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In a world where everything is speeding up and the pressure of maximizing every single minute of your time increases, one of the most difficult things to do is to slow down. Slowing down was the hardest concept for me to wrap my head around as a college student trying to balance work, and classes, trying to live, cook, and enjoy a social life. It seemed to me if I were to stop for a moment, I would suddenly become behind. I was constantly multitasking, doing laundry as I listened to lecture videos or eating while I do a set of homework problems, not saying this is always a bad thing, but became my “default” setting; my mind was always somewhere else, thinking about the next task to do.
That being said, multitasking became exhausting. One of the rules of Ikigai, a Japanese concept roughly translated to “a reason for being,” is to take it slow. I never really understood this concept until I hit burnout. Everything seemed like a constant cycle of do, do, do and once I had a break, it became recovery from the week instead of actually enjoying that time. This pattern wasn’t sustainable. I learned the hard way that life isn’t a sprint, it's a marathon.
Addressing this takes a conscious effort to override your “default” and the status quo of hustle culture. We did an exercise in class where we compared the productivity of multitasking vs. doing a single task. To no one's surprise multitasking was more difficult and less efficient, yet this challenged my pre-existing methods of getting things done. Attention and slowing down are two sides of the same coin. In order to slow down, we must be mindful and protect our attention from room scrolling, multitasking, etc. and confront the cultural norm of “busyness.” Slow living is conscious, intentional, mindful, and living deeply. It’s being present and aware in the moment, so then you can put your best foot forward when it’s time to work. It’s being able to savor each and every moment and overall increase your mental well-being. Slow living isn’t about losing time by going slow, but pacing yourself to find sustainable productivity and reconnecting with life.
Some of the ways you can slow down are taking a walk outside but leaving your phone at home. Take note of things you’ve never noticed before or watched as the wind rustles the leaves. Enjoy a picnic at Zilker with friends where you can disconnect from the world and just enjoy each other's company. Mindfulness doesn’t even need to be a whole ordeal either. It can just be taking a small break throughout the day, reflecting in a journal, or celebrating yourself for small wins. Your attention is one of the aspects of your life you have complete control over. It’s really easy to get caught up in life but like everything else, it takes time to practice mindfulness and value slowing down. A quote by Tony Schwartz summarizes this well, “Attention is like any other muscle: the more we train it, the stronger it gets.” Next time you catch yourself scatterbrained and doing a million things at once, I challenge you to take a deep breath and for a moment, slow down.
About The Author:
Nicole Luong '24
Finance
Entrepreneurial LeadHERship Student
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