The Power of Pausing: Making Space to Think at Work
Mark Mathia, MBA, ACC, CPPC
Chief Experience Officer (CXO) at Signature Performance and Coach to Healthcare's Brightest Talent
I don’t know about you but it seems to me how we work seems to be speeding up. This new pace of work celebrates productivity and busyness, that is why the idea of taking deliberate pauses seems counterintuitive. However, when the world all goes in one direction, I have often found wisdom in going the opposite. To me, creating space to think is not just a luxury—it is a necessity for true innovation and well-being.
Juliet Funt, in her insightful book, A Minute to Think, captures this beautifully: "White space—intentional time without assignment—is the oxygen that allows everything else to catch fire." This powerful statement underscores the profound impact that unscheduled time can have on our creativity and productivity.
[Stop reading for a second, and take a deep breath. – ahhhh.]
As a positive psychology coach, I enjoy exploring the science of the mind. Neuroscience shows that our brains aren't built to always be in overdrive. They perform best with regular breaks, which activate the "default mode network," promoting deep thought and problem-solving.
Stepping back from our tasks helps us gain clarity and perspective. These quiet moments let us process information, consolidate memories, and generate new ideas, fostering innovation. Juliet Funt's research shows that deliberate pauses can improve our decisions and productivity.
If the benefits don’t inspire you to take a pause, how about the opposite question? What happens when we don't take time to think? As a coach I’m finding that always-on busyness can cause burnout and that reduces creativity. Always being "on" can hinder critical and strategic thinking, making us reactive instead of proactive and missing out on long-term planning and a hearty family dinner.
It’s true that lack of mental space impacts our well-being. Chronic stress and fatigue harm our health and happiness. Incorporating reflection and rest into our daily routines rejuvenates our minds and bodies, improving both professional and personal lives.
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Here are three ways I recommend carving out some space to think:
- Support others need to think: Show your commitment by helping others find their precious moments to think. Encourage the habit of thinking and reward people for innovations and ideas.??
- Clear the noise: Take a moment to evaluate the multitude of channels through which people can reach you - email, text, Teams, Slack. By consolidating and prioritizing these channels, you can create an environment conducive to focused thinking.
- Unashamedly prioritize time to think: Make a conscious decision to set aside time for deep thinking. Add time to your calendar daily and infuse intentionality into the act of thinking.
So, here’s to the big bosses out there…Creating a culture that values thoughtfulness and intentional pauses is not weak or lazy. We either need to learn to encourage our teams to take breaks, provide opportunities for reflection, and model the behavior ourselves. Remember, the most groundbreaking ideas often emerge from moments of stillness. Don’t believe me, start tracking your breakthrough ideas generated in the shower. Friends, that is not what showers were created to accomplish in our lives.
I say making space to think is not just beneficial—it's essential. Make fun of me all you want but by prioritizing white space, we can unlock our full creative potential and foster a more innovative, productive, and fulfilling work environment.
It only makes sense that we begin to challenge the culture of constant busyness and embrace the power of pausing. After all, as Juliet reminds us, it's the oxygen that allows everything else to catch fire. #Innovation #Productivity #WellBeing #Leadership
If you would like more information about how TalentXM can help to transform your organization drop me a message or email mmathia@signatureperformance.com.
TalentXM is helping organizations bring out people at their best, teams at their best, and organizations at their finest.
This is one of the ah-ha’s our leadership development participants say creates tons of value for them. Check yourself. Ask one more clarifying question. Consider long-term implications more carefully. Assess how the down-stream work is affected in just a bit more detail. We tend to make a lot of judgments fairly well in the blink of an eye when our experience provides valuable guidance. However, our brains are easily tricked into extending this too far in other situations. The book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow,†by Nobel Prize-winning author Daniel Kahneman is a fantastic resource on this, too.