THESE DAYS WE consume information, food, and media at a breakneck pace that was unimagined even two hundred years ago. We have every minute of our schedules packed with errands and tasks and chores, we rush from one place to another, we rush to get ready in the morning, and then collapse into bed at the end of a long, rushed day.
The problem is that we were not made to function this way. Our bodies and minds were made for a slower-paced life—perhaps we can handle the huge stress of being chased by a predator, but we can’t handle the stresses of constant overload, and a constant hectic pace for every waking moment. As a result, we become stressed out, burned out, and unhappy. Learn to move at a slower pace and you will be happier, and just as importantly, you will become more effective and productive.
You won’t learn to do more in less time, but you’ll learn to do things better, and to do the right things. This simple combination can have a wondrous impact on your effectiveness, and how much you accomplish. In the meantime, no matter what you accomplish, you will be better off.
SLOW ATTENTION
Our attention is one of our most important assets. What we focus our attention on becomes our reality. The projects we focus on are the projects that get completed.
Unfortunately, with the hectic pace of our lives, our attention is pulled in a million different directions all the time. We switch our attention from one thing to the next and back again, and then back to another thing, then to a new thing. As a result, nothing gets enough attention.
Learn, instead, to focus your attention, to move it from one thing to the next more reluctantly, more slowly, at a more relaxed pace. As a result, things will start getting done. You’ll start to notice things more. You’ll be less stressed.
SLOW WORKING
Along the same lines, working at a slower pace can be more productive, as contradictory as that might sound. If you can focus on the important tasks and projects, and keep your focus on those tasks, you will accomplish important things.
In contrast, someone can work frantically for twelve hours a day, doing as many tasks as possible, and yet not accomplish anything important. That’s not just theory—many people do it all the time. They work hard at a fast pace, and yet wonder why they don’t get anywhere, and nothing seems to get done. They multitask and work as quickly as possible, getting stressed out the whole time. It’s not the most effective way to work.
Instead, try this method:
1. Choose work you love. If you dread a task, you’ll have a hard time losing yourself in it. If your job is made up of stuff you hate, you might want to consider finding another job. Or consider seeking projects you love to do within your current job. At any rate, be sure that whatever task you choose is something you can be passionate about.
2. Choose an important task. There’s work you love that’s easy and unimportant, and then there’s work you love that will make a long-term impact on your career and life. Choose the latter, as it will be a much better use of your time.
3. Make sure it’s challenging, but not too hard. If a task is too easy, you will be able to complete it without much thought or effort. A task should be challenging enough to require your full concentration. However, if it is too hard, you will find it difficult to lose yourself in it, as you will spend most of your concentration just trying to figure out how to do it—either that or you’ll end up discouraged. It may take some trial and error to find tasks of the appropriate level of difficulty.
4. Find your quiet, peak time. This is actually two steps grouped into one. First, you’ll want to find a time that’s quiet, or you’ll never be able to focus. For me, that’s mornings, before the hustle of everyday life builds to a dull roar. That might be early morning, when you just wake, or early in the workday, when most people haven’t arrived yet or are still getting their coffee and settling down. Or you might try the lunch hour, when people are usually out of the office. Evenings also work well for many people. Or, if you’re lucky, you can do it at any time of the day if you can find a quiet spot to work in. Whatever time you choose, it should also be a peak energy time for you. Some people get tired after lunch—that’s not a good time for this method. Find a time when you have lots of energy and can concentrate.
5. Clear away distractions, and focus. Aside from finding a quiet time and place to work, you’ll want to clear away all other distractions. That means turning off distracting music (unless you find music that helps you focus), turning off phones, e-mail, and IM notifications, and anything else that might pop up or make noise to interrupt your thoughts. Then learn to focus on that task for as long as possible.
6. Enjoy yourself. Losing yourself in a task is an amazing thing, in my experience. It feels great to be able to really pour yourself into something worthwhile, to make great progress on a project or important task, to do something you’re passionate about. Take the time to appreciate this feeling.
7. Keep practicing. Again, this takes practice. Each step will take some practice, from finding a quiet, peak time for yourself, to clearing distractions, to choosing the right task. And especially keeping your focus on a task for a long time. But each time you fail, try to learn from it. Each time you succeed, you should also learn from it—what did you do right? And the more you practice, the better you’ll get.
8. Reap the rewards. Aside from the pleasure of immersing yourself in a task, you’ll also be happier with your work in general. You’ll get important projects done. You’ll complete tasks more often, rather than starting and stopping frequently. All of this is hugely satisfying and rewarding. Take the time to appreciate this, and to continue to practice it every day.
SLOW EATING
Many of us rush through the day, with no time for anything…and when we have time to get a bite to eat, we gobble it down. That leads to stressful, unhealthy living.
With the simple but powerful act of eating more slowly, we can begin to reverse that lifestyle immediately. How hard is it? You take smaller bites, you chew each bite slower and longer, and you enjoy your meal longer. It takes only a few extra minutes each meal, and yet it can have profound effects.
