Slow Down

I was sitting in the airport the other day waiting for my flight and saw a man with his computer on his lap. However, as I looked more closely I realized his fingers weren't moving and he was asleep! He was apparently trying hard to finish his work but his exhaustion had won out.

I was reminded that a lot of us live that way much of the time. We push and push and push with little room for margin and sometimes our body just has to catch up. Unfortunately, other things get behind, too - our time with family and friends, moments to just relax and opportunities to think about faith, purpose and our direction.

We will never return to the good old days of fewer choices, less frenzy and not so many distractions. But we can take control of our schedule in some ways that could prevent burnout, unnecessary stress and collateral damage to our physical, relational and emotional health.

Travel for work less if you have a choice. Even removing one or two trips each month will make a difference.

Clean up your schedule. It's likely that there are some things you can consolidate or simply say "no" to that would simplify your life. Perhaps your kids can share rides with someone else, maybe you can do two things on the same trip that used to require two. Maybe one of your hobbies needs to take a break for awhile.

Be intentional about including break and rest times in your week. Do you exercise or at least get out for a walk? Do you ever just stop and drink coffee without having work on your lap or nearby? When's the last time you and your spouse just did something for fun?

Like our body needs sleep, so does our mind. See that your body, soul and spirit are being nourished. They cannot go full bore and not be damaged somewhere along the way.

Take inventory of your life. Are you accomplishing anything that matters?  Are you really doing the most important things or are they just ideas that you hope to do someday. Guess what?  Someday rarely comes.