7 Shortcuts to Slowing Down

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Dawn Camacho, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

Hacks for a Grounded and Productive Soul.

You know you want more balance in your life. You crave more peace and ease, but still find yourself spinning your wheels like a couple of hamsters headed nowhere. The thing is, it takes action to be still. You have to consciously choose to do things differently- and that can feel like an exhausting proposition. So here are a very few simple and concrete things you can implement in to your day to day to bring you that much closer to nirvana. Well… Productive nirvana.

“Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.”― Thích Nhất Hạnh

#1. Make things 20 seconds easier. Shawn Achor talks about the 20 second rule as featured in Erik Barker’s BRILLIANT newsletter. Haven’t been able to stick to the workout regimen you keep promising yourself? Fill up your water bottle the night before. Pick out three days of workout clothes, and have them ready. Set an alarm on your phone to remind you of class. Know you should follow up with four people you met at last week’s networking event? Write down their numbers on a post-it, and stick it on your computer. (see # 5) Now do it. (check out Shawn Achor in his wonderful Ted Talk on happiness.)

#2. Start your day with a glass of water. This simple act can increase energy, give you more focus, and add to your health- in addition to the added bonus of keeping you away from your phone before your eyes are fully open. Bonus- add in three minutes of other grounding activities like visualization, energizing breaths, sun salutations, and prayer or affirmations.

#3. Get out of bed before checking your phone. Yeah, you know who you are. How productive, grounded, and centered in your intentions for the day do you feel when you grab your phone or computer before even lifting off the covers to see what brilliant emails or posts have arrived in the wee hours of the night? Now imagine how you’ll feel climbing out of bed , drinking a glass of cool water (see # 2) or taking some deep breaths and doing some stretches to welcome in the day and give thanks for being alive. Bonus: If getting lost in the FB rabbit hole is your thing, make any checking of social media a reward for checking off #4.

#4. Do your most challenging thing first thing in the morning: Mark Twain referred to this as ‘eating a live frog’. If you have a frog to eat, and you eat it first thing, imagine how easy your day will be after that? Whatever that one thing is that your nervous about- the one call, the email you have to draft, the file you need to analyze imagine how great you will feel when you’re done. The benefit is two-fold. One: even if you do nothing else for the day, you will be able to say you have had a productive one. Two: the adrenaline you will feel from having accomplished your greatest challenge first thing, is likely to stay with you for hours.

#5. Decide what’s in your control and do it. Anxiety often comes from a feeling that one needs to control things that are beyond our control. One of the most overwhelming things can be feeling frustrated with others—parents, in-laws, children, co-workers. Take some time to think about a situation frustrating you, and decide on ONE thing you can do about it. Have you been responding passively? Are you assuming someone knows exactly how you feel? Is there something at work you can take charge of that might make the situation easier? Is there something that needs to be said? Decide on one small thing you can do to set a new boundary or speak your peace. Do it- compassionately and clearly, authentically and kindly.

This one may seem like it’s asking you to take more time in your day- how can this be a shortcut? But would you rather spend a few minutes thinking about something, and another few minutes taking charge of it hours of each day with a nagging lingering angst affecting you body, mind, and spirit?

6. and then let it go. The rest is not yours to control.

#7. Break down tasks into tiny, bite-size bits: we often think of our projects and tasks as ‘one thing’ we need to do. For example- I know I need to donate all the clothes I don’t wear anymore. One thing, right? No. This involves setting aside time to go through your closet and drawers (even finding a block of time on your calendar can be one ‘bite’), trying on clothes, dividing in to piles (keep, give away, throw away, and, more likely than not, a ‘maybe’ pile that you might agnozie over or want to try on for others nbefore deciding?, deciding where to take the donations, and finding a time to do that. Martha Beck, a coach I revere for her self-deprecating wit, incomparable insights, and ground-breaking research into change refers to making thing smaller than baby steps—she calls them turtle steps. So break down one of your project into 5-20 minute turtle components and tackle ONE today. Just one. By the way, that break down counts as one. So you just made progress. Great job. Don’t you feel lighter and more energized already?