We have become a society where the busier you are, the more credit you get. We've all done it. When asked "what are you doing today?" you reply with "It's my day off. But only because (insert whatever validation you want to prove you deserve a day off)." Why is it that when we slow down and take a break it is selfish of us? Could it be that we are simply choosing to have a day off because we want it?
This pace of life is slowly killing our souls. We become such victims to the grind that we forget to notice the small things. I'm just as guilty of this. I find myself filling my days with so much yet lacking the motivation to accomplish my hefty to do list. So, I am here to tell you to slow down.
This life was given to us to enjoy. We are meant to see the life that we have created and experience it with the people in our lives that matter. If you think about it, what is all of this working for if it can't be shared with your people? Is there a way that we can start to adopt the European mindset : Work to Live.
Now don't worry. I wouldn't just leave you with a vent session and nothing to do to fix it. Try one or all of the thing below this week. See if you find the moments to slow down and enjoy life.
- Honor your office hours. That means no replying to emails, calls or texts outside of them
- Enjoy your coffee without a smart phone, computer, tablet, or TV in front of you. Step outside and take 10 minutes to enjoy the warmth of the coffee.
- Take a couple minutes before you go to sleep to close your eyes and see the day. Run through everything that happened as if you are watching a movie as it fast forwards to the end. When you get to the point of the day where you see yourself going to bed, take a deep breath in, then sigh it out the mouth. This will allow your brain to put the day to rest and allow you to get a better nights sleep.
- Use the 80/20 rule. Make a list of everything that needs to be done in the week. 20% of that list will give you 80% of the result you want. The rest can wait. Try to knock out the 20% and allow the rest to be added to a different week.
- Enjoy your weekend. Don't use it as time to catch up on everything you couldn't get done. Instead, get outside and allow nature to be healing. It's pretty powerful to just step outside and put your bare feet in the grass. Nature is medicinal.
- Order diner in. You deserve it. Plus it will give you time to rest.
- Call a friend and tell them how much they mean to you. This will remind you that it is the people in our life that make a difference. Not the things we checked off our list.
