The Pause After the Push
What the Body Knows When the Work is Done
Hello and welcome to The Pause!
I’ve missed writing here and connecting with this community, but I had to take a break to focus on two big things. I’ve learned, finally, not to overload my plate just for the sake of being productive.
In just two months, my novel will be out in the world.
Holy shit!
I can’t share the title yet or show you the cover…Not quite. But it’s coming: printed, bound, and very soon sent into hands that aren’t mine. And that alone feels wild to me.
During June, I was completely immersed in the final corrections of the manuscript so I could meet my publisher’s deadline, but two chapters refused to cooperate.
Then came July: a full month of skating and dance residency with Brownbody. A different kind of discipline, one that asked me to be physically active in a way I hadn’t been since my Crohn’s diagnosis.
For several weeks, I skated and moved for eight hours a day: repetition, rhythm, creative exploration. I dug deeper into my roots; I learned about African dances and discovered new ways to relate to the ice. Somehow, amid all that motion, I found exactly what I needed: the clarity to get through those two stubborn chapters.
I thought I’d need stillness to find the right words. But instead, the answers arrived within the flow of it all.
Now I’m home again. And everything feels... slower.
There’s nothing more to edit. No urgent deadline to meet. Just this soft, in-between moment: the time before the launch, before the sharing, before it all blooms.
It’s a strange kind of stillness: one I haven’t always known how to sit with, yet this time I want to let it hold me.
The post-creative quiet
Now, I’m in a new kind of space.
The post-creative quiet. The landing. The soft descent.
This isn’t a space I’ve always known how to honour. It’s easy to rush into planning, into doing, into pretending I’m already in October and I have a long to-do list before the book presentation. But it’s not time yet.
I am gifted with the opportunity to relax and be present, instead.
It’s August, and it’s hot as hell, and it’s time to slow down.
So I’m practising staying here, letting the “done” echo a little.
Letting my body recover slowly, and what’s next, arrive in its own rhythm.
What’s sustaining me
August asks us to move slower.
The air is denser and heavier, and the days, sticky and torrid, seem to go on and on. So I’m trying not to fight the season, but instead attune to its rhythm and let myself pause.
Since coming back from the residency, I have been waking up early, as usual, but this time not to get ahead, but to have a moment before the heat settles in.
☀️Morning Ritual
Mornings have always been my anchor, and even in this time of rest and transition, I find myself leaning into ritual:
Morning Pages: right when I wake up, before I touch my phone or do anything else, I grab my journal and let myself write three pages, longhand, dumping all that is in my brain, no filters, no censoring. Learn more about Morning Pages from Julia Cameron herself here.
Movement practice: no matter if I am at home in Europe or the US, or travelling, I try to start my day with 15 to 20 minutes of movement, usually yoga. This helps me get into my body, notice how I feel, and set the tone for the day ahead. I have been enjoying a short heart-opening class with Divya Bala, check it out:
🧘🏾♀️Dolce far niente
Without a full schedule, I have also been leaning more into the concept of dolce far niente: the sweet pleasure of doing nothing.
Sitting with nature: sometimes it’s going for a walk, sometimes it’s simply looking out the window at the trees and the birds, but spending time in nature has been a great way to slow down and reconnect to the present.
Taking more naps: Even though I haven’t been much of a napper for many years, skating every day brought me back to the habit of taking little naps in the middle of the day, lying down for 20-30 minutes and letting myself reset.
📖Soaking in stories
As I let myself rest and replenish from almost three years of non-stop writing, I’ve been reading a lot of fiction again. After so much creating, I am letting someone else’s stories hold me for a while.
Here are three books I have enjoyed lately:
Great Black Hope by Rob Franklin - A story following Smith, a queer Black grad from an affluent family, as he unravels after a cocaine arrest and the mysterious death of his roommate. I couldn’t put it down!
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw - A collection of rich, intimate stories about Black women navigating desire, faith, family expectations, and liberation. A quick read that I highly recommend.
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor - A speculative narrative about AI that blurs the lines between creator and creation, asking deeply human questions about ownership, voice, and the stories we choose to tell.
🐌Slow Productivity
Even in this pause, some things still need tending to, like writing this newsletter, filming and editing new YouTube yoga classes, and the admin work that comes with freelance life.
That’s why I keep returning to slow productivity methods, especially my favourite: Pomodoro sprints. Working in 25-minute focused sessions with 5-minute breaks in between helps me create just enough structure without tipping into burnout.
It’s a gentle way to stay connected to my creative rhythm even while I’m resting.
If you’d like to co-work with me in a relaxed, focused space, I’m hosting live productivity sessions on Insight Timer again this month. We’ll set intentions, work in Pomodoro sprints, and inspire and encourage each other.
Maybe that’s the real wisdom the body expresses after the hard work is done: not just how to keep going, but how to stop. How to soften.
How to listen for what’s next without rushing to name it. Rhythm instead of urgency, presence instead of pressure.
Thank you for pausing here with me. I’d love to know:
What is your body telling you these days?
Feel free to share in the comments, reply to this email, or take it to your journal. I always love hearing from you.
Until we meet again, pause often, breathe deeply, and be kind, especially to yourself.
Much love,
Laia
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