I found myself rushing last week through every activity I did. Dropping the kids off, getting ready, working out, cooking dinner, reading stories… RUSH RUSH RUSH. I was frazzled by the end of the week and then through a series of unfortunate events, I heard the message, “Slow down Alexis”. It is easy to get caught up in the frenzy and you must be intentional about how you slow down. Here are some ideas for you to use.
Notice your personal frenzy
Is your heart racing? Are you stressed? Are you snapping at people who don’t deserve it? Are you thinking about things happening after the present moment constantly? Pay attention to what is happening for you and notice what’s happening.
Determine the cause
Why are you so busy, stressed, frantic? Is it because you over scheduled yourself? Are you making things mean more than they should? Are you putting things off to the last minute? Determining what is causing your personal frenzy will help you overcome it.
Okay, so how do you fix it?
Easy: Breathe, take three deep breaths and feel every cell in your body respond by relaxing.
Moderate: Cancel some things. Just clear things off your plate.
Difficult: Physically rest. Take a nap, read a book, take a walk, grab a coffee. Whatever feels the most restful do it.
Proactively slow your life down
1. Schedule some catch up time after trips.
2. If you must turn up the dial on productivity, either, prepare ahead of time or build in rest after.
3. Play! Go have fun and balance your hard work and efforts with some fun play; it’s rejuvenating.
4. Build a solid foundation. Get good sleep 7-8 hours a night, Eat foods high in vitamins and minerals, hydrate often and exercise. This will prepare to kick ass when needed without destroying yourself in the process.
Some people say a thing is not worth doing unless you do it well. When we’re rushing through life, we can’t enjoy the task at hand, we aren’t present and it’s not meaningful, so you might ask, “Why even do it”?
If you are going to take the time to do something, be present and enjoy it. Otherwise skip it. Life is too short.
Twitter Version: When you slow down the wine tastes better.
