Slow

Since I have an extra hour to myself, without the morning commute, I’ve taken the opportunity to revisit and refresh how I begin my day.

I need two hours, at times an additional 30 minutes, to get ready. That may sound like a lot. It isn’t. I’ve never rushed through my morning – but pre-COVID-19, I would have to pick what I could do, given the time I had.

Every morning I wake up at 4 am to Spotify’s Organica playlist. Then I:

1. Make my bed, square up my space
2. Brush my teeth and wash my face
3. Start my yoga practice (sometimes I run)
4. Have my protein shake, freshen up and get dressed for work

Depending on how slowly I’m moving, it’s probably 6 to 6:30 am by now. Normally I would have been out the door – I prefer to leave early rather than deal with the morning rush.

Instead, I put the kettle on, take a seat at my desk and start planning my week or the day by checking my calendar, jotting down notes in preparation for meetings and reviewing projects. 

Planning takes anywhere from 15 minutes but could be 60 if it’s a busy week – this is also my braindump time for all aspects of my life to ensure I’m not missing anything. I will review and reorganize throughout the week.

Then comes the best part. I write for as long as I can. With the slower pace of work, I can easily write for an hour, more some days. When I don’t get an hour in, I will make it up over lunch or write a bit longer in the evening.

By 8:30 ish, Google Assistant plays my selected news podcasts and I settle into my workday, feeling prepared for anything that comes my way.

“Bring it on!” I say 😉

I will leave you with a quote from one of my favourite books because it perfectly suits this prompt.

There is a famous Buddhist saying that everyone appears as buddhas in the eyes of the Buddha and everyone appears as pigs in the eyes of a pig. It suggests that the world is experienced according to the state of one’s mind. When your mind is joyful and compassionate, the world is, too. When your mind is filled with negative thoughts, the world appears negative, too.

When you feel overwhelmed and busy, remember that you are not powerless. When your mind rests, the world also rests.

Sunim, Haemin. (2017). The Things You can See Only When You Slow Down: How to be Calm and Mindful in a Fast-Paced World. New York, NY: Penguin Books