The Superpower Of Restart

From time to time I find myself restarting my notebook or mobile, as well as some other smart devices. It usually happens after getting frustrated from trying to fix something with no success and not being able to move forward with my work. It can be one of the apps that just doesn't let me get access with no reason or this annoying notice stating "your device will automatically restart itself within X minutes", asking me to save my work and keep the device connected so its battery will not run out while it's restarting. Sounds familiar?...

During the past days, as everybody have been preparing for the end of Y21, I've been thinking about this in many contexts of our work & life integration, trying to take the lessons learned from these machines' restart abilities to our human actions, to our capability to fix stuff that blocks us from pushing forward with our work & life, helping us to carry on after challenging times and get back on track when needed.

• If it ain't broken, don't fix it - but what if it is?... At the beginning of this year, I broke my ankle. Just after thinking that the worse of lockdowns at home and pandemic fears is about to end, I learned how hard it is when you can't walk, can't take a shower without help and can't sleep without pain killers. This "restart" wasn't one I chose, it was "forced" on me and it was much harder than I thought. I wouldn't wish anyone to "break and ankle" as a way of restarting but if you're already there, I recommend you leverage this in a better way than I did; Let your body heal, don't refuse to get help from ones you love and keep in mind you're lucky to have this as a temporary condition which you can't control, even if you're a control freak;-) and most important, make sure you're full with the right energy to go through it.
• Boot before you move - It's been a few months already since we moved to our new apartment but I still say I'm "staying" or "sleep over" in it instead of saying I live in it. This is because I feel there's so much left to organize. Things take longer than expected; deliveries delays, missing materials, unexpected bugs such as windows that weren't installed properly and more... Overall, the fatigue of shifting from the 'art of packing' which I wrote about in one of my former articles to the struggle of finding space for everything, including myself, in the new place - This fatigue caught me by surprise and led me again to think that it may have been better to take a break and avoid thinking that I'll manage to juggle it all.
• Timeout is a great way to re-energize - As mentioned, after trying to juggle my new apartment arrangements, together with some other items I just couldn't manage to find time for during my "normal" routine, I've decided to take this time off work for a vacation. Sounds a bit strange to have an "arrangements vacation", but as in any good restart, I kept in mind that one of the more important things to do is to make sure the device is charged and connected. So as you can see in the picture above, I started with a short vacation in Eilat, looking at real time sunrises and sunsets that are one of the best source of energy for me.
• Sleep is a good start to get back to being truly awake - remember these great words of Coldplay "When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep, Stuck in reverse...I promise you I will learn from my mistakes... I will try to fix..." . There are so many academic researches about the importance of sleep to our body and minds but somehow, we tend to dismiss it and keep on going without understanding that rest is often the best cure and the best way to restart our days!
• Even the most joyful and/or important and urgent work has features that will benefit much from a restart - I often speak with new startups, companies in fast growth mode, ones that have just started a new job, ones that have been just promoted or want to develop and be promoted and there will always be this reason they all mention why they can't stop, why they can't allow themselves to take a break, why they're so needed at "this stage". Why "this isn't a good time". Keep in mind that although we tend to think we have these superpowers that make us smarter as human beings than any machine, when it comes to the need for a break, we'll find ourselves slowing down and broken at the end, either physically or emotionally (or both...) and usually, at the worse time if we don't choose this time by ourselves!

So here's my last take to you, just as this new Y22 begins - Take a note to yourself and mark the restart times in your calendars, plan your timeouts, make sure you keep yourself connected to your energy boosters while doing so;-) and in between all the hustle, all of the things you're doing all the time, don't forget to use your restart superpower button!

May it be a healthy and energized 22, full of everything you wish to yourself!