What if the pace isn’t the problem?
Lately I’ve been noticing how easy it is to get swept up in the energy of this time of year.
Spring arrives and suddenly everything feels like it’s happening at once.
More plans.
More movement.
More doing.
The other day I noticed it felt like I was "running" from one thing to the next, while working from home, and somehow still struggling to eat dinner before 8pm… mostly because it stays light out until then.
On a baseline level, in my body...
Daylight = Doing
Darkness = Resting
With so much more light at this time of year, trying to "do" from sunrise to sunset is a recipe for burnout if I’m not intentional about how I move through my days and ensuring I take time to build in moments of rest, pause, and reset.
What about you?
You might be sleeping a little less.
Feeling a little run down.
Trying to keep up with everything pulling at your attention.
And even if it all feels productive or meaningful… it can still just feel like a lot.
If you’re anything like me, your body might need a minute to catch up with all that you're doing and the pace you’re moving at.
And the idea I've been experimenting with this week is this:
It doesn’t need to take a lot of time or a major reset to change that pace.
Sometimes simply one minute can interrupt the pattern and change how you feel completely.
We often believe the pace we move at is dictated by everything outside of us...
Our schedule
Our responsibilities
The length of our to-do list
But even when the world around you feels fast or frenetic, you still have the power to pick your pace.
And in reality, it’s often not the pace itself that’s the problem.
It’s the way you’re moving at that pace.
You can move quickly and feel scattered…
OR move quickly and still feel steady.
And that difference often comes from small moments of awareness woven into your day.
I find one of the most helpful ways to access that is by checking in with your body.
To listen to what it might be communicating before hitting the point of depletion.
For example:
The right side of the body is often associated with doing, accomplishing, direction, and outward movement.
The left side with being, receiving, internal awareness, and receptivity.
So if you notice sensations like tightness or tension on the right side, you might simply ask yourself:
Am I trying to push too much forward right now OR not trusting that the actions I've already taken are enough?
If you notice more tightness or tension on the left side:
Am I moving so quickly that I’m not actually taking anything in OR I'm struggling to keep up?
Similarly, the front of the body relates to what’s ahead — the future, planning, anticipating, moving forward.
The back of the body relates more to what’s behind you — the past, what’s been processed, integrated, or left unacknowledged.
So if it's the front of your body that's "speaking to you", you might gently ask:
Am I constantly thinking about the future OR rushing into the next thing?
And if it's the back of your body that's "speaking to you":
Have I actually had space to integrate my day OR am I carrying more than I’ve fully processed yet?
This isn’t about over-interpreting your body.
It’s simply a way of coming into conversation with it, early enough to respond, instead of react.
Over time, these small moments of noticing become something much bigger:
They give you the ability to choose your pace, instead of being pulled along by it.
Because burnout doesn’t usually come from one big moment.
It comes from a series of small moments where your body asked for something different…
and didn’t get it.
Noticing allows you to begin to move in a way that actually feels aligned in your body.
To create a rhythm that’s sustainable.
And that’s what can allow you to keep moving, and doing all the amazing and beautiful things that this time of year offers, without running yourself into the ground or missing the magic in all of your present moments.
