We have more and more balls to keep up. Our solution to this is to live faster, work harder and get everything done in less time. We are in a hurry. But why actually? Why the hurry?
Why are we in such a hurry these days?
Haste seems to be the norm. If things just happen quickly then it’s good – and if it can be done faster it’s better.
We are in a hurry because we don’t have enough time. We don’t have enough time to do everything we need to (read: want to ) do. We rush through the days, through the months and the years. And we get more and more done in less and less time.
Very efficient, but is it also effective?
The answer is, of course, ‘no’ – but you already understood that.
What do you want to achieve?
Haste is the result of a lack of priorities. If you don’t know what’s most important to you, everything is automatically equally important. And if you want to achieve everything at once, you never have enough time and you have to run and fly.
Everyone on Earth has to make do with 23 hours 56 minutes and 4.1 seconds in a day . Some people have a nice life, take it easy and gradually achieve their goals. Other people run and fly, live out of chaos and feel like they can’t get a grip on their lives. They feel that they are being lived.
Only when you know what you really want can you make choices. Of course you want to be a great parent, a great friend, super healthy, successful, popular, have a nice house, grow personally, finish an education, be nice dressed and in the meantime make the world a better place.
But what are the 1-3 things that matter most to you? If you had to choose (and you have to if you don’t want to get burned out), what would you focus on? Where would you put your center of gravity?
Hurry back as the exception to the rule
Humans are not designed to be in a constant rush. It is not healthy for your body and not nourishing for your mind. The faster you live, the faster time seems to pass – it’s a downward spiral. You seem to have less and less time, which makes you live faster and faster.
Be still. Take a deep breath, drop your shoulders and let me tell you this: you don’t have to do anything . Hurry is your choice, and you can stop today. Try some of the tips below and learn how to slow down your life one step at a time:
- Don’t you dare do anything . Just sit for a few minutes and look out in front of you. No television, no iPad, no telephone and not even a magazine. Slow down cold turkey. How does that feel?
- Whenever you find yourself feeling rushed, ask yourself, “Why am I rushing?” . You often come to the conclusion that out of habit you are running, tailgating or sighing in line at the checkout. Remind yourself to take a step back. Take your distance, lower your speed, raise your irritation threshold.
- Drive calmly on the road . Speeding is dangerous, environmentally harmful, expensive and usually saves you only a few minutes. Instead, put on some nice music (Youtube or online radio station(s)), and enjoy the journey.
- Take the time to prepare food . Leave the hustle and bustle behind for a while, and pay love and attention to your food. Cook without ready-made products. That is healthier, tastier, cheaper, better for the world and better for your stress level. Why does it always have to be so fast? Real taste takes time. Quality takes time .
- Try to do less instead of more . Do things that really matter, and leave the rest behind. Be critical of your todo list . Many things are ‘nice’ to achieve, very few things are ‘life-changing’. Work step by step towards your big goals, towards a better life and don’t be fooled by all the nonsense that comes in between.
- Consciously slow down time by slowing down your life and your thoughts every now and then . Really take half an hour to play with your daughter, to listen carefully to her. Play with your dog, take a nice walk, do something with your hands (gardening, painting, cooking or whatever). You will notice that you become calmer, and that you seem to have more time as a result .
- Realize that it is useless to race through life . All you achieve is that time flies by, and your life ends faster . Time is far too valuable to throw away. Use it, enjoy every second, appreciate your life as you travel through it. You only get once every second . So that’s one chance to enjoy it.
- Say goodbye to your watch . And while you’re at it, immediately get the clock out of the living room . Set a timer on your smartphone when you have something to do at a specific time. Furthermore, it is not at all necessary to continuously know what time it is.
- Take life step by step . While you’re working on one task, you don’t have to think about the task you want to perform later. First one, then the other . This way you keep your head empty, you maintain your focus and you prevent time from seeming to go faster.
- Plan your days less tightly . Give your calendar air to breathe. It is efficient to fully plan everything. But if your goal is to live a relaxed and happy life, this probably isn’t exactly effective.
- Immediately grab yourself by the scruff of the neck if you’ve had to rush for whatever reason. Don’t take the rush any further into your day, but stop rushing as soon as you can.
- Realize that you will never get everything done . There will always be unfinished tasks – and that’s okay. Realize that enjoying the beautiful things in life is more important than an empty to-do list.
Rushing less will help you significantly increase the quality of your life. There’s no point in rushing through your life, so don’t get rushed. Take it easy and focus on the things that are most important to you.
That way you will not only feel a lot better, you will also achieve your goals more easily and design the life of your dreams more easily.
