in concentration, attention to detail, memory recall and problem solving. 

Yes, this will make you a more productive, successful professional. But of equal (and maybe greater) importance, creating the time, energy, and motivation to try new things and learn new skills will make you a happier, more fulfilled person, an inspiring leader, an example for your children, family, friends and community.  

It has a ripple effect. One that is immeasurable.     

So, What will you accomplish by your next birthday?

I’d love to know what is on your list!

PS- I finally broke through the wall and identified a few different skills and experiences to which I have committed. And, taking a surfing lesson during my upcoming summer vacation made the cut!

Can anyone relate or am I the only calendar nerd among us?

Fast forward to life as a professional and business owner; I still believe that planning is one of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves. And, I believe that to be true for planners and non-planner alike. Hear me out.

The most common frustration I hear from clients, business connections, and friends these days is the feeling of being overwhelmed.  Take a moment and ask yourself, when did you use that word last? How many times a day do you tell yourself, “I am so overwhelmed!” 

Why are you feeling so overwhelmed, so often?  What I have observed in many instances is that not only do we ask ourselves to do too much, we approach the workload without any real strategy.  It’s the reactive mode of operation about which I speak quite often. 

Is it logical?  You be the judge. 

If I gave you 500 pieces to a puzzle, without the full, completed image,  and told you to put them together, would you feel overwhelmed?  Of course you would!

If I asked you to pack the trunk of a tiny sports car with 10 large suitcases, would you be able to fit them inside successfully? Of course you wouldn’t!

These examples are basically what you are asking of yourself when you begin a work week, a project, or a business quarter, without a clear, documented plan in place.

It’s as if you have hundreds of puzzle pieces, without the frame. 

It’s like having a project assigned to you, without knowing the defined constraints or limits within to work.

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Overwhelmed is defined as “completely overcome in mind or feeling.”  It is a mental state, much more often than it is a physical reality.  I know that might hurt to hear, but can you see the truth in the matter?

As you wind down for the year, and dream big things for the new year approaching, be sure you are giving yourself the time to make some plans for  2022.  

Make sure you aren’t expecting yourself to fit an elephant into a porsche.

Promise you won’t leave for your cross-country joyride without a roadmap.

Give yourself the gift of a proactive plan for how you will accomplish your goals and fulfill your plans in 2022.  And be sure to keep giving yourself time throughout the year for planning and pivoting.  Detours happen and targets often move.

And, if you need help making the plan look as colorful and cute as my middle school planner, you know where to find me. I’ll be armed and ready with my highlighters!