Don’t Be Rushed

It can be challenging at times – juggling work and life. Our Team met over coffee and tea last week at Steam Dot and we laughed about our own challenges in cultivating balance. We discussed our efforts and how we connect to full and meaningful use our time. The Integration Group brainstorms often on how to better serve our clients and help facilitate self-care and increased resilience in the workplace. We ended with this realization: to live a full life, our lives can be filled. We can be busy – but we don’t have to be rushed. There’s a difference

We can be busy but don’t be rushed
That’s what we practice.

This rush is what gets us caught in “busyness” – and it’s the root of workaholism. Success requires effort, work, and time. Sometimes it demands we carry a full schedule – not always – but certainly at times. Yet nowhere on this path to success, are we required to be rushed. Rushed is a choice. Working in a manner that is not rushed, is a skill that can be learned.

Engaging with our work in a slow and steady way is a sign of self-respect. It also reinforces the idea that the current work you are doing is worthwhile and worth your full attention. When we feel rushed, we are not really in the present moment – we are thinking of the next moment and the next action that needs to be done. This denies us of all our resources and adds stress to our minds and bodies.

Here are some tricks we use to help us step into our “busy” with a slow and steady approach. We hope you enjoy!

• Single Tasking: Complete a task, one step at a time. Instead of working on an excel spreadsheet, engaging on a conference call, and responding to an instant message from Skype all at once – we choose to just focus on the spreadsheet. Then we focus only on the call. Then we respond to the message. One. At. A. Time. There are freedom and ease with this approach to work. Significant research has been conducted on the negative impacts multitasking has on our brains and bodies, as well as our productivity. This counters this effect.
• Check in with the Body: Throughout your day, take a moment to pause and check in with your body. Do you feel alert or tired? Are your shoulders tensed or at ease? Do you need to take a moment and stretch or take a quick walk? Are you hydrated, or need a drink? Consistently connecting with our body builds our Awareness skills and helps to identify the need for Self-Care. This is also a stepping-stone towards building Healthy Boundaries.
• What’s Your Why? When we are busy, there is usually a reason for it. In these moments, it’s critical to understand why we are doing what we are doing. What’s yours why? Remembering our commitment, our choice, our reason we have decided to have a busy schedule can offer support. It can be a step towards gratitude or acknowledgment that this moment will change. It will not be this way forever. Remember and connect to your why. There are strength and power in it.

Be well and enjoy the exercises and tools above.

All the Best,
Woodrie & The Team