Always On? Let’s Press Pause.

Ping! Tap. Reply. Scrooooll… And repeat!

If you’re anything like me, the combination of meetings, emails, messages, deadlines, and social feeds means your mind rarely gets a moment to rest. And that constant mental noise comes at a cost.

It’s worth pausing to talk about why.

Being perpetually reachable is often praised as dedication or efficiency, but the reality is very different. Continuous connectivity fractures our attention, exhausts our thinking, and slowly erodes our creative capacity. Across roles, industries, and seniority levels, people are feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to stay plugged in, yet many don’t feel they have permission to step away.

What’s particularly frustrating is that many of us already know the value of disconnecting. We’ve tasted it before. We remember how good it felt to breathe, to think clearly, to be present. And still, breaking the habit feels strangely hard.

Beyond work expectations, there’s another layer to this challenge. We’ve trained ourselves to fill every spare moment. Waiting in line. Sitting at a red light. Standing in the elevator. With technology always within reach, distraction has become automatic. Sometimes it’s about avoiding discomfort or stress. Sometimes it’s just about entertainment. Either way, reaching for our phones has become a reflex rather than a choice.

And yet, stepping away may be exactly what helps us move forward.

In a Harvard Business Review video titled “You Need to Be Bored. Here’s Why,” Arthur C. Brooks explores the power of intentional disengagement. Silence and mental space allow the brain to return to more natural rhythms of thought. The idea is counterintuitive, but compelling: boredom is not a flaw to fix, it’s a necessary condition for insight and creativity. When the mind is allowed to wander, it can process, reframe, and recover from the constant demands of decision-making.

Think of your brain like any other muscle. If it’s under constant strain, it fatigues. With rest and recovery, it strengthens.

So how might you practice this, either as a leader setting the tone or as an individual protecting your own well-being?

Here are a few practical entry points:

• Preserve open space in your calendar when you can, and resist filling every pause with another task or screen.

• Experiment with leaving your phone behind during walks, workouts, or hobbies you enjoy.

• Create simple boundaries tied to time or place, such as no email before sitting down at your desk, or no devices in certain rooms of your home.

• Pay attention to patterns. Are there specific triggers, like checking the news or opening your inbox, that reliably lead to twenty minutes of unintentional scrolling? Identify the starting point and work backward.

A note on realism: not every strategy works for every role. If you’re in healthcare, emergency services, or an on-call profession, full disconnection may not be feasible on some days. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s awareness, pattern recognition, and choosing what’s realistic for your life and work.

Ultimately, this might look like giving yourself daily moments to simply sit with your thoughts. Or reflecting on why you default to “always on” behaviors in the first place. For leaders, it may involve noticing how your availability patterns influence your team and organizational culture.

From there, change becomes more achievable.

A coaching insight worth remembering: meaningful change usually starts with a goal that genuinely matters to you. Telling yourself “I shouldn’t do this” rarely leads to lasting results. Understanding why something matters often does.

Stillness and intentional pauses are where clarity often emerges. Letting go of constant connectivity isn’t about doing less. It’s about choosing with intention rather than reacting out of habit.

In a culture that celebrates constant motion, there’s quiet courage in slowing down.

Have you experienced the weight of being “always on,” or found success in setting boundaries around technology and availability? I’d love to hear what you’ve learned.

Post adapted from my original article, Letting Go of Always-On Connectedness, on LinkedIn.