3 Reasons Why Slowing Down is a Power Move

April was a rough month for me — I have been constantly sick and down with fever during the most inconvenient times this month. In addition to the viral infection that happened to come (still going) during my busiest work week, I now have a cough that just won’t go away. Medications make me feel sleepy throughout the day and has been interfering with my quality of life, performance at work and keeping me from participating in other activities.

“Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast — you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.”
— Eddie Cantor

Now, as an entrepreneur, every minute is a game-changing moment. Running a startup requires a different caliber and it becomes difficult to operate when you are feeling drowsy all the times! When I look back at this whole month, I realized that I have been trying to do a lot of things altogether — hiring, counseling, assessments, networking, managing, planning, online courses, and a thousand tasks in between. While I can’t control my immune system, it’s not a coincidence that I become sick during the most inconvenient times. Why? Because our crucial life events trigger an amount of stress that usually causes a toll on our bodies. And who can blame me for this determination? We are living in a society where an extra cup of coffee is the answer to lack of sleep and to get through another day. Maybe my body is telling me to take a break, maybe it is telling me to take the opposite approach — to slow down when I can. While keeping a full schedule is fine, trying to fill every moment of every day is asking for trouble. Given I’m in full control of my personal and business goals, haven’t I only myself to blame if my body can’t keep up? These little health glitches provided a reason to slow down to achieve more and re-think about the things I might have been doing wrong and of course, ‘Medium’ it. So if you are also from the ‘want-it-all-and-want-it-now’ club, this article might just work as a gentle reminder for you to take a breath and slow down. Here, three reasons why you should.

1. Your fuse is short: Are you irritable and short-tempered? Do you snap (or want to snap) at everyone around you and you have no idea why you feel this way? Maybe you are drowning in your to-do list and are not sleeping enough. Being angry, or even sad, for no reason might be a call to eliminate extraneous work to slow down and bring more presence. Slowing down will allow you to notice more, make more connections, and engage more of your own feelings.
2. To juggle your work smartly: Since our team is small, multi-tasking has become a part of our work culture and after finishing one task I immediately jump to a new one with less attention and as a result, I was making more mistakes while completing my tasks. This habit not only produces a lower quality of work but correcting mistakes eats up a lot of time. We all have our way of thinking and working. Some of us like juggling a few tasks; others like to drop deeply into one task for hours (and some jobs require more of this). Pay attention to how you feel during your most productive days, and know your perfect juggling amount. It is important to take some time to wait between tasks. Drink a glass of water, watch the sky, pet your puppy…whatever you need to do. Just relax, focus, and do what’s in front of you. Complete something every day and acknowledge a job well done.
3. To be more rational and creative: In a startup ecosystem, it is very easy to get excited about a new idea or a feature because we are in a constant race to become the best in our business. Again, we are rushing. You have no time to listen and make mindful decisions. It’s hard to do your best cognitive and creative work in the frenzy of the workplace. Instead of jumping rapidly — and inefficiently — from feature to feature, let your ideas simmer until they’re ready to emerge. You’ll be amazed at how you more confident you will become in your ideas and decisions when you make them mindfully. I follow Connie on Instagram and she runs this amazing group activity called the ‘Pomodoro session’ on Facebook where people from different time zones work together on different tasks for 25 minutes and take a break for 5 minutes when someone shouts out the time interval, and then repeat that (When she told me about this session, for some reason, I thought people virtually throw Pomodoro at each other when it’s time to take 5 minutes off, anyway). Studies show it helps with productivity and help your rational brain kicks in.

Although an entrepreneur hardly gets a vacation, especially when their brainchild is in the primitive stages of development, every budding leader is suggested to take some time to relax and do the things you really love. This sounds easy but even I have to keep reminding myself these points over and over again! Life will keep throwing lemons only because one is capable of making lemonades of them. Simply experiencing something new — with different people, air, and vibe — will refresh your mind and body. You don’t have to be a sloth, just watch where you’re going and get there in one unbroken, unbruised piece.

Don’t forget to clap if you found this article helpful. To know more about my startup, visit www.cocampus.io or just drop me an email at sheenam@cocampus.io.