5 reasons why the "power of the pause" is your secret career weapon

The counterintuitive way to make career progress

Welcome to Illuminate Me, where I share illuminating insights to help you communicate and connect better, growing your impact and career.

This week’s insight: Slow down to speed up your career.

---

Hustle, grind, repeat.

Sound familiar?

Unfortunately, many eager professionals follow that formula, wearing their busyness like a badge of honor and treading on a never-ending professional hamster wheel.

But there’s a better (albeit counterintuitive) way to get ahead:

slowing down and taking a break.

Here are five reasons why the “power of the pause” is your secret career weapon:

1. It prevents you from being overly reactive

When you’re working in the fast lane, your first instinct may be to immediately react to any issue or person that enters your orbit, especially when it’s something you don’t agree with or understand. But being overly reactive can cause you to say and do things in haste you’ll later regret.

Instead, press the pause button and take a beat to digest and consider the information. Then, before responding, ask yourself these three questions:

1. Does this need to be said?

2. Does this need to be said by me?

3. Does this need to be said by me now?

Your pause will give you a few moments to reset. And chances are, you’ll discover that your commentary can wait until you have time to craft a thoughtful response or that you don’t need to respond at all.

2. It allows creativity to flow

It’s tough to be creative when you never slow down. In a world where external demands and a cacophony of noise bombard us, taking the time to turn inward and think deeply is a must for creativity.

Research has found that we allow our minds to wander when idle. And that daydreaming makes us more creative, better at problem-solving, and better at coming up with innovative ideas.

3. It preserves your well-being

Constantly grinding and churning leads to burnout, anxiety, and stress-related illnesses. As a result, our immunity weakens, we age faster, and we become more susceptible to colds.

News flash: you can’t make progress if you’re running on fumes and stressed out.

Create intentional breaks filled with things designed to replenish your well-being. Resist mind-numbing activities like scrolling through your Insta feed and, instead, nourish your body through movement by walking around the block or getting in a quick yoga session. Connect with educational and uplifting podcasts, books, TED talks, articles, and videos to enrich your mind. Recharge your spirit through meditation, prayer, and reflection.

Or, since research suggests that sleep deprivation leads to reduced performance and productivity, try using breaks to prioritize rest, even if that means taking a quick catnap.

4. It keeps you focused on what matters most

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of to-dos and requests, believing that everything is urgent and important, which seldom is the case. But making progress isn’t about doing everything; it’s about doing the right things. And you can only do that when you slow down enough to see that not all tasks and asks are created equal.

By protecting and blocking out uninterrupted solo time in your calendar, you’ll avoid overbooking yourself with countless and unnecessary meetings and instead simplify, prioritize, and focus your attention on what matters most.

5. It makes you more productive

Downtime isn’t unproductive; it’s essential for progress. When you’re used to operating at a frenetic pace, taking deliberate breaks can seem jarring. But being busy is not the same as being productive. Change your perspective to embrace the gift of giving yourself the time and space to think, feel, and experience as complementary, not contradictory to your career progress.

Remember, sometimes you need to slow down to speed up your career.

---

And speaking of slowing down…

After more than two and a half years of illuminating you weekly with Illuminate Me, I’m taking my own advice and employing the power of the pause.

On a personal note, for the last several months, I’ve been navigating some huge transitions in my life, many of which are positive and I can control, and some that are negative and I cannot.

To be honest, events in the coming months will become increasingly difficult to handle.

I need the time and space to reflect and be present.

And that will only happen by intentionally stepping away from a few things for a while.

As a result, this newsletter will take a break.

If you’ve enjoyed my work here, I’d encourage you to follow me on my social channels in the P.S. section below.

Thanks for your understanding and support. ❤️

---

P.S.

What I do:

When I’m not writing this newsletter or utilizing the power of the pause, I’m helping leaders elevate their presence in person and online to communicate and connect better, magnifying their impact.

Learn more by visiting my website.

Where you can follow me and find more of my work:

My new House of Colour Instagram: The place to learn more about my newest business venture and how to elevate your in-person image while celebrating your individuality.

Forbes: I cover personal transformation and its impact on career growth.

LinkedIn: Hit the 🔔 in the top right corner of my profile to get notified when I post and join more than 21,500 others by subscribing to my weekly LinkedIn newsletter, momentum, featuring insights to help you maintain positive motion and continually grow your career.

Twitter: Pithy synopses and threads of my content.

Instagram: My leadership and careers content, visualized. (Plus occasional travel-related Instagram Stories and archived Story Highlights about my adventures if you’re into that kind of thing).

Threads: Being a curious soul, I jumped into this new platform. I’m still exploring, but if you’re there too, let’s be friends.