The February Reset: Cultivating Presence in a Fast-Paced World

"Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you." – Anne Lamott


Hey everyone,

We’ve made it through January — the month of resolutions, fresh starts, and, let’s be honest, a bit of pressure to get it together. And now here we are in February, that weird in-between space where motivation’s likely fading, the days still feel short, and we find ourselves wondering: How do I actually stay present and engaged with my life, instead of just getting through it?

That’s what I want to talk about today—not just mindfulness as a concept, but as a real, embodied practice that can help you reset, refocus, and truly show up in your life. Because let’s be real: our attention is constantly being pulled in a million directions, and the world isn’t slowing down anytime soon. If anything, it’s getting noisier. So, how do we anchor ourselves amidst the distractions?

Let’s dive in…


Your Brain on Distraction (And Why It’s Not Your Fault)

If you’ve ever sat down to do something important, only to find yourself checking your phone, reorganizing your spice rack, or scrolling through vacation spots you probably won’t visit anytime soon—congratulations, you have a human brain.

Our brains are wired to seek novelty, which made sense when we were scanning the environment for potential threats or food sources. But in today’s world, where notifications, emails, and endless content are competing for our attention, this natural tendency can leave us feeling fragmented, exhausted, and disconnected from the present moment.

Studies show that the average person switches tasks every 3-5 minutes, and each time we do, our brain releases a small hit of dopamine—the reward chemical. The problem? These quick “hits” don’t lead to true fulfillment. Instead, they train our brains to keep seeking the next thing instead of being present with what’s right in front of us.

So, if you feel like your attention span has taken a hit in recent years, it’s not a personal failing — it’s a physiological response to an overstimulating world.

But here’s the good news: just as our brains can be trained for distraction, they can also be trained for presence.


The February Reset: A Simple Way to Train Your Brain for Presence

Rather than seeing mindfulness as something that requires a quiet room and 30 uninterrupted minutes (which, let’s be real, few of us have), I want to offer something more practical:

The One-Minute Pause.

It’s exactly what it sounds like: one intentional minute where you fully drop into the present moment.

Here’s how it works:

1. Pause – Stop whatever you’re doing.
2. Breathe – Take a slow, deep breath in, and a long, steady exhale out. Do this a couple of times.
3. Notice – What’s happening around you? What’s happening within you? The warmth of your coffee cup, the tension in your shoulders, the sound of birds or distant traffic? Just notice.
4. Reset – With that awareness, gently return to what you were doing — but now, with a little more presence.

That’s it. One minute. No apps, no equipment, no pressure. And yet, the research tells us that small, repeated moments of presence like this can literally rewire our brains, strengthening neural pathways that help us stay more engaged, focused, and calm.

Why This Matters Right Now

February is a great time to reset — not with big, overwhelming goals, but with small, conscious choices. If we can begin to train ourselves to take just one mindful pause a day, imagine what’s possible:

• More connection – with ourselves, our work, our relationships.
• More calm – instead of rushing from one thing to the next, feeling like we’re never quite caught up.
• More joy – because, surprisingly, the little things we often overlook are the good stuff.

So, as we move through this month, I invite you to try it. One minute, once a day. See what shifts. See what opens. See what it feels like to truly be here, even for just a micro-moment.

And if you find yourself slipping back into distraction (because you will—again, human brain), just come back. Over and over again. That’s the practice.

Wishing you a February filled with tiny, powerful pauses. ❤️