These days, most people feel that they’re living their lives at high speed. Their days are gauntlets of responsibilities and interruptions that constantly demand their attention. And when they’re finally able to collapse into bed at night, their minds race as they process all the awful things they’ve seen, plus all the stresses they’ll need to attend to the next day.
Living at 3x speed is extremely detrimental to us, so experts advise that it’s vitally important to slow things down to a more natural, human speed. Here’s how to do just that:
1. More analog, less digital.
Most of us are glued to our screens the majority of the time, and mentally process information in all directions. We check work-related messaging systems while working on projects, as well as keeping in touch with our friends and family members by texting throughout the day. Then we might wind down in the evenings by watching streamed movies while scrolling our phones, or doing art with tablets instead of paper and pencil.
While digital media is all well and good, it’s not great for our minds at such excess. For example, studies show that both reading comprehension and retention are six to eight times better with physical books than e-readers. Furthermore, analog hobbies involve creative thinking, hand-eye coordination, and immersion rather than distraction. To improve your “analog wellness”, establish strict hours for digital use and then unplug when you aren’t actively needed. Read printed books rather than eBooks, do hand crafts, play games with family and friends, and leave the screen scrolling for tomorrow.
2. Be mindful when you’re eating.
How many people do you know who stare at their phones, tablets, or TVs while they’re eating, even when on their lunch break? According to health studies, distracting yourself while you’re eating instead of being mindful means that your body doesn’t pick up on fullness cues, which leads to overeating. Many people don’t even notice that they’ve finished their meal, since their bodies haven’t registered that they’ve eaten.
Turn off devices when you eat, and put all of your focus and attention towards your meal. Chew each bite at least a dozen times, and think about the flavors and textures you’re enjoying.
Can you identify the different herbs and spices in this dish? How would you re-create it if you didn’t cook it yourself? Savor each bite as slowly and reverentially as if it were the last you’d ever have, and you’ll enjoy every meal much more than you could imagine.
3. Only do one thing at a time.
I’ve always been terrible at multitasking, so I know how difficult it can be to focus on just one thing at a time. Many of us were raised to be keen multitaskers, but while juggling a dozen things at once has often been lauded as a mark of efficiency, neuroscience shows that it’s actually quite detrimental to us. Scientific research shows that task-switching actually makes us slower and more prone to making mistakes, and damages both cognitive control and memory over time.
While it’s difficult to unlearn behaviors that you’ve been practicing — even perfecting — for years, it’s vitally important to do so if you’d like to maintain your cognitive abilities well into older age.
The way I’ve learned how to do this is to eliminate any clutter or distractions around me so I have no choice but to focus on the task at hand. Simultaneously, I refuse to deal with any distractions, so I’ll let my family members know that I’m focusing and to please not disturb me. While this may cause some antsiness at first, it’ll soon become second nature to immerse fully and deeply in whatever you’re doing.
4. Practice stillness.
How long can you sit still before you feel a pressing need to go and do something productive?
Psych Central advises that sitting or lying in stillness can soothe a dysregulated nervous system and allows us to truly rest instead of being in a constant state of “on”. Furthermore, as well as alleviating anxiety and allowing us to relax the tension in our muscles, stillness also allows us to think deeply and creatively. We simply cannot collect our thoughts effectively when dealing with a constant onslaught of sensory overload and pressing tasks.
5. Tend to living things.
It’s pretty much impossible to multitask or rush when tending to living things. Whether you’re bottle-feeding foster kittens or delicately pruning a fruit tree, you need to slow down and be entirely present in the moment.
Taking care of living things is immensely beneficial to mental health all around. In fact, according to a study published in 2019, people who spend just a couple of hours a week out in nature show a marked improvement in their mental and emotional well-being. Being out in the natural world strengthens our connection to it, and doing things like feeding wild birds or planting flowers makes us feel our stewardship towards the earth much more keenly.
6. Cook slowly, with whole ingredients.
The vast majority of people nowadays speed through meal prep as quickly as possible. We have so little free time that it’s much easier to grab a protein bar or open a can of something than prepare food with whole, natural ingredients. In fact, a lot of people barely know how to cook at all and simply assemble pre-made items from the supermarket.
Setting aside time to cook slowly and intentionally can elevate meals to art forms. You can revel in the sensory delight of freshly chopped parsley and basil, taste ingredients as you add them to pots and pans, and season everything to your preferred tastes. Being wholly focused on cooking slowly and precisely can turn the process into a meditative practice that calms frayed nerves while simultaneously building self-confidence and self-esteem.
7. Do chores with care instead of distraction or rushing.
Many of us multitask while doing chores, doing things like listening to school lectures while folding laundry or making mental task lists while washing dishes. Either that, or we rush through these tasks as quickly as possible to get back to what we consider to be more “important” pursuits, which often involve doom-scrolling for hours on our phones.
Doing chores intentionally, with diligence and care, allows us to slow down and be utterly present in the moment. This results in significantly cleaner dishes, tidier closets with neatly folded clothing, and household surfaces that are actually disinfected.
Cleaning becomes a mindfulness pursuit, reducing stress and releasing “happy hormones” that research shows makes you feel more relaxed, less anxious, and more content overall.
8. Tend to your body as a ritual, rather than a hurried obligation.
Although we hear about how important self-care is, few people take the time to tend to their bodies slowly and carefully, rather than putting in minimal effort to keep them clean. They’ll take five-minute showers before rushing out the door, and get through other body care needs as quickly as possible.
So what happens when body care becomes a sacred ritual rather than a hurried afterthought? Not only does overall health improve, but research shows that your mental health gets a big boost. This is one of the reasons why ritual bathing has been a sacred pursuit worldwide for thousands of years.
Set aside at least an hour to shower or bathe in the way you love best, whether that involves dry-brushing to exfoliate, using gloriously scented products, or soaking in the water to relax tense, tight muscles and reduce your cortisol levels.
Final thoughts…
Any time you find yourself racing through something, stop and determine why it’s so important to whiz through this task as quickly as possible, right this moment.
What are you racing towards? Why is there such a hurry?
Most of the things you’re prioritizing can wait, so you can slow down and enjoy a slower speed of life. Your mind and body will both appreciate you doing so, and the benefits you’ll reap are far more important than getting things done in record time.
