Do This Instead of Screaming Into a Pillow

Sometimes it feels like the business is sprinting, the team is drifting, the strategy is blurring, and your brain is buffering.

And yet, everyone’s looking at you like, “Captain, what’s the next move?”

Here’s what I do when I’m at that edge:

I take one hour. A single lunch break. And I do this reset.

The Lunch Break Reset

Zero apps. No to-do list. No productivity porn. Just you.

🔹 Step 1: Leave the Room (0:00–0:10)

Change your space. Go outside. Sit in a stairwell. Lock yourself in your car.

Put your phone on airplane mode (That part matters).

You’re telling your nervous system this isn’t business as usual.

🔹 Step 2: Brain Dump, No Filter (0:10–0:25)

Grab a notebook or open a blank doc.

Write like you’re trying to drain poison. Everything that’s swirling in your head — write it.

Doesn’t need to be coherent. It just needs to get out.

Bonus prompt if you're stuck:

🔹 Step 3: Reboot Your Mental OS (0:25–0:40)

Answer these three questions:

• What actually matters this week?

• What’s giving me energy vs. draining it?

• If I could only solve one thing today, what would it be?

Strip everything else away. This is about clarity, not completion.

🔹 Step 4: The Micro-Plan (0:40–0:55)

Rebuild your day — not your week.

Start fresh, right here. A micro-battle plan: 3 priorities. 2 boundaries. 1 message to your team.

Even better, cancel an unnecessary meeting and give yourself some breathing room.

🔹 Step 5: Re-Enter Like a Human (0:55–1:00)

Take 5 minutes of stillness. Breathe. Text someone on your team something encouraging.

Not because it’s soft. Because it reminds you that you’re leading with intent — not panic.

You don’t need a retreat. You don’t need a bigger to-do list.

You need a ritual to return to yourself.

This one works.

Best,
Peter Delle