By Ethan Maurice | December 19, 2019

As human beings, and not monotonous robots, there are times when we are at our best and there are times when we are not. However, when it comes to giving our best, most of us neglect to consider that the state we’re in influences our ability to give it.

The issue here arises from a culturally inherited blind spot from measuring effort not by results produced, but by the time we put into something. As we plan, work, and are rewarded for the time we spend, often regardless of what happens during that time, we tend to think in terms of “putting in the time” rather than what’s produced by our efforts.

The result is painful inefficiency. We are a people that take pride in studying past the point that we simply cannot absorb more information. We nobly bang our heads against keyboards when the words no longer come out. We think we’re pushing the limits of our productivity when our minds have long ago clocked out.

While “respecting the grind” sounds pretty cool, I’m here to tell you there’s a less painful, more productive, sensible way. And that way is to develop self-awareness — for our energy levels, ability to focus, and spirit in general — and act accordingly. When we’re at our best, we tackle our most important, demanding tasks. When not at our best, we focus on less important, less demanding ones. And most importantly, when we’re slogging along, we step away to revitalize our efforts.

Throughout the past year, my brother (unknowingly pictured meditating atop this article after a December dip in the pool) and I have made a study of what we dubbed “pressing the reset button” — getting from drained, foggy, or fried to invigorated, refreshed, and back to our best. Through much self-experimentation, we’ve figured some important stuff out.

What follows is an introduction to hard work not as an act of martyrdom, but a self-aware balancing act between pressing on and renewing our ability to do so. A way of consciously culling the best out of ourselves rather than mindlessly demanding it.

First we’ll consider when to stick with something and when to step away to “press the reset button.” Then we’ll go over a dozen ways to press it.

Let’s get into it.

When to Press Your Reset Button

Before addressing how to “press the reset button,” we first must develop an understanding of when to press it.

It’s easy to feel when we’re not at our best. When we’re spent, unmotivated, frustrated, or foggy, we’re more or less experiencing some form of suffering. And like the prick of a needle, what we suffer from tends to demand awareness. The awareness we need to cultivate is less for the first-person experience of those feelings, and more like that of our own coach or guide, who continually takes stock of our state and helps to act accordingly. If you’re slogging along, a deeper awareness of how much that sucks won’t help. What will help, though, is realizing that you are slogging along and that you can do something to change that.

You’ll also find your mental state rises and falls in predictable patterns throughout the day. You can schedule presses of the reset button into your day based upon these patterns. Personally, I’m often at my best first thing in the morning. It is then I usually write. Three hours of writing later, I’m usually spent and hungry. So I’ll break for breakfast and step outside for a few minutes before moving to less demanding tasks like email, phone calls, and easier activities. By the afternoon, I’m antsy and rearing to “press the reset button,” and will in a major way with a combination of the resets listed below. After, I’ll feel renewed, relaxed, and ready for another bout with more intensive tasks.

Lastly, you need to understand that our minds work in two different states: focused and diffuse. We’re all aware of the usefulness of a sharp, focused state of mind, but what’s less understood is how important and useful the diffuse state of mind is (Salvador Dali had a fascinating method for diffuse thinking, from which he believed many of his best ideas came). Diffuse thinking is best in endeavors of problem solving and creativity, and be accessed through many of the below ways to press your reset button (we’ll get into the specifics down there).

In summary:

• Ask yourself how you’re doing throughout the day.

• Look for daily patterns in your state of being.

• When you’re far from your best, press your reset button.

How to Press Your Reset Button

There are many ways to renew yourself, but the ways I’ve learned to do so can be lumped into two categories: movement and mental space. Our bodies are meant to move but we live in a techno-industrial world that’s largely replaced the requirement. So, unsurprisingly, many of the routes to refreshing mind and spirit are through using the body. Today we’re also the recipients of this endless stream of information through technology, and a route to renewal more powerful than ever before is to disconnect from the constant information-drip.

I encourage you to experiment and find your own resets, but here’s a list of a dozen ways my brother and I have devised to press the reset button and renew oneself throughout the day:

1. Walking.

Walking is first on this list because walking is the simplest, most underrated, accessible route to renewal. Not only is walking a mental reset and mood enhancer, it also promotes the diffuse mindset mentioned above. Writers from Charles Dickens to Henry David Thoreau to Orson Scott Card walked not just as a reset, but to achieve the diffuse mental state.

2. Running.

Running is like walking, but more intense. For my mind at least, both running and walking bring about the diffuse mindset. What’s different is that running expends much more energy than walking, which makes for more relaxing a reset, in less time. In this way, a hard twenty-minute run can be a greater reset than a two-hour walk.

