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Why distance from your routine matters
Four weeks. Just me, the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, the ocean on one side, and cows grazing on green pastures on the other.
It's something I'd dreamed about since I turned 60, and I finally did it. I don't share that to brag — I share it because getting the benefits of real distance from your everyday routine doesn't actually require four weeks. One day can do it. So can one hour.
Time away from daily habits and routines gives you space to ask the questions that get drowned out on a normal Tuesday.
Here's a small story from the trip. Partway through my walk, there were two bus stops, one on each side of the road. The timetable on my side was missing, so I crossed the street to check the other one. By the time I'd read it, my bus was already pulling away. The next one wasn't until the following day.
That meant a 90-minute walk uphill, heavy backpack, scorching sun, on a country road with no sidewalk, cars passing so close I said out loud, “Are they doing this on purpose, just to scare the hell out of me?” At that point I decided there was only one thing left to do: start naming everything I was grateful for. Out loud. The first five minutes were rough. But once I found my groove, I didn't stop. I went on for a good 30 minutes. By the top, my mood had completely turned around.
The real question: how do you keep that feeling?
Coming home is where the actual work starts. I don't have this fully figured out. But here are five things, backed by research, that I've been testing since coming home.
1. Move for five minutes, every hour
A Columbia University study of more than 11,000 office workers found that short, hourly movement breaks did more for people's energy, mood, and focus than saving all movement for one workout session. Read the study.
2. Start the day with a few minutes of meditation
Cortisol peaks right after waking. Research reviews have found that meditation is especially effective at calming that morning spike. More on the research.
3. Journal before the day gets loud
Psychologist James Pennebaker's research on expressive writing shows that getting what's in your head onto paper reduces stress and clears mental space. Read more from the APA.
4. Set an intention before you open your laptop
Not “what's on my to-do list” — something more like: who do I want to be today, no matter what happens?
5. Name three things you're grateful for
It's what got me up that hill in Wales. Simple, but it shifts your focus before your inbox does it for you.
Bonus: a few deep breaths. Before your first meeting, before you open your email, before you even get out of bed.
The bigger picture
There's something about seeing the whole coastline stretched out in front of you that puts the smaller worries back in their proper size. Distance does that. It doesn't make the hard things disappear, it just lets you see them next to everything else that's also true.
With joy,
Dyane
Want to practice this together?
A free, 30-minute Zoom session called “The Power of Pause.” It's also a first look at what we do in EMBody, our program for women who want real speaking practice in a safe, supportive space.
