Tired of a Busy Distracted Life? Slow Down!
Do You Want to Live a Life Where You Have Time to Do What You Enjoy and Not a Busy Distracted Life? Slow Down!
Are you at ‘Enough of Running’ Point? Tired of living a busy distracted life? Do you feel you don’t have time to do what you enjoy or do nothing? Slow Down!
I just look back at my journey of life! I was running and running all the time. I was going to college, along with that, did my Ph.D., and additional responsibilities at college,… Every day, I leave my home at seven in the morning and get back home around seven in the evening, almost twelve hours out of home. I travel one hour and fifteen minutes up and more than one and a half hours down every day! I have never had enough time to go anywhere out, to attend the functions of our relatives and friends, to rest, or do something of my interest.
After her wedding, when they both left for Dharamshala, Niranjana advised(!) me to engage myself doing things which I like to do. When I was thinking about what do I enjoy doing, I was really not able to find any such thing. At that point of time , I realised what a machine-like life I have been living. I pitied myself!
Recently, I came across an article on ‘How to Slow down in life’ by author Tammy Strobel. Wow, I felt I found something which I am searching for as I have come to that ‘enough of running’ point and understood that that’s really so important to prioritise slowing down. According to her,
Slowing down is a combination of practicing mindfulness, getting enough rest, and prioritizing what matters in my life. She gives three reasons to slow down: 1. Slowing down will help you avoid unnecessary stress and burnout, 2. Slowing down will give you the opportunity to take care of your physical and emotional health, and 3. Slowing down will help you prioritize what matters.
‘How to Slow down in life’ by author Tammy Strobel
Taking the time to slow down through mindful meditation, breathing, or walking will improve our physical and emotional health. Further, slowing down will offer clarity and calmness to us in a world that feels like moving faster and faster.
‘A slower-paced life means making time to enjoy your mornings, instead of rushing off to work in a frenzy. It means taking time to enjoy whatever you’re doing, to appreciate the outdoors, to actually focus on whoever you’re talking to or spending time with — instead of always being connected to a Blackberry or iPhone or laptop, instead of always thinking about work tasks and emails. It means single-tasking rather than switching between a multitude of tasks and focusing on none of them.
“The 10 Essential Rules for Slowing Down and Enjoying Life More”, Babauta
Here are a few suggestions on how to slow down, to come out of hurried life and enjoy the little things in our life from the authors I read. Author Tammy Strobel strongly says to Turn off your phone and Delete your social media accounts, or use them sparingly.
Babauta suggests “Do less”, meaning Focus on what’s really important, what really needs to be done, and let go of the rest. This can be done by Simplifying your to-do list, writing a long to-do list and then prioritizing. Further, he says “Be at the present moment”, that is when you find yourself thinking about something you need to do, or something that’s already happened, or something that might happen … gently bring yourself back to the present moment. Focus on what’s going on right now. On your actions, on your environment, on others around you.
Ramsey writes “Practice silence” as one of the ways to slow down in his article “9 ways to slow down and enjoy life more”. Also, he suggests “Accept our limitations”, in other words, say ‘No’ for things that you do not enjoy doing. Tammy shares her experience, ‘Declining events, work projects, trips, and other things have given me perspective on life. It’s also given me time to do nothing or to pursue hobbies that I enjoy’. When she says she got time for ‘do nothing’, I was reminded of the prayer in which one request to Almighty is ‘Summa irukkum sugam arul’, which means give the pleasure of doing nothing!
Almost every author says “Do not Multitask”. Do only a single task at a time! i.e., Focus on one thing at a time. When you feel the urge to switch to other tasks, pause, breathe, and pull yourself back. Another common suggestion is “Focus on people”, i.e., focus on the people in front of you. Babauta says, ’ Too often we spend time with friends and family or meet with colleagues, and we’re not really there with them. We talk to them but are distracted by devices. We are there, but our minds are on things we need to do. We listen, but we’re really thinking about ourselves and what we want to say. None of us are immune to this, but with conscious efforts, you can shut off the outside world and just be present with the person you’re with. It means we really connect with people rather than just meeting with them.’
It’s really true for me, do you accept that it happens to you too?
Create a meaningful morning routine which is more relaxing and enjoyable, Read a book, Take a walk, Start a creative practice, Make time to have fun – These are a few more ways to slow down and enjoy your life!
Finally, Tammy warns us not to rush the process! Learning to master the art of slowing down is an ongoing adventure, and go at your own pace.
Honestly speaking, I was not aware of this concept of Slowing Down and its importance until I started writing this. But, in these few days I can see the happiness I get when I focus on the person and connecting with them. Also, whenever I jump from one work to the other I mindfully pull myself to the work I am currently doing and that makes me complete the work better! In this fast moving world, if we are not mindful we will live our life running and running without knowing where and for what we are running! We will miss our best parts of life(At the age of three when Niranjana was just starting her KGs I was doing my Ph.D. For nearly five years, I just did not know how she had been at that time and what kind of mischief she did, nothing. What a wonderful phase of my life I have missed!). I hope the same is with you also!
Let me slow down and enjoy my remaining life at least!
