{"id":13214,"date":"2021-11-02T08:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T12:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alifeofproductivity.com\/?p=13214"},"modified":"2022-08-31T19:27:42","modified_gmt":"2022-08-31T19:27:42","slug":"some-practical-tips-for-slowing-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/some-practical-tips-for-slowing-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Some practical tips for slowing down"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t\t
Takeaway:<\/b>Slowing down can be tough these days, as I found during a month-long sabbatical. Here are a few tips that helped me take pause during this anxious time. Estimated Reading Time:<\/b>3 minutes, 46s.<\/div><\/div>\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Slowing<\/p>\r\n

I recently took a mini, month-long sabbatical from work, with an intention to totally disconnect from digital life and recharge in the analog world. I went camping, cracked open more physical books, and restarted a couple of analog hobbies that had fallen by the wayside, like knitting and playing piano. I went on more walks through the forest near where we live, spent more time with people, and did everything I could to step back from work and screens.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

My goal to disconnect was more difficult than expected. Digital devices tempted me in the in-between moments; the short, quiet lulls between tasks. Each time I picked up my phone there was a seemingly never-ending stream of messages to catch up on, urgent work fires to put out, and documents to gather and sign. As the month went on, I did a progressively better job of delegating, outsourcing, and delaying these projects, so I could actually step back and properly slow down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A few weeks ago, I mentioned how our average daily screen time has risen to more than 13 hours<\/a> in the last year and a half. In other words, we spend more than three-quarters of our waking moments in the digital world\u2014and there\u2019s often no shortage of messages and updates to keep up with as a result. As I\u2019ve written in the past<\/a>, the more time we spend on technology, the quicker the hours seem to pass\u2014time accelerates when we tend to what\u2019s familiar, including new emails and social media pings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Slowness is typically found in our analog life, not our digital one. If you\u2019re looking to slow down and calm your mind, there are several strategies you can try. Here are a few I found helpful during my month off.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n