Pause
Last week, I attended The Roy Group’s Leader’s Discipline course. It was a jam-packed 2.5 days full of great information. One aspect of leadership they mentioned was Henderson’s Disciplines:
Reflect
Inquire
Pause
Act
Ian Chisolm, Roy Group Partner, challenged us to truly practice the Pause Discipline. It is the easiest to ignore, but yet, extremely important.
Our daily lives have become crazier and busy is worn like a badge. With 24/7 access to our smartphones, computers and tablets, we never seem to ever be “off.” I even read out of office replies that state someone is away, but if it is an emergency, to call them. Why do we believe that we are not entitled to time away; to a vacation or a break.
I have benefited significantly from technology. I am able to work from home, or even from the park. The flexibility this afforded me allowed me to spend more time with my three kids. I did not have to keep a traditional schedule. When they were very young, I woke early and worked before they got up and also after they went to bed. It made for long days, however, the upside of being able to spend time with them during the day made it worthwhile. The biggest challenge, however, was the constant feeling that I was “on.” I had no office to leave. It was always there calling me to finish that one thing or just quickly check my email. Working from home has been amazing, but also challenging. I had blurred boundaries, and it has just been in the past few years that I have started to create any at all.
The busyness that accompanies being a mom to three children, juggling motherhood, family life, volunteering and work meant very little time for myself. I have come to realize, however, that I am at my best when I have filled my bucket too. It is like when you are on the airplane and they tell you to put on your own oxygen mask first. We need to take care of ourselves, so we can help take care of those around us; whether that be our family, friends or colleagues.
What Pause looks like varies for each person. Personally, it is often time in my craft room stamping or scrapbooking. The other day, it meant a nap. Ian told us we aren’t to feel guilty about taking a Pause; we aren’t escaping from Leadership – we are actually practicing it. So with Ian’s blessing, I didn’t fight the exhaustion and instead rested without guilt.
How do you practice your Pause?