20 Ways to Slow Down

I finished “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” by John Mark Comer in April 9 of 2020. I remember reading it while living in Florida, outside by a fire pit at my apartment complex, because there weren’t many other places to go. There are quite a few ways this book changed my life, but let’s talk about one area today – slowing down.

If someone watched you, would they say you are always in a hurry? Could they tell by the pace at which you talk or walk? Are you often forgetting things because you’re in such a rush? When someone is in a conversation with you, are they getting your full attention or is it divided between checking your phone or emails or taking a call? Are you constantly a few minutes late for things and apologizing about how busy or full the day was? If you can relate to any of these, these tips may be for you.

In the book, John shares four practices for unhurrying your life. They include Silence & Solitude, Sabbath, Simplicity, and Slowing. Were going to dig into the practice of slowing.

The first time I read the list below I remember thinking “there’s no way I’m doing these, I have things to do!” Then, over time, I recognized the wisdom in these areas so much that this has become the most directly applicable part of the book for me. I would guess that back in 2020 during that first reading of the book I had been doing 2-3 of these pretty consistently but surely not the rest.

Take a look for yourself. How many of these slowing down practices are already a habit for you?

1. Drive the speed limit

2. Get into the slow lane

3. Come to a full stop at stop signs.

4. Don’t text and drive.

5. Show up ten minutes early for an appointment, sans phone.

6. Get in the longest checkout line at the grocery store.

7. Turn your smartphone into a dumb phone.

8. Get a flip phone or ditch your phone all together.

9. Parent your phone; put it to sleep before you and make it sleep in.

10. Keep your phone off until after your morning quiet time.

11. Set times for email.

12. Set a time limit for social media (or just get off it).

13. Kill your TV.

14. Single-task.

15. Walk slower.

16. Take a regular day alone for silence and solitude.

17. Take up journaling.

18. Experiment with mindfulness and meditation.

19. If you can, take long vacations.

20. Cook your own food and eat it.

Take a deep breathe. If you are annoyed or frustrated or just plain mad at this list, it’s okay. I’m writing about 4 years later, and I still have quite a few of these that are difficult for me. But let me share the good news – you can implement these slowly, one at a time, until they become habits.

Here’s how I stack up to them right now but please know I’m about 4 years into intentional practice.

Drive the speed limit – I do set cruise control butttt I do it about 3 miles above the speed limit. Still some improvements to be made.
Get in the slow lane – I do this one on the highway but if I’m going 3 miles over the speed limit there’s still some opportunities to pass people.
Come to a full stop at stop signs – I think I’m a 98%er here.
Don’t text and drive – I use the Siri option through my car if I choose to text while driving or ask a passenger to do it for me.
Show up 10 minutes early for an appointment, sans phone – This is one I try to intentionally practice. Just sitting somewhere with no phone, observing.
Get in the longest line at the grocery store – I try to practice this when I think about it when they all have lines, but when there’s a free cashier, I just go to the open line.
Turn your smart phone into a dumb phone – Considered this but likely won’t fully do this. But I have taken social media off my phone and only allow myself to check instagram from a laptop at certain times. I have text, call, and Libby notifications and that’s it enabled. No news apps ever.
Get a flip phone or ditch your phone all together – pondered this enough to look up the companies that sell these and pricing but didn’t do it.
Parent your phone. Put it to sleep before you and make it sleep in. – I am better about this in the morning than the evening but it’s a habit I’d like to develop further.
Keep your phone off until after morning quiet time – Also one I’m better about.
Set times for email – I do this one both in work and outside of it. I will go to emails specifically to retrieve new emails and work on them, but don’t constantly check and don’t have notifications for them.
Set a time limit for social media (or just get off it) – I do have some boundaries around social media with taking time completely off but also boundaries around using the app itself. These have been wonderful.
Kill your TV – I really am not a TV fan. I try to use it for specifically watching something my husband and I want to watch together and give it full attention. Love some YouTube travel videos or watching a movie together.
Single task – I wrote about this the other week and while I’m not there yet, I try to be very mindful of this.
Walk slower – This may be the one I’m worst at. I’m a fast walker and everyone around me knows it.
Take a regular day for silence and solitude – I try to do this one as well. The regular day for me is at least quarterly but I’m not perfect about it. This is usually when I’m reflecting, thinking about my goals and planning, or reading.
Take up journaling – My morning pages routine changed my life this year.
Experiment with mindfulness and meditation – I’ve tried the meditation on and off but I’d say the mindfulness and being present is more what I’ve focused on as well as deep breaths or box breathing.
If you can, take long vacations – I heard some stat like it takes 7 days away to fully disconnect from work and I have found that somewhere around that has rung true. But I’ve also found that the more longer vacations I take, the shorter the time it takes to disconnect. I know this isn’t a luxury everyone can take, but my husband and I have tried to prioritize two longer road trips each year over a lot of short ones for this reason.
Cook your own food and eat it – Also something I’m getting so much better at. I didn’t love to cook for one when I was single, so now that I’m married I’ve really enjoyed cooking and trying new things even if it doesn’t always turn out great. And getting friends together to do it like our meal prep the other week was so fun!