Some good reasons you should consider the simple act of eating more slowly:
1. Lose weight. A growing number of studies confirm that just by eating more slowly, you’ll consume fewer calories—in fact, enough to lose twenty pounds a year without doing anything different or eating anything different. The reason is that it takes about twenty minutes for our brains to register that we’re full. If we eat quickly, we can continue eating past the point where we’re full. If we eat slowly, we have time to realize we’re full, and stop on time. Now, I still recommend that you eat healthier foods, but if you’re looking to lose weight, eating slowly should also be a part of your new lifestyle.
2. Enjoy your food. This reason is just as powerful. It’s hard to enjoy your food if it goes by too quickly. In fact, I think it’s fine to eat sinful foods, if you eat a small amount slowly. Think about it: You want to eat sinful foods (desserts, fried foods, pizza, etc.) because they taste good. But if you eat them fast, what’s the point? If you eat them slowly, you can get the same amount of great taste, but with less going straight into your stomach. That’s math that works for me. And that argument aside, I think you are just happier by tasting great food and enjoying it fully—by eating slowly. Make your meals a gastronomic pleasure, not a thing you do in a rushed way, between stressful events.
3. Better digestion. If you eat slowly, you’ll chew your food better, which leads to better digestion. Digestion actually starts in the mouth, so the more work you do up there, the less you’ll have to do in your stomach. This can help lead to fewer digestive problems.
4. Less stress. Eating slowly, and paying attention to our eating, can be a great form of mindfulness exercise. Be in the moment, rather than rushing through a meal thinking about what you need to do next. When you eat, you should eat. This kind of mindfulness will lead to a less stressful life, and long-term happiness. Give it a try.
5. Rebel against fast food and fast life. Our hectic, fast-paced, stressful, chaotic lives—the fast life—leads to eating fast food, and eating it quickly. This is a lifestyle that is dehumanizing us, making us unhealthy, stressed out, and unhappy. We rush through our day, doing one mindless task after another, without taking the time to live life, to enjoy life, to relate to each other, to be human. That’s not a good thing in my book. Instead, rebel against that entire lifestyle and philosophy…with the small act of eating slowly. Don’t eat fast food. Eat at a good restaurant, or better yet, cook your own food and enjoy it fully. Taste life itself.
SLOW DRIVING
I drive more slowly these days. While I used to be a bit of a driving maniac (ask my wife), passing everybody and stepping hard on my accelerator, I would also get increasingly frustrated when people would drive slowly and keep me from driving fast, or cut me off. Driving was a stressful experience.
Not anymore. These days, driving is a much more calm, serene experience, and I enjoy it much more.
I look around at other drivers and wonder whether they really need to get to where they’re going so fast, and whether they’ll slow down when they get there. I wonder if it’s really worth burning all that gas and getting so angry and risking so many lives. And then I think about other things, because driving for me has become a time of contemplation. I heartily recommend driving more slowly—for many reasons, but one of the best reasons is that it has made me a much happier person. It’s such a simple step to take, but it makes an incredibly big difference.
Here are just five reasons to drive slower:
1. Save gas. The best ways to save gas (besides driving less or driving a fuel-efficient vehicle) are to avoid excessive idling, to do more gradual accelerating and decelerating, and to drive more slowly. With gas prices so high these days, wasting gas by driving unnecessarily fast is something we can’t afford.
2. Save lives. Driving fast can kill people (including the driver). Two stats: Traffic accidents are the biggest single killer of twelve-to sixteen-year-olds. Surprisingly, at thirty-five miles per hour you are twice as likely to kill someone you hit as at thirty miles per hour. Faster driving gives you a shorter amount of time to respond to something in your path, and even a fraction of a second can mean the difference between life and death. Drive more slowly for your safety and that of those around you…and especially drive slowly around runners, cyclists, schools, and neighborhoods with kids on the streets.
3. Save time? While you think you’re saving time by driving faster, it’s not a lot of time. And that small amount of time you’re saving isn’t worth it when you consider the other factors on this list. Better yet, start out a few minutes early and you’ll arrive at the same time as someone who drove faster but started later—and you’ll arrive much happier than that person, to boot.
4. Save your sanity. The above three reasons are very important ones, but for me the most noticeable difference has been the huge drop in my stress level when I drive. Far from being a crazy experience, driving is now actually a relaxing and pleasant experience. I no longer get road rage, because I simply don’t care whether other drivers are going slowly or cutting me off.
5. Simplify your life. This is related to the point above, but expanded. In addition to improving your stress levels, driving more slowly can reduce many other complications—the headache of accidents and speeding tickets, for one; going to the gas station too often, for another. It can also improve the hectic pace of life. Why must we rush through life? Slow down and enjoy it more. If we’re always in a hurry to get places, when will we get to our destination and finally be happy? Life is a journey—make it a pleasant one.
Here are some of the slow-driving tips that have worked for me: