The Art of Slowing Down

 These days more than ever it seems we are obsessed with efficiency and   speed, and often view them as keys to success.  Everyone is constantly in   a rush doing several things at once, usually boasting about how they can   "multitask" with the best. There has been times where I have known   people who are excited to show how busy they are with full schedules and   constant running, like it's some sort of olymic event.  Again for some this is   what success or productivity looks like. But what most don’t know is that all that multitasking and juggling that comes with that fast paced living may be sabotaging your physical and mental health and even the success or productivity that you are so desperatly trying to achieve. 

What most dont understand is that stress, the unavoidable side effect of constantly pushing our limits, can lead to a variety of illnesses, from depression and anxiety to gastrointestinal problems and headaches.  Research consistently shows that people who are classified as the workaholic or type-A personality are at a greater risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.
 
All the hurrying from one thing to the next takes a toll on our bodies, causing not only stress and stress-related diseases and complications but also diminished productivity. Unfortunately speed doesn’t always equal better quality of work, or even in getting more accomplished. Studies have shown the faster we move, the more mistakes we make, and the more exhausted we become.  Researchers found that shifting between tasks can actually decrease productivity by as much as 40 percent. Scientists in Finland took brain scans of people while they multitasked, and found that changing duties frequently interferes with brain activity, which they believe explains why the end result is worse and less productivity than when people focus on one thing at a time. The fact is you are not really multitasking, you are actually rapidly single-tasking and in doing so you are losing time and being less efficient than if you would just focus on one-task all the way through.

The constant need we have to go, go, go, eventually catches up resulting in burnout and illness.  To make matters worse we exhaust ourselves and don’t often take the time to care for ourselves. We skimp on sleep and healthy meals all in the name of getting more done and in the end doing more harm to our bodies. 

I am not saying that things dont need to get done or that we should turn into non-productive zombies, I am simply saying maybe we should look at things differently and maybe try a different approach: 

• Try slowing down and focusing on people or a single task, not the massive to-do list.
• Uni-task rather than multi-task. 
• Seize the moment instead of the day.
• Set an intention for the day.
• Provide the self-care throughout the day as needed, by setting the alarm 10 minutes earlier so that you can ease into your morning.  By simply starting your day off by feeling relaxed and intentional, not rushed and stressed before your feet even hit the floor can set you up for a productive day.

In addition to the above take anti-stress breaks thoughout your day and repeat as needed.  You can instantly derail the stress response and move into the present with a few long, deep breaths.  Just stop, take a deep breath in through your nose and then out through your mouth.  Do that until you feel more settled, and dont forget to hydrate.  Two of our basic needs are water and air and we often forget to drink and breath properly in a busy rushed day, and our body takes the hit.  The thing is our bodies can only take the hits and go without for so long beforeit finally says enough and then shut down in the form of illness or other health complications.  
 
We need to start changeing our evaluation system.  Stop measuring who we are by what we accomplish. Make it less about what we cross off our to-do list and more about our health and relationships. Its ok to leave holes in your schedule. You don’t have to pack every second of the day with activity.  When an appointment cancels or something falls off your to-do list, don’t replace it.  Stop filling all the space with more tasks, trust me when I say the earth will not stop spinning if you dont complete something.

Truth time:  I use to be that multi-tasker.  I was the person who had the to-do list (usually more than one) and was running from place to place and task to task. I was given an hour lunch break at work and never took it, and if I did it was usually just 5 minutes to inhale something not very healthy.  To make matters worse I did all this and didn't even get a high-five from the boss for all the "productivity" I was achieving.  Instead I got frequent trips to the doctors, high blood pressure, migranes and countless other stress related issues that funny enough kept me from doing my job.  My body took me out of the game!  It basically said "here's the deal either you slow down and take better care of me or I am going to take over and care for myself" , and that it did.  I was eventually faced with harsh reality of my failiing health and knew if I dont make some changes I would be taking a very long rest in the form of death and as for my job, a job listing for my replacement would be up in the matter of days.  I had to ask, was all this worth it?  Was my family not getting the whole me, the healthy me worth it?

Now again dont get me wrong I am not saying slack on your job or become a sloth, just saying be mindful, more intentional on what you plan to accomplish for the day.  Try not over scheduling, be ok with having some  "me" time.

If you dont take care of yourself, you cant be there for others.