The Power of Pausing Mid-Fall

Lora Crestan
Oct 8
2 min read

October is the season of transition—back-to-school rhythms are set, year-end is on the horizon, and leaders often get caught sprinting toward December. This is exactly why mid-fall is the perfect time to pause. Not to stop progress, but to reset, recharge, and make sure the last quarter of the year works for you, not against you.

Why Pause Now?

By early October, it’s easy to feel pulled in ten directions. Work deadlines creep up. Family routines are full. And before you know it, you’re already staring down holiday commitments. Without a pause, you risk running headlong into November already exhausted.

Pausing isn’t wasted time. It’s a performance strategy:

Boost creativity. Stepping back sparks new ideas that don’t show up when you’re grinding.
Sharpen clarity. Pausing helps you see what’s noise and what truly matters.
Recover energy. Even short breaks give your brain and body a reset.

The Link to Integration

Pausing isn’t about abandoning work. It’s about integrating space so you can keep showing up fully. When you stop holding it all in your head and “Put It Somewhere”—a calendar, a notebook, a Later list—you free up bandwidth for creativity and problem-solving.

Outcomes of Pausing

When leaders pause, here’s what happens:

They reconnect with purpose instead of being ruled by urgency.
They recognize where their energy is leaking and take action.
They return to their work with sharper focus, better ideas, and more presence.

This is less about planning the holidays and more about reclaiming clarity in the middle of the chaos. Pausing today means you can make better decisions tomorrow — without running on fumes.