How do you pause?
Welcome to our June Newsletter.
How are you doing? Last month I wrote about getting things done and organising ourselves. Someone asked me later: how do you manage to find all the energy to get it all done? Well, I pause and restore. Only that my approach to pauses is minimal – that means I build in rest and pause into every single task ahead of me. So here are a few small tips on effective pauses.
Accept that you are not a robot.
With all the revived talk about Artificial Intelligence, it is time to embrace the reality: we are not robots. Human brains and bodies need to rest and restore. So pay attention to your energy levels and plan for the energetic cost of your work. There is a difference between passivity and disengaging from work and active, planned, intentional rest to restore and get back to work (hopefully one that fulfils us). Accept that your body and mind are your tools, and you need to allow some time now and again for maintenance and nourishment.
Plan for pausing
Build in pause into every single task and activity – no matter how small. My morning admin/strategy time is an hour long so that I can allow myself a longer morning coffee if I feel that it’s needed. When we pad each task with additional pausing time, we also plan healthy time for transitioning from one task to another, a stretch, walk, movement and checking in with our breathing – especially if we work in front of a screen. It’s not the screen that affects our health. It’s our constant immersion in work and lack of movement or healthy posture. Take care.
Practice mindful transitions
Having time for transitions is one. Effective transitioning between tasks and rest time is another. In order to authentically and fully move from one mental headspace to another, we need to practice mindfulness. When you take lunchtime off, make sure you do not talk about, think about or do work. If work invades your rest time, claim that time back as soon as possible. It can be challenging to be fully present in pauses, but it’s not impossible. Practice, practice, practice unless it becomes a healthy habit and one day maybe even your superpower.
At Voxel Hub, we are moving into the summer months with clarity and calm. This sense of steady work, free resource creation, learning and contributing to the community feels good. We are working on some new ideas too, but our core focus now is to steady the ship and privilege our clients.
We are so grateful to our new counselling clients for their trust and for joining us. We can now offer a full menu of services: counselling, coaching, consultancy and training. It’s a humbling journey, and we are very grateful for your company.
I wish you a soft June and July!
My favourite topic this month
This month I am revising my knowledge of feminism, so here are my favourite reads:
- Feminism, Interrupted: Disrupting Power by Lola Olufemi White Tears Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Colour by Ruby Hamad
- As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom through Radical Resistance (Indigenous Americas) by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
- WHAT DO WOMEN WANT?: Exploding the Myth of Dependency by Luise Eichenbaum, Susie Orbach
- Fifty Shades of Feminism by Lisa Appignanesi, Susie Orbach, Rachel Holmes
- The Mother of All Questions: Further Feminisms by Rebecca Solnit
- Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive by Kristin Neff
- Super-women: Superhero Therapy for Women Battling Anxiety, Depression & Trauma by Ph.D. Scarlet, Janina
Resources & Offerings
You can now find free ebooks and other offerings on our homepage:
- Introduction to Counselling (ebook)
- Introduction to Digital Wellbeing (ebook)
- Digital Wellbeing Self-Assessment (online tool with education)
Events:
This Friday, you can join my “Liberation for Displaced People’s” course at Iron Mill College (online) here.
We are announcing our upcoming free talks over on Eventbrite, so just follow us there.
Thank you for reading our Newsletter. Talk to us online, check out our blog and let us know what else you would like to see here in the upcoming months.
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Photo by Kristina Tripkovic on Unsplash
