Feeling Overwhelmed? Try a Small Pause to Come Back to Yourself
- Maja Kerin
- Jun 10
- 4 min read
A gentle mindful photography practice for the days when your mind feels full and you need a way back into the present moment.
Yesterday, I felt completely overwhelmed by everything I had to do.
The emails.
The decisions.
The unfinished ideas.
The quiet feeling that I should somehow be further along than I am.
It was not one big thing. It was the weight of many small things at once.
Maybe you know that feeling too. When your mind is full before the day has properly begun. When even simple tasks feel heavier than they should. When you keep moving from one thing to the next, but inside, you feel scattered.
In moments like this, our first instinct is often to push harder. Answer one more email. Make one more decision. Force one more idea into shape.
But sometimes, the thing we need most is not more pressure. Sometimes, we need a pause.
So yesterday, I did the thing I often speak about. I went outside with my camera for twenty minutes. Not to create something perfect. Not to make content. Not to be productive in any obvious way. Just to walk. To look. To notice. To see the world mindfully.
I looked for one colour. One small detail. One quiet thing I might usually pass without seeing.
A line of light. A texture. A shadow on the ground. The softness of something ordinary.
And slowly, my attention began to move away from the noise in my head and back into the world around me.
This is one of the reasons mindful photography can be so powerful. It gives the mind something gentle and specific to rest on. Instead of trying to solve everything at once, you return to one simple act of seeing.
You do not need a professional camera. A phone is enough. You do not need a beautiful location. A street, a garden, a window, or a corner of your home can offer something to notice.
And you do not need to create a “good” photograph.
The point is not the image.
The point is the shift.
When I came back inside, the tasks were still there. The emails had not answered themselves. The decisions still needed to be made. But something in me felt different. Lighter. Clearer. A little more myself inside the day.
This reminded me of something I keep learning again and again: pausing is not a luxury we earn after everything else is done. Sometimes, it is what helps us continue.
We often tell ourselves we will rest later. After the inbox is clear. After the work is finished. After everyone else has what they need from us. But life rarely arrives at that perfect quiet moment.
There is usually another email. Another responsibility. Another small demand asking for our attention. So perhaps the pause does not belong at the end of the list. Perhaps it belongs somewhere inside the day. Not as an escape from our life, but as a way to return to it with more presence.
A Simple Fifteen-Minute Photography Pause
If you feel overwhelmed today, try this before moving on.
Step outside, or stand near a window. Take your phone or camera with you, but do not look for anything impressive. Instead, choose one simple focus:
One colour.
One shadow.
One texture.
One shape.
One small piece of beauty.
Let your attention settle there for a moment.
Take one photograph, slowly.
Then pause before moving on.
Ask yourself: What do I notice now? How does this moment feel? What has softened, even slightly?
This practice is not about becoming a better photographer. It is about becoming more present.
It is about training your attention to come back from overwhelm, even for a few minutes. It is about remembering that beauty is still available, even on the days when life feels full. And sometimes, that small return is enough to change the way we meet the rest of the day.
So if today feels heavy, scattered, or too much, try one small pause before doing the next thing. Look for one thing that catches your eye.
Let yourself notice it without needing to turn it into anything.
And maybe ask yourself:
What if this pause is not taking me away from my life?
What if it is helping me come back to it?
If this reflection resonated with you, begin with one small pause today.
Take your phone or camera, step outside for fifteen minutes, and notice one thing that brings you back to yourself.
And if you would like a gentle guide, you can explore A Four-Week Creative Pause — my mindful photography workbook created to help you pause, notice, and reconnect through simple daily moments.
A Four-Week Creative Pause is available now as an instant digital download. Get your copy here.
"Creativity is not something you find. It is something you return to. It was always there, waiting." — Maja Kerin
