Happy Independence Day! On this day, as with all days, the purveyors of news and information, as well as of spin and propaganda, and outright distortions of reality, would prefer to have you ingest their ‘products’ 24/7/365. Fortunately, you have options.

Most of what you experience each day, in terms of the passage of time, is based on your perception. As such, you can ‘slow down’ time if you choose. How? Whenever you feel you’re racing the clock or trying to tackle too much at once, try this exercise:

Close your eyes for a minute and imagine a pleasant scene. You might be surrounded by trees or with a loved one. It could be something from childhood. Let the emotions of that place and time predominate. Get into it! Give yourself more than a New York minute for the visualization to take hold.

Then, open your eyes and return to what you’re doing. Your task now is never quite so bad and whatever pace you were working at is never quite so feverish.

More Reflection

Imagine you’re flying on an airplane. You have a window seat, and it’s a clear day. As you gaze down to the ground below, what do you see? Life passing by. Cars the size of ants. Miniature baseball diamonds. Rivers the size of streams.

There is something about being at great heights that enables you to reflect on your life. The same thing can occur place from the top of a mountain or skyscraper.

As often as possible when things seem to be racing by too fast, get to higher ground for a clear perspective. If you’re among the lucky, perhaps you regularly allocate time for reflection or meditation. If you don’t, no matter.

Change Your Medium

I have long used water to reduce stress. For eleven years, I lived in a high rise condominium in Falls Church, Virginia, complete with its own 25 meter pool. No matter how hard I worked during the day, even if I did a 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. stint, at 6:05 p.m. I was in the pool.

After 30 minutes of laps, I had swum out many of the stresses and strains of the day. So, find the swimming pool nearest you!

Rely On The Animal Kingdom

If you have a dog or cat and do not consider it a drain on your time, here’s a little something about Rover or Mittens that you might not have known. In recent years, as reported by U.S. News & World Report, scientists have found proof for what was only once suspected: that contact with animals has specific and measurable effects on both your body and mind.

The mere presence of animals can increase a sick person’s chances of survival, and has been shown to lower heart rate, calm disturbed children and induce non-communicative people to initiate conversation!

The exact mechanisms that animals exert to affect your health and well-being are still largely mysterious. Scientists suspect that animal companionship is beneficial because, unlike human interaction, it is uncomplicated. Animals are nonjudgmental, accepting and attentive; they don’t talk back, criticize, or give orders. Animals have a unique capacity to draw people out.

Even if you only have goldfish, simply staring at them in their silent world might help deaden your traveling pace.

But Wait, there’s More

Want other ways to make it all “slow down”? After the workday, listen to relaxing music with headphones, and close your eyes. A half hour of your favorite music with no disturbances (and your eyes closed) can seem almost endless. When you re-emerge, the rest of the day takes on a different tenor.

Another effective method for catching up with today is periodically deleting three items from your “to do list” without doing them at all. Before you shriek, consider that much of what makes your list is arbitrary. Often, eliminating three items won’t impact your career or life, except for freeing up a little time for yourself in the present.

Ideas for Catching up with Today
1. Constantly read your list of priorities and goals.
2. Challenge and defeat your own ritual behavior.
3. Consider the outcome of not handling something.
4. Convincingly, but politely, say no.
5. Call rather than visit.

6. Clean off your desk of everything but the task at hand.
7. Clear your files of everything that can be recycled.
8. Cancel something that you had already scheduled.
9. Covet what you already have.
10. Choose to get a good night’s sleep every night.

Ideas for Catching up with this Week
1. Telecommute at least once a week.
2. Consume vital information, not what you think you must know.
3. One day each week, don’t read anything.
4. Get dressed each morning without a radio or TV on.
5. Weekly, do something fun on the way home from work.

6. Select news shows that astutely cover issues.
7. Wed out extra paper entering your “personal kingdom.”
8. Begin thinking about your next vacation.
9. Make a lunch date with a friend, not a co-worker or client.
10. Pause for ten separate minutes throughout each day.

Allow yourself to take breaks. When you consider the ways you add unnecessary pressures to your day, you begin to see many ways to catch up with today, or at least with this week.

– – – – –

 

 

We'd love to hear your thoughts about this article. Please take a minute to share them in the comment section by clicking here. Or carry the conversation over on your favorite social network by clicking one of the share buttons below.

 
 
 

Join the conversation!

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.