quiet fridays #14: What if pausing is progress?
It’s been a while.
Since July, I pressed pause on this newsletter. Not because of any big tragedy, but because I had to make a few decisions, try out some new things, and adjust where my focus was going. That meant putting certain things on hold; even the ones I enjoy, like writing to you.
What I realised along the way is this: sometimes, the most sustainable move for an introvert is not adding more but intentionally choosing less.
“People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time, they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy.”
Seneca
Insight:
Over the last few months, I’ve seen that conserving energy isn’t withdrawal; it’s strategy. Pausing is not quitting. It’s choosing where to show up fully, and where to step back, for a while.
Inspiration:
In his book Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, Alex Soojung-Kim Pang writes about the paradox of productivity. Rest isn’t the opposite of work, it’s part of it. That’s a reminder I had to live out these past months.
Here’s a short talk from him that might resonate.
Reflections:
Instead of asking, “What did I drop?” try asking, “What did I protect?”
By putting certain things down, you made space to carry what mattered most. That’s not absence; it’s intention.
So this week, ask yourself:
Where in your life right now would a deliberate pause help you protect your energy and sustain your leadership?
If there’s one thing I’ve learned these past months, it’s this: absence can be as powerful as presence, when it’s chosen with care. Thanks for choosing to be here with me again.
Sadaf Javed
Executive Coach & Founder
P.S. Forward to a friend who needs permission to stop.
