Without googling, do you know which company made the slogan “the pause that refreshes” famous? Those words have been swirling around in my head this week as I recognized a need to take steps to regain my motivation.

Welcome to the 59^th edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a decluttering challenge for the week. Along with my plans for a pause that refreshes, this week I look at facts about EV fires, workplace transportation perks, Toronto’s new bylaw to reduce single-use cups, and decluttering living area table surfaces.

On my mind this week: Seeking the pause that refreshes

March has been a busy month. Between lots of time with family while my sister was here from England, my work trip to Arizona, the Alpha Course, and preparing for my retirement coaching workshop pilot, I found myself falling behind with other tasks like blogging, housework, and even decluttering. And as my retirement date creeps closer, some days it’s hard to stay on task at work.

When I put it all together, I’m definitely suffering from a general lack of motivation and feeling like I need to unplug and reset as I head into April.

Did you recognize the slogan “the pause that refreshes”? It popped into my head as I was writing this post, but I had to google it because I couldn’t remember which company made if famous. It turns out Coca-Cola started using this slogan in 1929 and used it in various formats until the 1950s. (Source: Time for Designs) The fact that a slogan that had its heyday before I was born became the title for this blog post reinforces the chaos going on in my head at the moment.

But I digress. When we’re feeling stressed, the best thing we can do is take a break to recharge. I’m not a pop drinker so my “pause that refreshes” won’t involve sitting back with a can of Coke. But I do have a plan…

Taking time to unplug

I shared a few weeks ago that I’m helping with the Alpha Course at my church. A highlight of the course is a weekend away. The weekend retreat offers a chance to get away, unplug, and spend time with others to strengthen our faith. Next weekend is our Alpha Weekend.

The timing of the Alpha Weekend couldn’t be better on a couple of fronts.

First, I don’t remember the last time I totally unplugged. Even on vacation, I usually have my phone or iPad with me to keep up with blog reading, personal email and social media. Next weekend, from Friday evening to early afternoon on Sunday, I’ll totally unplug and immerse myself in the experience.

And the stars have aligned as I just broke my 150-day Wordle streak this week. (What kind of word is SALLY anyway?)

So there are no excuses. It’s time to unplug. The Sunday Spark will be back in two weeks.

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Three highlights of the week

It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:

• My sister Angela arrived safely back in England on Sunday. It was wonderful to spend time with her and to reunite all four Oram sisters for the first time in 12 years.
• My husband is officially retired. Thursday was his last day at work.
• On Friday, both of our daughters arrived home safely for Easter weekend. Later today, I’m hosting Easter dinner for 20 people. Wish me luck!

Three things I learned this week

Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:

Facts about EV fires

Vehicle fires aren’t a new thing, but when they happen climate deniers seize the opportunity to publicize them to perpetuate our dependence on fossil fuels.

This week, a social media post showing an electric vehicle (EV) fire prompted me to do a little research into the prevalence of EV fires compared to gasoline and diesel fuelled vehicles. It turns out the chances of an EV catching fire are extremely low. In fact, two separate studies show EVs are between 20 and 80 times less likely to catch fire than vehicles powered by internal combustion engines.

(Source: Topgear.com)

Employers prefer free parking over transit subsidies

Does your employer offer transit subsidies as a perk? If they do, they’re in the minority. An estimated 85% of U.S. employers offer free on-site parking, compared with just 13% of employers that offer a transit subsidy, according to 2023 data from the Society for Human Resource Management.

(Source: HR Dive)

Toronto’s Single-Use and Takeaway Items bylaw

The city of Toronto recently adopted a bylaw requiring restaurants, coffee shops and stores to fill customers’ cups and bags if they’re clean and in good repair. (Source: National Observer) That’s definitely a step in the right direction in reducing the amount of single-use beverage containers.

This week’s decluttering challenge – living area table surfaces

In 2024, I’ve been revisiting the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge I completed in 2021. This week’s challenge was clearing the clutter from living area table surfaces. I decluttered 3 items from our dining room table, and coffee tables. You can find the details, along with my tips and learnings, in this week’s decluttering post.

If you’d like to join the challenge, visit this post to download your free checklists and jump right in with this week’s task.

I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.