Dear all,
The start of the season has a strange taste. We are barely out of summer, still marked by the warmth of late evenings, the slowness of naps, the lightness of days that stretch on. And then suddenly, September arrives. Calendars fill up, emails pile up, meetings resume. We feel the machinery of everyday life starting again, like a train already running at full speed.
What if this year, we chose to do things differently? What if, instead of being swept away, we invented a gentler, calmer return, one that is closer to our real needs than to external pressures?
The idea of “getting back to work” often carries tension: fitting back into a framework, resuming the pace, readjusting. Yet nothing forces us to do it in a rush. Slowing down is not giving up. It is choosing clarity over exhaustion.
Stress feeds on this endless race, on never ending to-do lists where even “breathing” should be ticked off. And yet, if you stop for just a second, nothing dramatic happens. Except perhaps a small miracle: you feel better. Sometimes, a simple gesture is enough to break the cycle. A conscious breath, a step outside, a glance at the sky.
We often forget that the quality of our energy matters more than the quantity of our actions.
Jim Loehr, performance psychologist best known for The Power of Full Engagement (co-written with Tony Schwartz), reminds us that effectiveness does not rely solely on a well-organized schedule, but on our energy level. Like athletes, we need to alternate between intense effort and true recovery. Without breaks, there is no sustainable performance.
If you want to perform throughout the year like a true “corporate athlete,” you need to understand that you are running a marathon, not a sprint. A marathon requires preparation, healthy habits, the right pace over time, and most importantly, a long recovery phase afterward.
Tal Ben-Shahar, author and Harvard lecturer, a leading figure in positive psychology, adds that energy is fueled by simple practices: gratitude, movement, connection with others. He emphasizes that well-being is built daily through small rituals that deeply recharge us, rather than through short-lived bursts of pleasure.
Like him, I am convinced that the problem is not our lack of time. This is what I hear most often, especially in companies: “I don’t have time.” That is why I teach and practice micro-pauses and very short, even “express,” well-being rituals.
Tal Ben-Shahar shares in one of his talks that he even managed to introduce micro-pauses (30 seconds of deep breathing) to overexcited Wall Street traders, with incredible results in terms of health and stress reduction. Yes, even 30 seconds of deep breathing and 5 seconds of positive thinking each day can change everything.
Plan your breaks with the same seriousness as your meetings. They are just as important.
Recharge your four types of energy:
Physical (regular movement, restorative sleep, balanced nutrition, stress management)
Emotional and mental (positive mindset and intellectual stimulation)
Spiritual (alignment and meaning)
Give yourself permission to be human. Accept your ups and downs instead of fighting them. Perfectionism is exhausting. I will say it again, just in case: perfectionism is exhausting. What if we stepped away from the pressure to do everything perfectly and finally “gave ourselves a break,” as Fabrice Midal so beautifully writes?
Living, trusting your sensations, learning to listen to yourself, letting go of the outcome and instead feeling that you are doing your best with the time and energy you have. The ultimate judge is the body.
👉 In the end, the true strategic resource at work is not time, but energy, and your ability to preserve it, boost it, and above all focus it on what really matters. Moving away from constant dispersion and the urge to do everything (spoiler: it’s impossible) toward better questions:
What is truly essential for me? For the project? For the team?
What can I let go of?
Burnout often occurs when we forget a simple yet vital art: taking breaks. There are different types of pauses, all valuable and complementary.
1. Micro-pauses (1 to 5 minutes)
They may seem insignificant, but they act as real reset buttons for body and mind. Micro-pauses reset the nervous system, breathing, and allow quick recentering.
Office-friendly ideas:
Look out the window and name three things you see (the sky, a bird, a color). This brings you back to the present moment.
Close your eyes for one minute and breathe deeply.
Gently roll your shoulders, massage your neck, stretch your arms.
Tip: Always associate a simple gesture with your micro-pause (drinking a glass of water, lifting your arms, closing your eyes). Your brain will eventually anchor it as a relaxation reflex. Set a reminder every 90 minutes on your phone, like a kind alarm saying: “Hey, breathe.”
2. Daily and weekly pauses
Slightly longer, they nourish balance, prevent exhaustion, and strengthen grounding.
Ideas:
Create a transition ritual between work and personal life (walking, exercising, showering, changing clothes, playing music you love).
Block one evening per week with no appointments and no obligations, a chosen emptiness.
Walk for a few minutes without headphones or distractions, simply observing what surrounds you.
Tip: Schedule your breaks in your calendar as real appointments with yourself, not as optional extras.
3. Big pauses
These allow deep realignment and recovery.
Ideas:
Go on a yoga, meditation, or nature retreat (perfect timing, the next one I facilitate is from October 2 to 5, 2025 at L’Arbre aux Étoiles in Normandy), or create your own at home: two days without notifications, with silence, books, and simple meals.
Turn remote work into a “workation,” same work but in a nourishing environment (countryside, seaside, a friend’s house).
Create a seasonal ritual, for example in September, a reset with decluttering, intention setting, and dedicated time for yourself.
Tip: Activate “Do Not Disturb” mode on your phone for at least one hour a day. It is a true superpower.
Make your workspace inspiring: add a plant, an inspiring photo, a beautiful notebook. Your environment shapes your mood.
Micro-dreams: plan a mini-escape as early as September (a weekend, a workshop, a special evening) so you have something to look forward to.
Joyful discipline: turn routines into allies. Joyful discipline means small, simple but powerful rituals to work better and live better. In the morning: a big glass of water, a smile (even a forced one works), and a positive intention. During the day: a real lunch break, some stretches, a five-minute walk. In the evening: three gratitudes, no screens, one conscious breath. Small gestures, big impact on energy, focus, and quality of life at work.
Nature, your free therapist: nature is therapeutic. Even in the city, sitting under a tree or walking in a park has an immediate effect on the brain. Green is a calming color, and the mind does not really distinguish between a 1,000-hectare forest and a small patch of grass. Good news for those who only have the neighborhood park. So when stress rises, go outside, breathe, look at a tree. Simple and effective.
💌 My invitation for this September
Learn to recover, to pause, to breathe, and even to slow down.
Yes, while the return to work pushes us toward acceleration, this is precisely the right moment to decelerate, adjust the rhythm, and preserve both direction and energy.
I support individuals and teams throughout the year with conferences and workshops on the importance of care, training programs to manage stress and energy at work or to lead with care, slow retreats, and green offsite seminar days for teams.
What if the start of the season finally became gentle, inspiring, and joyful?
Take care of yourself,
Alice Vivian