Hotel Picnics

There’s a strange rhythm to life on the road. It sounds like rolling suitcases in airport corridors. It feels like back-to-back conversations that blur into one another. It looks like calendars that don’t leave much white space. There’s something about hotel rooms that makes time feel… elastic?!

Between planes, trains, and “just one more meeting on my calendar,” I love when I get to find a moment...one where I can... magically slip through the cracks of the day - arriving, delivering, moving on to the next... But then there’s the pause.

A coffee cup.
A quiet moment before the next thing whispers my name.

I’ve started calling these little moments “hotel picnics.” They’re not glamorous. They’re not planned.
They’re just moments where the world doesn’t ask for anything from you. Whether its Starbucks or Sweetgreens or anything in between.. in a bed (one that I didn't have to make - I mean.... bliss)... cozied up... nothing fancy.

A laptop closed.
A tiny rebellion against the pace of everything.

And honestly - it’s become one of my favorite leadership practices. Because leadership isn’t just what we do in boardrooms or on stages. It’s how we recover ourselves in between. How we notice ourselves. How we stay human inside our schedules. How we cultivate freedom within our own frames.

So here’s my question for fellow travelers, leaders, and builders: Where do you steal your pauses? And more importantly… do you let yourself enjoy them when you find them? I, for one, certainly hope you do!