Workplace wellness isn’t a poster in the break room. It’s set by example, and people managers set it first. When a leader models a pause, a team learns that pausing is allowed. When a leader only ever powers through, so does everyone watching them.
Most teams are running at full speed, with multiple priorities, packed calendars, inboxes that never empty. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone, and neither is your team.Â
Here’s the curious thing about busyness: it makes us speed up. That is the instinct. But research on stress and cognition tells a different story. When we’re overloaded, the most productive thing we can do often isn’t to push harder. It’s to pause, however briefly, clear our head, and choose our next move with intention. The same is true for the people we lead.Â
The good news is this doesn’t need a retreat. A few seconds, used well, is often enough, and it’s something managers can model in real time. Here are my five resets you can use yourself, and also share with your team.Â
The One Minute Reset
Start simple. Take three slow, deep breaths. Then ask yourself one question: what’s the single most important thing I need to focus on right now?
Give yourself permission to let everything else wait. Just for a minute. This isn’t about ignoring your workload, it’s about choosing where your attention goes, instead of letting the loudest thing decide for you.
The Brain Dump
For when your mind has 45 tabs open at once.
Spend one minute writing down everything flying around in your head. Work tasks, personal errands, half-finished thoughts, all of it. Don’t edit, just empty it out onto the page.
Then circle one thing you can act on now.
This one does double duty – it gets the noise out of your head, and it hands you back a sense of control. Many people find this the most grounding of all the resets, simply because seeing everything written down makes it smaller than it felt in your mind.Â
The 90 Second Rest
A slightly longer version of the one minute reset, for when you need a bit more.
Take your hands off the keyboard. Breathe in for a count of four, out for a count of six, three times. Slower exhales than inhales help calm the nervous system, which is why this pattern works better than plain deep breathing alone.
Then ask yourself three questions:
- What am I feeling right now?Â
- What’s one important thing I need to focus on?Â
- What’s something that can wait?Â
Name, Notice, Next
A three step technique borrowed from mindfulness practice, useful when you feel scattered or stuck.
Name what you’re experiencing. “I’m feeling like I can’t work out what my priority is right now.”
Notice one thing around you. The bird outside the window. The rain on the glass. The feeling of your chair underneath your bottom. Anything that pulls your attention, briefly, into the present.Â
Next, choose one action. “I’m going to send that email.” Small, concrete, doable.
The Two Minute Walk
Sometimes the reset isn’t mental, it’s physical. Step away from your desk and walk, even if it’s just to the kitchen and back. Movement shifts your physiology, and a change of scenery gives your brain a moment to reset before you return to the task at hand.
Or step outside for a 5 minute stroll, but leave your phone behind if you can.Â
The Gratitude Glance
Before your next meeting or task, name one thing, however small, that’s going well today. A good coffee. A message from a friend. Sunshine through the window. This isn’t about forcing positivity, it’s about briefly widening your view beyond the next deadline.
Why it works
None of these take more than two minutes. That’s deliberate. A short pause isn’t time lost, it’s how we find our footing again, so the next hour is spent on what matters, not just what’s loudest.
You might already do some of this instinctively. If so, keep going. If not, pick one and try it today. Notice how you feel afterwards, then try another tomorrow.
Little by little, these small pauses add up to a steadier way of working, and a steadier way of being.
