Slowing down to get more done

Far too frequently, I catch myself rushing. My to-do lists have babies. My want-to-do lists could keep me busy for lifetimes. My list of favorite things keeps growing, and my list of must-dos is too long to complete in any reasonable amount of time. So it is easy to get caught up in “speed living”—trying to rush through my must-dos to get to my want-tos.

Many of us grew up in an era where it was understood that we did our homework before dinner, ate dinner before dessert, and had to finish our chores before playtime. The message, though unspoken, was clear: do your shoulds first, then enjoy yourself later… if there was time.

Working with angels has taught me a new paradigm. Their idea of time well spent is time well-loved. And to paraphrase a well-known song, they’d say, “If you can’t be with the task you love, love the task you’re with!”

As a result, I’ve learned to bring joy to my housework, love to my grunt work, and even some satisfaction to my accounting—all things I would skip entirely if it were possible! When I elevate these tasks with love, I live in a flow that is deeply satisfying.

Still, old habits die hard. It is easy to slip back into rushing, so I can cross things off the must-do list and get to the want-to list. Thankfully, somewhere in the hurry, I catch myself—stop, breathe, and laugh at the absurdity of speeding through the moments without enjoyment… so I can hurry up and enjoy other moments later.

That just isn’t how life works! Like attracts like.

My rushed energy attracts chaos.  Rushing through dinner, I break a glass and spend fifteen minutes cleaning it up. While hurrying to answer emails, I make mistakes.  Rushing out the door to run my errands, I leave the mail at home. Nothing good comes of harried, hurried efforts.  I’m sure you’ve experienced this too!

On the other hand, when we’re in a high-vibe flow, things happen quickly but never feel rushed. My housework becomes a dance of love with my home. My grunt work becomes Snow White whistling while she works. Even my accounting makes me feel organized and grounded. Same tasks but done with a different vibration, and therefore, yielding a totally different experience.

So these days, when I catch myself rushing, I stop and pause to take a few deep breaths. I look around and take pleasure in something I see. I remind myself that I’m not rushing to the “Finish Line” (death!), but instead want to savor life. As I slow down and focus on where I am and what I’m doing, the flow returns. It never fails.

Today I have a gazillion things to do, but half an hour ago, the urge to write the newsletter hit. I sat down as I always do—without a clue as to what was to come—breathed, gave thanks for life, and let the angels do their thing!  Being present with their words inspires mine. When I feel rushed, my article takes hours. When I’m enjoying the moment, it flows.

Those of you who are busy know the feeling of “never being done,” but I don’t want to be done! I don’t want to run out of interesting things to do, inspirations from the creative muse, or chores that support a beautiful life. The must-dos support the want-tos.

And so I slow down.  Savor the moments. Focus on what I am doing here and now and get lost in the flow of it. In this flow, Spirit offers a great reminder service. Things I’d otherwise forget pop in my head when needed! “Pay the bill.” “Check your emails.” “Don’t forget such and such at the store.” If I listen in the moment, things flow efficiently, easily, and with joy. If I don’t, I get another chance.

This year seems to have flown by quickly. How is time speeding up? If the angels are right—and they usually are—it’s because we’re rushing, missing more moments. When I was a child on summer break, time dragged. Now my mind is filled with so much that it flies—until I slow down and savor the moment.

So rather than bemoaning how fast time is flying, we can remind ourselves that it is we who are rushing through our days, packing more into our “travels” through space, and forgetting to savor our precious moments of life. We can change that.

Here are a few tips to slow the sensation of time and enjoy it more:

1.  Find ways to enjoy your must-dos.

As the angels say often, we can change our circumstances or our outlook, and either one can lead to a happier reality.When doing my must-dos, I pick a time frame in which to make them the sole point of my focus.  I’m doing the newsletter now and giving myself two concentrated hours as a challenge, instead of the four to six it can often take when my focus is not concentrated. I give myself little incentives when I have a must-do. For example, I’m going to run a fun errand when I’m doing writing and before I proofread, load up and post to my website, then I’ll come back from that outing ready to focus again.

Likewise, when I clean house, I’ve found tools and a lot of natural cleaning products that make it enjoyable. I like the smell of pine in my cleaners. I like using my steamer.  I imagine that I’m giving my house (or car) a spa day and pampering it since I like to pamper beings, things, and everyone I can!

As we figure out how to bring enjoyment to the must-dos, sometimes very creatively, they become enjoyable, and we don’t have to rush through them, hurrying to get to happiness we could have now.

2. Learn your natural rhythms

Everyone has natural rhythms. Some people do their mental work better in the mornings; some late at night. Some work well for bursts of two hours, then need a break, others like to power through a task forever without a break. Some of us eat like farmers at meals and birds throughout the day—pecking at snacks, and others eat better by skipping breakfast and having two meals a day.

Each one of us has natural rhythms to our work, ability to focus, eating habits, sleeping or napping habits, etc.  As we discover our natural rhythms and work with them, rather than fighting them. We find greater ease and joy, and life feels less rushed.

3. Waste all the time you want—if you love it!

As angel likes to say, “Time Well-Spent is time well-loved.” If you love a hobby that has no reason other than joy, that is good use of your time. If you love to make your bed every day, even though no one will see it, that is time well spent.  If you do better working for a few hours at a time then enjoying something brain-numbing but fun for fifteen minutes, do it.

The more you experiment with and find your natural rhythms, the more your life will flow, and the more time you’ll seem to have.

Time is relative. There is only now in reality. What we call time is a measure of our travel through space. Next time you’re tempted to call yourself  “old,” replace it with something more accurate: “I’m timeless and well-travelled!”  Eighty years old? That’s eighty trips around the magnificent star we call sun. Amazing yes?

So while time does seem to be going faster, the angels remind us that it is our minds going faster, rushing through the time we have, rather than slowing down and savoring the moments.

I’m on a mission to hurry less, savor more, and therefore enjoy a faster but more graceful and easy flow.