Hitting the reset button
When you see the panel light up in your sleep, it’s time for a vacation. (U.S. National Archives)
In many nations, individuals and business entities have the last-resort option of declaring bankruptcy. This legally releases them from the obligation of paying debts that, it is determined, they cannot realistically pay.
A person may be left with nothing after bankruptcy, but nothing is a lot better than less than nothing. They have a clean (or cleaner) slate. They have a bit of relief.
There was an idea going around a few years ago about "email bankruptcy," in which a person emails all of their contacts to say, "Sorry, I'm not going to be able to answer your email. If it was important, send it again." Then, they archive all of their messages and start over again with a fresh, empty inbox.
This idea of the tabula rasa is compelling, isn't it? A reset. A new start.
Jen Acker, executive director of Eclectic Music, points out that we are able to do this reset relatively easily after a good night’s sleep. When a member of her team is struggling she asks what it would take to be able to make that reset happen sooner, so as to salvage a day that we’d otherwise give up on.
Lexi Merritt, a creative business strategist, has as process for resetting a day that isn’t off to a great start and getting physically and emotionally regulated again. No matter what time it is, she starts over with journaling, a walk, a healthy meal, a review of her to-do list, and other rituals usually associated with the morning. This allows her to end the day with a sense of confidence, purpose, and calm — and get a few things done along the way.
You can hit the reset button, too, whether you’re declaring some kind of bankruptcy or simply wanting to your head right. You get a do-over. You can start again.
If you've been feeling overwhelmed by a project you’re working on, you can reset that, too, in whatever way makes sense to you.
Your reset might be a small gesture, like buying a fresh new notebook or starting a new document.
It might be something that takes a bit more courage, like calling your colleagues in for a meeting to check in and clear the air.
Or your reset might be more dramatic, like a significant pivot in your existing project, switching to a completely different project, or moving to a new city under an assumed identity.
Recently, I did a moderate reset after working all weekend and getting so amped that I didn’t fall asleep until after midnight, which is not ideal for a Sunday night. I decided to change it up for a few days. This involved avoiding stimulants of any kind, letting myself sleep in as long as I needed to, cleaning and tidying my physical space, processing my email inbox to empty, and sticking to existing meetings and client work instead of trying to move forward on anything new. By Thursday morning, I was feeling centered and healthy again.
As the activity director of your life, you get to do what you need to do in order to meet your own definition of success. You are free to find a way to keep going in whatever way makes sense to you, whether that’s within the constraints of your existing obligations or by taking the more radical step of questioning the constraints themselves.
And every now and again, hitting the reset button may be just the thing.
What does "hitting the reset button" mean to you? Feel free to share below.
