If You’re Fed Up with Your Job, Try Working More Pauses into Your Day

Harvard Business Review:

More than half of Americans feel “overworked or overwhelmed at least some of the time” and 70% say “they often dream of having a different job,” according to a recent study by the Families and Work Institute. That’s a lot of unhappy people at work, and many of them may choose to resign. But my research shows that quitting can be premature; what you might need to do instead is pause and recalibrate.

Chances are that if you were to jump into a new role or organization, whatever is causing you to leave may follow you. Taking a pause — which I define as any intentional shift in behavior — allows you to lift your head up, assess your situation objectively, and change your attitude, thoughts, or emotions. It doesn’t have to be a major break in your routine; it might be that after you get home from for work, you intend to spend 20 minutes of quality time with a partner or loved one. Or you intend to show up fully present every morning at the office by taking six deep breaths before you walk in. Even small pauses can help.

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Next, set an intention. What do you want to get out of this pause and how do you want to feel at the end of it? One study published in Psychological Science showed that by distancing yourself from a challenge and taking the perspective of an observer, you can enhance your reasoning, leading to insights and new solutions that hadn’t occurred to you before.

Read the whole story: Harvard Business Review