Embracing a Slow Life: A Gentle Approach to Productivity

A lot of times people want to be more productive in their lives, and in that quest, they push themselves hard. Do more, get on that task list, clear out the email inbox, crush life.

The problem with that is that it abandons our human-ness. We are trying to become productive robots, but what about living a good life?

On the other side of the spectrum, sometimes people want to completely abandon productivity for comfort. In that direction, we get avoidance and a life that might lose its aliveness and creativity. So while I think “productivity” is a misguided aim, I think taking action in our lives is not a bad thing.

How do we balance the desire to take action with wanting to be human and live a good life?

For me, the answer comes in slowing down. Hear me out!

First, let’s talk about what slowing down might look like in the context of taking action and slow productivity:

• Being intentional: Take a breath as you start a day to set your intentions. What would be a good use of this gift of a day? And before you start a task or meeting or activity, take a breath and set an intention. In this way, we begin to live our lives more intentionally instead of rushing around to do everything.
• Focusing on what matters: Slowing down allows us to not just be reactive, but to take a moment to get clear on what actually matters. What would make the biggest impact in our day, our career and purpose, our lives?
• Creating focus: When we take an important task and put it in front of us (writing this blog post, for example) … we can slow down in order to create some space for focus. Let it be a luxurious gift of space in which we can inhabit our best creativity and focus.
• Deepening into the activity: As we create slow focus for a task, what would it be like to deepen into the experience of that activity? To feel the sensations, to breathe slowly, to let your creativity flow?
• Inhabiting the space between: In between tasks and meetings, we tend to rush to the next thing. Slowness could be letting yourself take a moment, appreciating the space between, reflecting on what you just finished, perhaps setting an intention for the next activity.
• Enjoying life: Not everything needs to be about getting stuff done! What if we could go slower sometimes, and focus more on creating a good day instead of trying to churn through everything. What if we could enjoy each activity instead of rushing through it trying to get it done?

Are you sold on this idea of slowness? Now let’s talk about some practical things to move in this direction …

1. Start small: You don’t need to change everything at once. Could you just take a breath and set an intention before an activity or task, a couple times a day? By taking these small steps, it becomes a gradual and lasting change.
2. Let the breath lead you: As you move through your day, stop and take a breath. Check in with your intention. Do you need to go slower? Do you want to give yourself more space?
3. Create space: To go slower, it can help to reduce your meetings and calls. Create some space in your day to focus on important things, to slow down and not have to rush. See if you can remove anything from your list. Block off focus sessions to focus on what matters to you. Try to be less ambitious in what you’re trying to get done each day.
4. Focus on enjoyment and creativity: Instead of trying to get a bunch of things done, how can you enjoy everything you do? How can you let creativity flow? This takes a different approach, that needs to be practiced.

What would you like a slow life to look like for you?

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This post was previously published on Zen Habits. Uncopyright courtesy Leo Babauta.

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