Summer’s End

It’s that time of year again here in Birchrunville Pennsylvania, USA. In a few days, the Labor Day holiday will be upon us and summer will officially end.

The deer I see out my window have fattened up for the coming winter. Trees are beginning to shed their leaves. The few bars and restaurants will be filling up again as people return from wherever they go over the summer.

Many of us take the end of summer as a signal to begin gearing up for a heightened work load, new projects, a return to busy routines. I can’t think of a better way to start to gear up than by dialing down.

The Labor Day holiday weekend provides the perfect time for a long Clarity Break.

As regular readers of this missive know, I’m a huge believer in the power of Clarity Breaks. Clarity Break…a time to ignore your technology and let your mind run free without ongoing interruption. Clarity Break…a time to ignore the work behind you and the work ahead and recharge your batteries. Clarity Break…a time to do whatever it is you like to do that clears your head and sends away all the internal clutter that accumulated since your last Clarity Break, never to be worried about again.

I’m off to Whidbey Island to climb some mountains, wander along the coastline, stare across Puget Sound with a glass of wine in hand, and think deep thoughts about whatever pops into my head.

And you? How will you be spending your Labor Day holiday? Have you planned your own Clarity Break? We all need time to clean out stale thoughts and make room in our minds for new ideas and what is to come. You don’t need to go far. A simple visit to a favorite coffee shop with nothing to do but stare out the window works fine. A long solo walk unencumbered by conversation, a day watching the waves roll in, whatever you like to do to clear your head—go for it.

Take a Clarity Break this weekend. Take one regularly. Take some time by yourself with nothing at all to do. Your body and mind will thank you.