By Chioma Okoye

The growing pressure to remain productive and constantly available is leaving many people struggling to rest, disconnect from work and regain a sense of direction.

Against this backdrop, RESET, a virtual programme themed “Stepping Away From Life’s Daily Noise to Recharge and Refocus,” is scheduled to hold on Saturday, August 29, 2026.

Convened by clinical research and healthcare executive, Aderinola Ogundimu, the programme is open to participants in Nigeria and other parts of the world.

It is designed to encourage participants to pause, reflect and develop healthier approaches to work and personal life.

Ogundimu said the idea for the programme was inspired by how people maintain their electronic devices while neglecting their own need for rest.

“No phone functions well without a reset. No computer runs indefinitely without one either,” he said.

“And yet we routinely expect ourselves to run without ever doing the same.”

He said the pressure to remain constantly available, combined with social media comparison and the pursuit of one achievement after another, had created a form of burnout that was not always immediately visible.

“Put together, that produces burnout that doesn’t always look like burnout, high-functioning people who are still performing well on paper while quietly running on empty underneath it,” Ogundimu said.

He also noted that technology had increasingly blurred the boundary between work and personal time.

“With a phone in every pocket, work no longer has an ‘off’ switch, so people are technically always available and, as a result, never fully anywhere,” he said.

According to him, RESET is intended to provide participants with a practical opportunity to assess what is draining them and determine what deserves greater attention.

“I want participants to leave with more than a good feeling for a day; good feelings fade by Monday morning,” Ogundimu said.

“I want them to leave with clarity: a clearer sense of what actually matters to them right now, permission to rest without guilt, and a few concrete, intentional practices they can genuinely carry back into their daily lives.”

Ogundimu, who has more than 15 years of experience in clinical research and regulatory affairs, is also involved in healthcare delivery, professional education and community development.

He said he hoped RESET would eventually develop into a continuing community beyond the August session.

“My hope is that RESET becomes a recurring rhythm in people’s lives, not a one-time event, a space people return to whenever life’s noise builds back up again, because it always does,” he said.

The virtual programme will hold on Saturday, August 29, 2026, with participation open to people in Nigeria and beyond.