simplification
“Here’s my point: the solution to an overbusy life is not more time. It’s to slow down and simplify our lives around what really matters.”
-John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
This past Monday, I had a morning call get rescheduled, which allowed me to ease into the day. Instead of rushing from school drop off to the gym to the office and into meetings, I had nothing on my calendar until the afternoon.
I recalled an experience earlier this year where I walked to my local coffee shop, got some work done, and walked back home to finish up the day working from our patio. That experience was so memorable because I vividly remember how much I enjoyed the slow pace of the morning–the walk was casual, I wasn’t rushed at the coffee shop, and the return walk was just as relaxed as the way there. That day I told my Self I wish more of my days were that “slow”.
The reality is that at this phase of life, my mornings, especially during the school year, are not going to slow down–unless I were to remove my Self from the morning routines of the boys, and I don’t want to do that.
While I can’t have the slower morning I’d love to have right now, I have been looking for opportunities to slow down other parts of the days; I’ve limited the number of client meetings I have in a day, created small windows of time to go outside for a short walk, and whenever the weather permits and my schedule allows it, I find a spot in downtown Fishers to work from outside–there’s something about working outside that makes time move a little slower.
In addition to slowing down my calendar, I’ve taken Comer’s advice, although I didn’t remember his quote while doing so, and simplified my life–it might seem boring to others, but if it’s not about my family (which includes close friends), my health, my clients, my creativity, or the authentic life, I’m probably not making time for it. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still have plenty of room to simplify within my simplified life, but life is a little less rushed and busy than it used to be.
The closer you become to your authentic Self, the easier it becomes to simplify, slow down, and, as the title of John Mark Comer’s book encourages us, eliminate the hurry in our lives.
See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,
JC
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