Slow down, you move too fast!
Slow down, you move too fast!
The world is moving at break-your-neck speed. Information is overflowing us 24 hours a day by all kind of media. At work or in school we are busy, busy, busy. When we get home there is still so much to do, so much we want before finally falling into the bed.
This can cause feelings like it’s all just too much and like you are not in control; Time to slow down if you are feeling like your speed in life is causing difficulties. Try one or a few of the following things and see how they can work for you.
1. You can lower your stress levels
When you feel like life is going to fast then you feel like you can barely hang on to it. This, as you also probably have noticed, can cause a lot of unnecessary stress.
How to slow down: Simply do the things you are doing slower. If you are moving quickly then just take a deep breath and slow down your movement and your pace when walking. Drive your car and ride your bike a little slower. As mentioned above, eat slower. Take in life around you a bit instead of focusing on setting a new speed record.
2. You can gain clarity to find and do what is most important.
As everything moves a bit too fast it is easy to get lost. If you don’t think about what you are doing then you can easily get lose half your work day doing busywork. You mind just think “Hurry, hurry, hurry! What is the next thing?” instead of “What is the best use of my time and energy?”
How to slow down: When I get lost in such hectic and stressful activity I take a deep breath. I just take in my surroundings for a minute or two to relax and reconnect with this present moment. Then I ask myself: What is the most important thing I can do right now? Or I ask myself: If I only had two hours to work today then what would I spend those two hours working on?
Then you can take action and start doing the most important things one at a time.
This is not only helpful for daily decisions but for bigger decisions too. As you slow down it becomes easier to find a healthy perspective and to think things through in a clear and calm way.
3. Free up some space in your mind!
If your mind is constantly bombarded with new information, voices and sounds then it will be very hard to find room for creativity and for getting new ideas. Influences are good for creativity but a overload of input just makes you feel like your mind is overstuffed and like you are just trying to keep up with it all.
How to slow down: Take a break. Or take a walk. Sit down in nature and watch the ocean. Or take a shower. Or take a while to just lie down on your bed and sofa and shut out the world for that time. Just be there without much thought about what you want to do or about the past or future. Just relax and focus on the world around you. The thing is that when you don’t focus on needing new ideas or on needing to be creative then your mind starts to relax and work on its own. And soon ideas start to pop up out of nowhere in your mind. Write them down as they can pass and disappear out into the world quickly again.
4. Connect with the present moment and enjoy what is happening right now.
When you are aligned with the present moment you tend to feel good and relaxed. Your mood is optimistic. You do your work in a focused manner and the social part of your life tends to go smoother and become more fun. You are flowing.
This is a wonderful thing to spend as much of your week in as you can. You feel and work better this way. You simply enjoy your life, it helps you appreciate the little and big things in life fully because you are fully there when they happen instead of planning for the future or reliving the past so intensely that you can't fully appreciate and enjoy a meal, a conversation with a friend or a walk by the ocean.
How to slow down: I usually just slow down what I am doing and go to a full stop. Then I take in my surroundings fully as they are happening right now for a minute or two. I listen to the sounds going by, I watch my desktop and the glass of water next to it. I look out of the window and see whatever is there. This is all I focus on as I slow down my day for a few minutes to move out of confusion, stress and daydreaming and into this moment. It may sound a bit odd but it makes a world of difference.
5. Rule your life, don’t let it be ruled
Smartphones have become central to our lives. They've been incredibly useful in many ways, but have also changed our behaviour and lives in ways we may not have realised, and may not like. No need to say much but I see the small black screens much more then I like. Faces and hands are glued on it it seems. And they take attention away from each other.
How to slow down: let the phone ring, let all messaging apps unanswered until the time is right for you. You are the judge of your own time, the decider of what is necessary. Leave the phone home if you go for a short walk, put the sound of when you rest and are in a meeting. You will experience a positive vibe, not being hunted all day.
Hopefully these tips can help you like they helped ourselves here at ekoko. It is also connected to the change in how we used to buy things. Also that sometimes we did to fast, just to get it done. After that we discovered that is was not really as nice as it looked and/or the quality was less or even bad. It has become fashion to use words that go all over the internet, like now ‘zero waste’ and ‘refill’. So we changed the fast way to buy things by checking first if the promises are right, if there are good reviews, if we get guarantee, good service and much more. Sure it slows down but it made us satisfied customers and we feel we spend our money well, not fast!