by Megan McDonough
The other morning, I found myself 45 minutes early for an appointment. My first instinct was to fill the time: pick up the wool socks I’ve been needing, stop by the grocery store to restock my empty refrigerator, or take a quick walk to log a few extra steps. Doing nothing felt like an affront to productivity—a crime against nature in a culture that equates value with activity.
But instead of diving into my to-do list, I sat. At first, I wrestled with the urge to check emails, scroll social media, or distract myself with a game on my phone. Then something unexpected happened: I dozed off. When I woke up, refreshed, I decided to take a short walk—not to achieve something, but simply to enjoy the fresh air.
That experience stayed with me, not just for its simplicity, but because it challenged the narrative that every moment must be accounted for. Waiting, doing nothing, felt like reclaiming a tiny piece of my life.
Our culture teaches us to optimize every moment, yet Burkeman argues that this obsession with efficiency often leaves us feeling more pressured and disconnected. By trying to cram more into our days, we miss the essence of simply being. My 45-minute pause reminded me of this.
Burkeman invites us to let go of the futile effort to master time and instead embrace its limitations. Accepting that we can’t do everything—and that time isn’t a problem to solve—frees us to live more fully in the present.
As leaders, whether in organizations or in our personal lives, we often equate leadership with relentless action: making decisions, solving problems, and moving things forward. But true leadership requires something deeper. It asks us to cultivate presence—to respond thoughtfully instead of reacting reflexively, and to create space for clarity and connection.
Wholebeing Institute helps leaders—and all employees—foster this kind of presence. Whether it’s through understanding the science of well-being, embracing mindfulness practices, or addressing the deeper human needs of your teams, these tools can transform the way you show up for others—and yourself.
Homeostasis is the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems we just discussed. When the sympathetic nervous system is activated upon by an external stressor, the parasympathetic nervous system works to restore balance by counteracting the response. For instance, when the body overheats due to summer weather (sympathetic), it produces sweat to cool itself (parasympathetic).
During acute stress, the “fight or flight” response occurs naturally. This worked well for us in our ancient history, when the stress response was triggered somewhat rarely, and often meant fast-moving physical threats like predators. However, in modern times, as the stress response is often triggered multiple times throughout the day, the relaxation response doesn’t always have a chance to naturally follow. For example, in times of chronic stress, the body is in a constant state of physiological arousal over perceived threats that are numerous and not life-threatening, and the body’s relaxation response doesn’t always have time to kick in before the next stressor hits.
Now, during periods of prolonged external stress, homeostasis becomes harder and harder to achieve. Your body becomes imbalanced and spends more time in the stress response, which leads to chronic stress, anxiety, and a whole host of chronic medical conditions. As an example, highly stressed people have an increased risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, depression, and anxiety. This can lead to decreased immunity, putting you at more risk to fight off colds and infections, and increases in negative emotional consequences like anxiety and burnout. Reasons like this make it imperative that we learn how to master stress and make it work for us.
As I sat waiting that morning, I realized how much I’d internalized this belief. Even my initial urge to go for a walk—framed as a “healthy choice”—was rooted in a desire to make the time useful. But when I let go of that need, something shifted. The act of waiting became spacious, open, and grounding.
When was the last time you allowed yourself to sit with nothing to do? No agenda, no checklist, no outcome?
In those 45 minutes, I felt the pull of my phone and the nagging voice that told me I should be accomplishing something. But by resisting those impulses, I reconnected with something deeper: the rhythm of time unfolding on its own terms.
Learning to wait isn’t just about patience; it’s about presence. It’s a way of stepping out of the relentless rush of modern life and into the quiet truth of being alive.
That morning, I didn’t accomplish anything on my to-do list. But I gained something far more valuable: a sense of calm, clarity, and connection.
Time isn’t just a resource to manage; it’s the medium through which we live.unfolding on its own terms.
Learning to wait isn’t just about patience; it’s about presence. It’s a way of stepping out of the relentless rush of modern life and into the quiet truth of being alive.
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