Recently, a wonderful book recommendation came my way from a fellow teammate. I’m always looking for my next read so I thought, why not? I read Pause. Breath. Choose: Become the CEO of Your Well-Being by Naz Beheshti. The simple advice offered helps better manage my energy and all-around efficiency as a public relations professional.
“Living your best life is choosing how to use pain to move forward everyday, especially in moments when moving forward, or moving at all, seems impossible.”
The whole book focuses on the importance of pausing, breathing and choosing what is next. I thought to myself, how often do I actually do this? I immediately recall the feeling of numbly being swept from task to task, email to email- feverishly completing and frantically sending. At what point can I choose to become more aware of my mindlessness and take control of my day? Am I potentially missing out on connecting with others because of this autopilot-esque work style? These feelings, of course, are the ones I choose to regurgitate throughout my work day. The book was exactly what I needed to realize I don’t have to feel like this. It begins with my power to choose at the start of each day.
—I remember waking up and deciding the day wasn’t going to be productive. Why? I was stressed for no real reason. I knew there was a pitch needing to be written. Of course, I was putting it off because I was nervous to even attempt something that is still relatively new to me.
I begrudgingly sat down, took about two or three half-hearted attempts at writing, and I stopped. I thought to myself, am I spending both my time and my energy in a productive way? Absolutely not.
I decided to take the advice I just read and closed my laptop. Pause. Breathe. Choose. Time to reset. Life goes on. About 30 minutes later, I came back to my laptop and chose to write openly and without judgement. I told myself over and over, the first draft doesn’t need to be perfect! You are capable. Within another, more productive and mindful 30 minutes, I finished the pitch and even received pretty exciting media coverage from it! That wasn’t so bad after all.
Lately, I have been finding it is so easy to work myself up about events that haven’t even happened. Whether it’s the pitch that hasn’t been written, the upcoming pitching needing to be completed, a client meeting or a list of to-do’s, I would lose myself during the day. I now stop and think, how do I want today to go? I choose to approach my teammates with an open mind and my full attention, something I would have missed without realizing this.
Pause. Breathe. Choose. These simple actions will make you a better guardian of your time and energy!