3. Pedaling a bicycle.

Author and creator of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle, said it best: “When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.” Bicycling, running, and walking are closely akin when it comes to achieving the diffuse mindset and reset. Bikes are just more fun.

4. Being in nature.

The three above presses of the reset button could take place inside (on a treadmill or stationary bike) or outside. But studies, and my own experience, strongly suggest that greater refreshment lies outdoors. Even better: being among nature has a scientifically quantifiable greater benefit than outdoor urban settings. Even sitting on a bench in a park will work wonders for your mind, but to move through nature is a two-birds-with-one-stone sort of reset.

5. Working out and playing sports.

I’ll lump weights, aerobics classes, and sports all into the same category of contrived physical activity here. Unlike walking, running, and cycling, they don’t promote that diffuse mindset, but occupy us with the task at hand. All are great resets! But will do less to encourage lateral thinking at the focused mental pursuits we’re breaking from.

6. Getting hot.

I used to be one of the many unfortunate Americans unaware of the benefits of regularly cooking myself in things like saunas, Turkish baths, and hot tubs. Four years ago, during my first summer running a lodge just outside Yellowstone National Park, I took my first sauna and discovered what I was missing. I believe getting really hot is the most relaxing, stress-melting form of reset. Furthermore, a twenty-one-year longitudinal study on the effects of saunas and concluded that a sauna four or more times per week resulted in a “40% decrease in all-cause mortality.” Go cook yourself.

7. Getting cold.

The cold is great as well. Cold showers are currently all the rage among health-conscious communities for their health benefits and the shocking alertness they bring about. Tony Robbins famously has a pool kept at exactly 57 degrees Fahrenheit at each of his homes that he jumps into first thing every morning. I know of nothing more invigorating and quicker a mental cleanse than a plunge into the pool at my parent’s house in the winter. My brother has been experimenting lately with staying in cold water for twenty or thirty minutes at a time and has found profound relaxation and benefit in the act.

8. Meditating. 

First, to dispel any misconceptions, meditation is not a religious act but a method of training your awareness with scientifically backed benefits. There are many forms of meditation, but the most common form, which I consider the best place to start, is to simply close your eyes and try to keep your awareness on your breath. When your mind wanders, gently bring it back. If you’re curious, check out this simple, helpful guide from The New York Times. For me, meditation lends stillness and inner-peace greater than any other reset, but doesn’t burn off energy and relax my body to the degree that movement, hot, or cold do.

9. Taking a nap.

I used to think I sucked at naps. But that’s because I slept for too long and wasn’t abiding by the stages of the sleep cycle. In 1994, a NASA study of long-haul pilots concluded that long-haul pilots who napped for 25.8 minutes were 50% more alert than non-napping pilots and performed certain tasks 34% better. Six months ago, I discovered that I don’t suck at napping, and that NASA knows what’s up. If you’re tired, set an alarm for twenty-five minutes and drift off. Or, what’s worked even better for me, try Daniel Pink’s caffeine combined napping method, the nappuccino (caffeine actually takes twenty-five minutes to take effect).

10. Taking a shower and dressing up.

I don’t remember who the author was, but this act just stuck with me. Whenever he ran into writer’s block he would take a hot shower, shave, put on a suit, get looking his best, etc. And then return to his work. We often run ourselves physically and spiritually ragged while grinding away at our work (think of Jason Seagull composing a rock opera in Forgetting Sarah Marshall). I swear, there’s actually something to looking and feeling good that makes you feel worthy of good work. I usually take a hot shower and break out finer attire for this odd psychological effect when writing my late night letters the last night of each month. Perhaps it’s placebo effect, but the thing about placebo effect is that placebo effect works.

11. Drinking water.

The simplest, fastest, easiest form of pressing the reset button: get up and drink a glass of water. It’s not as powerful as a run in the woods, sauna, or nap, but dehydration impairs your mood, ability to concentrate, and makes you feel fatigued. If you suspect you might be dehydrated: water yourself. It helps.

12. Something else.

This is not a comprehensive list. I have yet to experiment with swimming, breath walking, various forms of yoga, and a bunch of ways to press the reset button that I know not about. Experiment! Find what works for you.

Like Chopping Wood

You have more control over your state of mind than you realize. But realize it or not, it’s up to you to avoid the slog.

Next time you find yourself spinning your wheels, stop, and change the state you’re in. Go spend some energy. Do some diffuse thinking. Return renewed and refreshed.

Often, it’s a combination of the above routes to renewal I use to deeply reset myself. A bike ride the gym, workout, sauna, and ride home. A walk around the block and ten minutes of meditation. A long run and jump into a cold pool. Mix and match and experiment.

Work is like chopping wood. You have to know when to keep chopping and when to sharpen your axe. Once you’re aware that you can sharpen your axe, relentlessly swinging a dull one just seems kind of stupid.