Anne Lamott on Inner Peace & Emotional Balance

When technology stops responding, one of the oldest solutions is to turn it off and restart it. Lamott applies the joke to human beings because we often expect ourselves to operate indefinitely without a comparable reset.

Fatigue can disguise itself as a productivity problem. We push harder, reread the same paragraph, become irritable, or make simple mistakes while assuming the solution is more effort.

Sometimes effort is necessary. Other times the system needs recovery.

Unplugging can mean sleep, a walk, silence, a meal away from a screen, an evening without work, or simply several minutes in which no new information arrives.

Rest does not solve every problem, but it can change the condition of the person meeting the problem. A refreshed mind often sees options that an exhausted one could not.

Notice the signs that your own system needs a reset. Perhaps concentration becomes fragmented, small frustrations feel enormous, or work takes twice as long as usual.

Instead of automatically adding effort, test recovery. Step away deliberately and return after the nervous system has had a chance to settle.

The break works best when it is actually a break. Replacing one demanding screen with another may change the content without changing the load.