Escapes: Slow Down

We all lead such busy lives that it can be hard to switch into vacation mode. Or, tired of pushing so hard, we collapse into vacation time and wonder how to keep some of that feeling in our regular lives:

This is where slowing down can help tremendously in everyday life. A book that was really eye opening for us was In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed which talks about the history of culture and how the industrial revolution put us all 'on the clock' minding our productivity and basing our sense of worth and identity on how productive we are.

Multi-tasking, mile-long to-do lists, perfectionism; these all feed into a sense of needing to be doing more, faster! Never getting to the end of that list, always having more to do and never having enough time can lead to massive burnout and even anxiety and depression. But more likely a sense of not really being in control of living a life that you enjoy.

Of course we all have things to do and lives to live but is there a way to bring some slowness to your day today?

[Image from Mrs. Reed on Flickr]

Comments (2)

I've mastered this, and call my technique "laziness" with a dash of procrastination. But now I'll just call my propensity to spend the whole weekend reading "slowing down." Thanks AT!

posted by jooly on August 18th 2008 at 9:45am
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I love the term "staycation" -- a mini vacation that is intended to be a slow-down at home.

Things I love to do at home without any planning that make help me decompress.

Pop open a bottle of vino and do one or more of the following:

1. Spend an hour flipping through magazines
2. Read a novel
3. Cuddle with kitties
4. Sit on the patio and watch the bumble bees
5. Listen to some jazz

posted by kimg924 on August 18th 2008 at 11:33am
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