More Hurry….Less Speed!
My grandmother always had some saying to capture what was going on in the moment. I spent many summers with her at her farm house, no running water, wood stove, no TV, being totally bored! I was always wishing for something whether it was to invite someone over, go swimming or anything to make my day more exciting. She was constantly telling me to stop wishing my life away! She also expected us to help her and she was constantly telling us to slow down because in our haste to complete our work we were not doing a good job, we often we created more work for her because we didn’t take the time to do it right the first time. More hurry….less speed she used to mutter over and over to us! We had no clue what she meant.
Recently I have heard many people tell me how busy they are. We all have a lot going on in our lives both at home and at work. We are so connected because of technology that we are constantly juggling multiple things at the same time. I have done some reading lately on this phenomenon of busyness and support those who suggest that we have become convinced that busyness and activity are a good thing, and are seen by some as a “badge of honor” …something to celebrate.
However, busyness comes at a cost. When we are busy we don’t stop to think and reflect. We may take action too quickly without understanding the implications. We make more mistakes. We make ourselves feel more pressured and stressed. We don’t communicate well and sometimes in our busyness we mdon’t have any idea how our behavior is impacting those around us. Busyness can actually slow us down, causing us to repeat tasks, forcing us to repair mistakes. Slowing down is shown to increase productivity.
Some suggestions for how we slow down and still get things done:
- Prioritize – not everything has to be done at the same time.
- Pace yourself
- Work smarter not harder
- Make sure to take short breaks to refresh your mind
- Get outside –enjoy the beauty of nature
As my grandmother taught me, when you are constantly rushing around, you end up taking more time to accomplish your work; slow and steady was the way my grandmother lived her life and I think we all could benefit from her approach.
Jennifer
As always I welcome your comments at jennifer.mccue@bethanyseniors.com
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