Reset!

At the end of last year I was lucky enough to have been able to escape the UK weather for a few weeks and travel to a warm sunny land. I had told myself I would spend the first part of this time unwinding, recharging, relaxing and soaking up some much needed vitamin D. I would then start to think about my current goals and plans for the future. I would then return home recharged and bursting with new ideas and plans.

Well…..after nearly 2 weeks of…...well not a lot really(!) I found myself with 3 days to go having done absolutely nothing and only a few random thoughts in my head.

Ever had that experience…?

In retrospect (and as a coach!) one might think that I should have had a more concrete plan and I know that would have led to a better outcome, but sometimes we all just need to chill, have a bit of space and go with the flow.

So on my last but one day I charged my laptop (2 weeks of dormancy had completely flattened the battery) and started jotting down my thoughts and I found that quite soon things started to flow and I did indeed have some great ideas in my head.

Like most things, our brains benefit from shutting down and restarting, whether it is for a couple of hours, days or in my case a couple of weeks! In our ‘absence’ our brain has the chance to defragment and reconfigure so that when we reboot things are clearer.

The idea of creating some space or distance is also worth remembering If ever we have an important decision to make. If we can press pause and take a breath, a short walk (if possible) or even better, sleep on it, it gives our smart brain (the rational thinking part) the chance to process the issue rather that rely on a reflex reaction which will come from our impulsive brain – the part that deals with the fight or flight reactions.

So, instead of beating myself up for procrastinating I accepted that I needed that time and space to clear my thoughts of all the monkey chatter and allow my brain a reset. I am also very grateful for the luxury of being able to do this.

So back to whether my 2 weeks of complete downtime or as I like to think of it, processing(!) inspired a new wave of creativity…..definitely!