The Power of Pausing
Why do we need to hit the brakes in our businesses from time to time?
We’re living through an unprecedented post-pandemic period of transition. Many of us are starting the year feeling completely depleted. Everything feels hard and in some instances, insurmountable.
So, what’s the deal?
Whether you struggled or thrived through the pandemic, there’s research being released about the short and long-term impacts on our collective and individual well-being around the world.
The Georgia State University Research Magazine released an article titled Two Years of Trauma in a bid to better understand the lasting legacy of the mental health adversities of the pandemic. Doing the promotional rounds for his latest release, The Myth of Normal, Dr Gabor Maté also talks about the lasting impact of the pandemic as a trauma we are still emerging from.
Hustle culture also isn’t all it cracked up to be, and being a boss has never been more complex than it is today. Now, more than ever, learning how to pace ourselves as business owners, and to pause or stop completely, is a vital skill to equip us for long-term success.
This is a challenging tension for many business owners who are often entrepreneurial. If we’re not being productive and not earning, then many of us feel like we’re losing. Losing money, losing traction, losing relevance – when, in fact, the opposite is true.
By pausing, we can decompress and practice reviewing and reflecting with clarity. From a place of clarity, we’re able to make more considered, aligned decisions. These types of decisions create a different experience for us than when we’re on the go with our blinkers on and not seeing the forest for the trees.
In a post-pandemic world, business owners will benefit from pausing, and approaching their business with more intention.
Why is pausing so hard for some of us?
As business owners, leaders and entrepreneurs, there’s have a lot of guilt going on. If you’re a parent, carer or have other responsibilities the guilt spiral can be a real beast to contend with.
The other thing as business owners is because the buck stops with us, there are always things to do. The thing is no matter how much we get through each day – there will always be more the next day.
In his book, 4000 Weeks, author and journalist Oliver Burkeman, pares it all back to the essence of how much time on average we have in life. He advocates for slowing down, cultivating more mindfulness and prioritising the important things.
This feels like the antithesis of what we should be doing. We need to do more, better, and faster. Surprisingly though, we can often do more, better, and faster by slowing down and being strategic instead of keeping ourselves in busy mode all the time.
This can be a challenge though, especially when competitors don’t show any signs of slowing or it feels like if we’re not bringing in the same quantity of productivity every week we might risk failing. Don’t forget to walk away entirely from time-to-time. Give yourself a long weekend. Give your team a long weekend. Take time off. Encourage and support your team to do the same.
Just because it’s always been done this way, doesn’t mean it always needs to be done the same way.
Why is pausing essential to our business growth?
Pausing in business is important for our business growth for several reasons:
- It allows for reflection and analysis: Pausing allows business leaders to take a step back and evaluate their current strategies, processes, and performance. This can help identify areas that need improvement and lead to more effective decision-making.
- It promotes creativity and innovation: Pausing can help clear the mind and open up space for new ideas and creative solutions to problems. This can lead to breakthroughs in product development, marketing, and other areas of the business.
- It improves communication and collaboration: Pausing can help create a more relaxed and open atmosphere for communication and collaboration within teams. This can lead to better understanding and cooperation between team members, resulting in more efficient and effective work.
- It helps prevent burnout: Pausing can help business leaders and employees avoid burnout by giving them time to rest and recharge. This can lead to increased productivity and job satisfaction in the long run.
Pausing in business can help leaders and teams make better decisions, foster innovation, and improve communication and collaboration. Importantly, it can also help prevent burnout, which ultimately leads to a more productive and successful operation.
Head into the new year with intention
You’ll no doubt know the feeling of being in the weeds. It’s hard to think clearly and plan intentionally when you’re down in the muck. Creativity needs slow thinking and it’s in creative thinking that innovation in all areas of business comes about.
Pausing also allows you the capacity to zoom out. It’s important to build downtime into your work schedule. This goes for your team, too. Find out what pausing looks like for you. Some people do something creative, exercise, read, or disconnect completely and stare at the trees.
Pausing gives you the vital opportunity to reflect. To see what’s truly been achieved and how it can inform what is yet to be achieved.
The Gap and The Gain by Dan Sullivan nods at the trait of successful people to reflect on their successes (gains) instead of dwelling on their failures (gaps). His wisdom is all about measuring your success against your previous success – doing away with looking at what others are doing and measuring yourself by their performance.
As the leader of a business, if you’re pouring from an empty cup your team, your business and your clients and customers aren’t getting the best you have to offer – nor are your family and friends.
So, if you’re struggling to take time for yourself because it feels selfish, self-care is a bandwagon or any myriad of other reasons, start small. Have your coffee outside and don’t look at your phone. Schedule half an hour at the end of your week to meander through your neighbourhood. Sign up for a class for something you’ve always wanted to do and never found the time for.
An invitation to join a thriving business community
If you got something out of this blog post about the power of pausing, I’d love for you to join us in our free Facebook Group where you can connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers to discuss all things HR and how to sustain ourselves as leaders:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrsupportaustralia