How to Recognize When It’s Time to Shut Down and Reset

It might involve drinking coffee from a plant pot if that's how much you need to get through the day.

How do you know when it’s time to say, “Screw everything! I’m locking my door and never coming out!”

I pondered that question yesterday while driving home from a 4-day retreat that will have me crying for the solitude of lake life until my next getaway.

I took my laptop with me thinking this hideaway would be the perfect time to sit down and write.

The laptop stayed in its bag, untouched…for 4 days.

I don’t know whose boat this is but I almost stole it to paddle off into oblivion. Taken at Lake Windermere, BC.

I think the very moment we feel like shutting down is exactly the moment we SHOULD.

No holds barred. Who cares if nobody understands what you’re doing or why?

Turn on that “out of office” notification so you can purposefully and mindfully shut down. Brush every speck of dust off your shoulders, excommunicate yourself, and reset.

We should take as much time as we need, regardless of outside influences.

Sunrise at Lake Windermere on the morning of Sept. 29th, 2024.

Here are EIGHT triggers I came up with that might be signs you’re ready to take a step back and reset.

1. When your job starts taking over your life and you’re letting it happen.

Because….obligations.

Work and financial obligations will consume you if you let them. We get sucked into workplace drama, doing overtime for the money, and becoming less satisfied with our jobs in general.

We KNOW our lives are being swept away in a filthy corporate mudslide, yet we let it happen.

Believe me, I understand the concept more than most people I know. I was a single mother my son’s whole life and I genuinely needed every nickel and dime I could scrape together.

But hear this and let it sink in. That job won’t support you in your time of need the way you’ve been supporting it.

Here’s an enlightening activity to prove my point. Just for fun, check into how much paid time off you’d get if, god forbid, you should lose your child (yes, the same child your job takes you away from up to ten hours a day).

For me, it was three days of pay. In exchange for a whole child.

Case closed.

Take your life back and go hang out with your kids, your dog, and your massage therapist.

2. When everything around you sounds like side chatter and white noise.

Or, it sounds like that one mosquito that magically locates your tiny ear in a 9000-square-foot castle when you’re trying to sleep….because, of course, you sleep in a 9000-square-foot castle 🏰

We are inundated with opinions, distractions, notifications, and useless information all around us. To properly reset we need to shut all that down and listen to ourselves first.

3. When contact with the outside world feels more like an annoyance than a joyful experience.

Don’t worry about who you’re offending if you choose to retreat for a while. If you mean anything at all to your people, they’ll understand and wait for you on the flip side.

Unless, of course, you happen to be in your fifties. Then your people will realize they’re never going to see you again because you’re at home in pajamas watching Netflix.

4. When leisure time isn’t appealing because it doesn’t pay the bills.

This is a trap.

It’s a guilt trip that we buy first-class tickets for.

I can’t count how many times I’ve heard from people that they haven’t been on vacation in years because of work, obligations, or whatever. I also can’t count how many times I’ve passed up a carefree day of leisure because I think I have “stuff to do.”

This is no way to live life.

At the VERY least, go adopt a dog and get the hell outside for some walkies.

Even my dog knows how to enjoy downtime and lake life.

5. When you take a hard look at your health issues and realize, OMG….

Those issues probably stem from the fact that you have not taken as much time for yourself as you need to. This became a blatant realization for me a few years ago with my introduction to thyroid disease and skin cancer, and it was a harsh reality check.

Mind you, the root of my skin cancer was most certainly my thirty-six trips to Jamaica and not enough sunscreen. But still.

6. When you meet someone who is a calm spirit and you envy them.

If you envy calm people it’s time to become one of them. There’s no excuse anymore. Meditations are FREE on YouTube and more calming apps exist than we know what to do with.

Which brings us to our next point…

7. When your meditation practice becomes a distant memory and yoga is just “that thing you heard was good for you.”

Never put off what’s healthy for your mind, body, heart and soul. Do not give up this part of your life. It’s important.

8. And last but MOST important,

When you get down to the weak ass, ghetto coffee pods you keep in the back of your cupboard in case of emergency (aka: you’re too lazy to go buy the good ones).

This is a huge red flag!

Never sacrifice your good, strong coffee! Even if you have to drink it out of a plant pot because the mugs in your AirBnB are more like shot glasses than REAL LAKE-SIZED MUGS! 😂 ☕

This practice of mindfully shutting off and ignoring the hell out of the world became an annual September ritual for me, fueled by the loss of my son four years ago. Now, every year, I make damn sure I’m ANYWHERE but here for the days leading up to and following Sept. 29th.

It is non-negotiable regardless of what anyone else deems “important.”

I am more important. His memory is more important.

YOU are more important than whatever grind is consuming you.

How do you know when it’s time for you to shut down and reset?

And how to you like to do it?