When the Calendar Starts Running the Show

It always starts with “just one more thing.”

A few months ago, I caught myself staring at my calendar, squeezing in another meeting block that didn’t really need to be there. My mind was already rushing ahead, filling blank space with extra tasks, future plans, mental rehearsals.

I wasn’t behind. I wasn’t overwhelmed.
But still, the urge to do more crept in.

I’ve come to recognize this impulse.
It masks discomfort with stillness, an old pattern whispering that our worth is tied to productivity, or that blank space needs an assigned purpose.

But I’ve learned that every time we honor the pause, something essential returns:
our breath, our rhythm, our inner knowing.

Rest Isn’t the Reward – It’s the Reset

In a culture that celebrates busyness, we’re rarely taught how to move between things.
But transitions, those soft, liminal spaces – are opportunities for reconnecting.

Reclaiming rhythm doesn’t need to take hours.
It begins with a breath.

🌬️ Practice: Breath Between Tasks

📍 A 60-second ritual to shift gears and soften transitions.

1️⃣ Recognize the Natural Space
Between emails. After a meeting. Before opening a new tab.
Wherever a transition appears, let that be the invitation.

2️⃣ Stop
Physically and mentally pause. Let your body still. Put your hands down. Close your eyes if you’d like.

3️⃣ Feel
Notice your inner landscape.
Is there a push, a rush, an urgency? No need to fix… just acknowledge & feel.

4️⃣ Breathe
Inhale gently through the nose.
Exhale slowly through the mouth.
Repeat 2–3 times, letting the breath be unrushed.

5️⃣ Soften
Release tension in your jaw, shoulders, belly.
Let this breath be a message to your nervous system:
“There is plenty of time.”