The alarm goes off. Once you’ve had your cup of coffee, you need to get dressed, brush your teeth, walk the dog, prep lunch for yourself/the kids, check social media/check email, eat something … rush through traffic, get to work, check email, meeting, meeting, get work done, revise deadlines … does this sound familiar? Hopefully not, but too many of us rush through our days, never slowing down, always moving to the next thing, whatever that may be. But all this rushing takes us away from some of the parts of life that truly sustain us. Take a deep breath, silence your phone and take a few minutes to read this article (don’t skim it!) to get some ideas on how and why you need to slow down.
- Notice your rushing and try to stop it. When you eat, do you truly taste your food if it’s not extremely salty or spicy? Do you take time to have conversations? The next time you find yourself attempting to simultaneously walk the dog and check your email, put that phone back in your pocket and take the time to enjoy doing one thing at a time. Of course, multi-tasking has its place, but too much means you never truly focus on anything. So, take a deep breath, slow your heart rate, your breathing and your pace, and look around. Take in what you’re doing and experience it.
- Limit your screen time. We have gotten so used to instant gratification that our friends, families and co-workers get annoyed with us when we don’t answer immediately (and you probably do, too). Again, put your phone down (or use an app such as OffTime to limit which apps you use on your phone for a certain amount of time), assign two times a day to check work email so people know exactly when they can get you, and do what you can to remain present in your activity rather than allowing constant interruption from devices.
- Know that slowing down will help your overall health. All this rushing and multi-tasking actually takes time away from us because we fill our days with thinking we must move on to the “next thing” right away. So, we feel constantly stressed and often guilty for not taking the time to simply read a book, exercise or spend time with a friend. Slowing down will help slow your body and mind as well, allowing it to rest and take in experiences as they happen around us.
Now, before you rush off to the next article, take a few slow, deep breaths. Look around to see what you might not have noticed before. And if you need more ideas for how to improve your health, visit the medical staffing experts at Medical Professionals.
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