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Do you always feel rushed? What are some ways to slow down in life?
Life goes by quicker than you expect. One minute you’re catching up with friends on the phone, and the next minute your entire day has ended. But there are solutions to feeling like life is passing by too quickly.
Let’s look at how to slow down in life and why we tend to rush through it.
Why We Rush Through Life
Why do we live rushed lifestyles? In The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, John Mark Comer says that our culture values speed, and this value compels us to rush. Our culture surrounds us with messages that it’s better to be fast than slow. We internalize these messages and arrange our lives to match the speed of the world around us.
For instance, consider the popularity of apps designed to help you maximize your efficiency and productivity at work. These apps send the message that productivity and efficiency are better than working at a relaxed pace. When you download and use them, you reinforce this value and speed up the pace of your life.
Comer identifies a belief that contributes to maintaining the pervasive culture of speed: the delusion that we can do everything we want. Comer calls this a delusion because, in reality, we don’t have enough time to do it all. For instance, you may believe you can be an effective worker, a loving family member, a talented athlete, a hilarious TikToker, and a supportive friend—but, in trying, you’ll sacrifice your sleep and health, making it impossible to meet all these goals.
Take a Breath and Slow Down
Just because our culture wants you to speed through life doesn’t mean you should. There are endless ways to slow down in life, allowing you to savor every moment so you won’t forget them.
These are the top ways to learn how to slow down in life, from reminding yourself that time is on your side to focusing on your inner body.
1. Say a Reminder: Time Is on Your Side
You live only one life, so make the most of it. Rushing through it only makes time feel like it’s going faster. So, remind yourself that you have time on your side so you can slow down and enjoy every moment.
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne reminds you that time is an illusion. Believing you don’t have enough time, whether in the future or today, creates the consequences of rushing and carelessness.
Rushing stems from fear: a fear of being late or disruptive or a fear that you’ll be considered irresponsible. When you rush, you’re focused on those fears. The universe will bring more into your life that makes you need to rush. Your thoughts center around fear of the “or else” at stake if you don’t get done what you want. You start to do things quickly instead of intentionally.
Byrne’s recommendation illustrates how her perspective on time differs significantly from John Mark Comer’s belief. She says that, when you’re rushing, simply stop and adjust your frequency. If you’re chasing time, pull yourself off that frequency by saying, “I have all the time in the world,” because you do.
Byrne encourages you to make it a habit to create every aspect of your life by intentionally setting your thoughts on what you can do. Know that you have plenty of time to accomplish your goals, and you will.
2. Disconnect From Technology
Checking your email and responding to messages may feel productive, but Indistractable by Nir Eyal says it’s a huge source of distraction in your life. You probably feel rushed to answer every email or message you receive as soon as you get them. The average employee receives 100+ emails per day—that means that, if you spend just two minutes reading and replying to each message, you’re spending nearly three and a half hours per day on email. Every time your phone dings with an alert, you lose at least a minute. Don’t let these messages steal time away from you.
The total time you spend on technology is made up of a) how much time you spend checking your inbox and b) how much time you spend responding to messages. By reducing the time you spend on these activities, you can slow down in life and reclaim hours of your day.
1) Email: Checking your email can take up hours of your day. To reduce your overall email time, you have to manage two factors:
- Time spent checking email: Reduce the number of emails you receive by unsubscribing from unimportant newsletters and services.
- Time answering email: Each time you check your inbox, reply to urgent emails, tag semi-urgent emails “Today,” and tag non-urgent emails “This week.” Set a daily timebox for processing “Today” emails and a weekly timebox for processing “This week” emails.
2) Smartphones: Your smartphone is probably one of the most distracting things in your life, and it gives you a rush every time you see a message. But, it can also be a useful tool for a variety of tasks. Maximize your phone’s use as a tool for traction so it slows down your life.
- Rearrange your apps: First, delete any apps that don’t serve you. Second, think about apps that are useful to you but distracting. You can often replace where you use these apps—for example, you might delete social media from your phone and use it exclusively on your computer. Last, rearrange your apps to remove clutter. Sort traction-supporting apps into a Goals folder and a Tools folder on your home screen, and move all other apps to the secondary screen.
- Adjust the settings: Think about which apps deserve to grab your attention in any situation. These apps—for example, your email and your messaging app—can keep their audio or visual notifications. Disable notifications for everything else.
3. Savor Your Food
When you’ve got places to be, you might eat your meal or a protein bar quickly just to get your daily intake for the day. But, In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan says that food should be savored and enjoyed. Taking your time to eat food not only helps you mentally but physically, as well.
Science suggests that it takes 20 minutes for the stomach to signal the brain when full, but Americans tend to eat meals at a faster rate. You can be finished gorging before your body has time to react. When you eat slowly, you allow the body to feel satisfied and act accordingly.
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