Why Do You Need To Slow Down?

Think about the last few months and pace at which we all were operating. Some of it is now a distant memory or a blur because we simply did not slow down enough to enjoy the moments we were experiencing. Every challenge or task had to be completed quickly to get on to the next one, this person, that person had to be contacted, people were on vacation, out of the office and who knows where else. STOP and take a deep breath, inhale and exhale that’s better … now that we have slowed down for the moment let me share with you a favorite quote of mine and a few reasons why you need to take a quick break.

Robert Sardello wrote -* The soul requires duration of time -- rich, thick, deep, velvety time -- and it thrives on rhythm. Soul can’t be hurried or harried.... We may go through many events in the day and experience nothing because the soul has not had the opportunity to feel them from many different points of view.*

How does this apply to your life? Let’s first admit we all rush through the day and subsequent week to get to the weekend, right? Then what happens, we pack all of our task and lists of thinks to do into two days, and oh by the way, anything leftover from the office or week that did not get done piles right on top of the “*restful* weekend.

Ok, so we all fall into this trap, what to do? Here are my Four simple *Slow Down* techniques:

1. Schedule time off into your planning book or weekly scheduler. Simple to say but not often planned for. Think about time off this way, we plan and plan for the tasks that we want to accomplish, make time off a task to e planned for because it does not just happen these days. Look at your week and if there is not 30 minutes a day or during the week then make it 15. On the weekend you need to schedule 3 – 4 hours off to slow down, read a book, catch up on the news watch a movie or just veg-out for a while. Try it.

2. Plan a day off once per month (if you have that much vacation saved) in advance from work or your business. Put the day off into in your planner, let everyone know about it and stick to your schedule and take the day off. Why once per month? Because it gives you a chance to re-charge and get some of the carryover tasks completed quicker so they do not linger into subsequent months. Don’t wait to take time off until the big planned vacation because that event requires all sorts of tasks to be done right up to the moment you leave and is often stressful in itself.

3. Get better organized with your time. Time is a valuable commodity to all of us and the better we utilize the time we have the more efficient and productive you will become. Plan your time around vale added tasks; try to eliminate the non-value added tasks. Think about what takes up a lot of time and see if there is a better way to complete the task. Do you do you grocery shopping once a week or is it every day like most of us. Just think about the couple of hours you could save per day by NOT stopping at the local grocery store for just a few things.

4. Spend quality time for your family. Have you ever noticed how your spouse or kids can get caught up in the rush around I do not have enough time frenzy? Look at your family and see if your schedule has any family time built into it and what this actually is. I’m not talking about the kid’s organized soccer or basketball game. What I am talking about is true family time. Completing a project together, playing a game inside or outside, going to the zoo or museum. When was the last time you went bowling? It really was fun.

I close with this quote: H.G. Wells wrote -*We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery.*

Slow down and enjoy life, you can do it if you just try.