I caught a nasty bug the other day, which kept me out of commission physically and mentally. In a nutshell, I couldn’t keep anything down and my movement was limited to very short bursts.

Today has been the first day I’ve been fully recovered and not wanting to push it, kept my intake at a minimum. Small amounts, only what’s needed, until my body can strengthen itself again for more.

In a way, this has been a blessing in disguise.

I was already looking to drastically cut down on the amount of coffee I drink in a day (which wavered between too much and “I think your heart is about to explode out of your chest”) and my late night snacking. Out of fear of what happened, I’m forced to cut those things down now.

FYI – A bag of Doritos right before bed is only a super idea when you’re a teenager.

There was also the matter of being very picky with what to do with the energy I had. My choices were limited to doing something useful and doing something so my wife wouldn’t annihilate my soul (she’s very sympathetic, but doesn’t tolerate my man-tears).

In a way, the last few days has been a soft system reset. Just enough time to re-calibrate and get on track to where I need to be.

It’s the equivalent to a computer system running slowly and needing a system refresh (wipe everything and start over). Same hardware, but a selective re-introduction to the programs you put on, just to be reminded, “Wow! I forgot it was this fast when I got it.”

It’s also different from a vacation, which I amount to more of a re-charge than a reset. I did a drastic version of this last January with the digital minimalism challenge and still feel the positive effects from it.

Friends of mine are doing a ninety day complete overhaul.

Whatever the motivation, a reset is a long-term beneficial solution, but only if you re-introduce only what’s needed and not what was slowing you down in the first place.