10 tips on how to get rid of “chronic” haste

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We work on vacation, scroll through the news feed in the toilet, have a snack on the go, watch a movie and read a book at the same time. “Minimum time, maximum efficiency” is the mantra of our time. We don’t even notice that the more we rush, the less time we have.

Proponents of the slow life culture live by the principle of “slow down to speed up.” They consciously gave up the race and try to enjoy every moment of life.

What is "slow motion"

“Slow movement”, or slow life, originated in 1986, when journalist Carlo Petrini opposed the opening of a McDonald's restaurant in Piazza di Spagna in Rome. As a sign of protest, he organized a banquet in the same square with eating traditional Italian pasta.

Despite the fact that McDonald's was finally opened, the Italian's efforts were not in vain: the letter M, the traditional golden arch, was made several times smaller. In addition, thanks to Petrini, a movement called “slow food” or “slow food” was formed. Its supporters oppose tasteless fast food and call for relaxation at least at the dinner table.

Now the “slow movement” has more than a dozen directions. In addition to “slow eating”, there is the same education, aging, science, medicine, fashion, reading, the city, money, television, travel and so on. Many organizations were opened within the movement. Among the most influential are the American Foundation “Extend the Moment”, the European Society for Time Dilation, the Japanese Club of Slowness, and the World Institute of Slowness.

The number of adherents of this culture is growing.

The essence and types of inattention

The inability to concentrate occurs in people of all ages. There are many examples of the manifestation of such a problem in childhood and its development in adolescence and adulthood.

Psychologists define attention disorder as a violation of the direction and selectivity of mental activity, the inability to perceive information from different sources, decreased concentration and difficulty switching from one object to another.

There are three types of scattered states:

• “Fluttering attention” is characteristic of school-age children and elderly people, as well as those who are overworked and weakened by illness. With this disorder, attention is difficult to control: it is easily distracted by external stimuli and cannot be concentrated for a long time.
• “Scientist inattention” is characterized by a strong concentration on one thing or one’s thoughts. At the same time, it is difficult for a person to switch attention to other processes. People with these types of disorder are prone to obsessions.
• “Abstract-mindedness of old people” combines the two previous types: it is characterized by a weak ability to concentrate and switch. Most often it occurs in elderly people suffering from cerebral atherosclerosis, and also occurs due to constant fatigue or brain hypoxia.

What do they stand for?

Supporters of slow life do not approve of the accelerated pace of life and consider it meaningless and imposed. In their opinion, the loser is not the one who works little, but the one who fills his schedule to capacity and is always in a hurry.

“Whoever is in a hurry is forced to slide along the surface. We have no time to look into the deeper meanings, to build relationships with the world and people,” wrote the ideologist of the “slow movement” Carl Honore in the book “No fuss. How to stop rushing and start living."

Honoré believes that people work hard to create the illusion of vigorous activity, to emphasize their importance or to forget about everyday problems. At the same time, he does not call for abandoning civilization and going to live in the forest. Slowlifers are ordinary people who want to live well in the fast-paced modern world. The philosophy of movement comes down to finding balance.

When you need to hurry, hurry. But when you don't have to rush, slow down.

Other interesting methods

There are other, no less effective ways to help you stop being nervous and worried. It is also recommended to use them, as they are simple and effective:

• Physical activity and exercise. This method will definitely give moral relief: the person will stop worrying. A long walk, gardening, swimming, general cleaning or sorting out an old wardrobe will definitely distract you from bad thoughts and also energize you.
• Sex. Intimacy is a sure cure for the blues. Ideally, sexual intercourse occurs with a loved one.
• Comparison. With neurosis, it is enough to compare your situation with someone else’s worse one. This will help you understand that not everything is so bad. The method works if the stress did not arise due to serious problems (illness, death of a loved one, etc.), but is associated with a real trivial incident.
• Positive. Any negative situation needs to be considered from the other side. You need to try to find the positives in what happened. Perhaps this is precisely the step towards a truly incredible event.
• Tears and laughter. They always bring relief. Heartbreaking, sincere crying can quickly relieve tension. And ridiculing the situation will allow you to distance yourself from it and relax. You can cry and laugh until you go hysterical. Then it will definitely become easier. It has been proven that, together with tears, toxins that are formed during neurosis are removed from the human body.
• Counting to 10 will help you stop fussing, nervousness and stress. At the same time, you need to control your breathing and emotional state. This method works if you want to avoid conflict.
• Job. Additional responsibilities, a new project - this is something that will definitely distract you. This method works when you are in a stressful situation for a long time.
• Verbalization. We are talking about keeping a personal diary in which all thoughts will be recorded as they are. This isn't for everyone, but systematically writing out negative thoughts can be very helpful. The method makes it easier to experience them. In addition, after reading about the problem on paper, you can understand that it is not worth worrying about.
• Communication with family and friends. It is not at all necessary to pour out your soul, although this is a great option. You can simply talk about abstract topics to forget the incident. Just don’t grumble at them because of your problems, which still can’t be avoided.

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Delicious food will also help you take your mind off anxiety, stop worrying and being nervous. In such a situation, you can afford any desired dish or dessert, even if the person is on a diet. While eating delicious food, the body produces a pleasure hormone, which suppresses negativity and stress in the best possible way.

Why it's worth a try

The race to get ahead is inevitably accompanied by stress, insomnia, and digestive disorders. According to statistics Stress statistics 2022: How common is stress and who's most affected? /SingleCare American Psychological Association, 75% of American adults experience moderate to high levels of stress every month.

Chronic stress increases blood pressure and blood sugar levels, reduces concentration, disrupts the digestive system, and causes insomnia.

Lack of sleep destroys the nervous and immune systems, causes diabetes and heart disease, and provokes irritability and depression. Once you get carried away with fast food, headaches, acne, excess weight will appear, blood pressure and the level of “bad” cholesterol will increase.

The love of haste also ends in death.

According to Speed ​​control is critical to saving lives and making cities more livable/WHO, the World Health Organization reports that 3,000 people die and 100,000 are seriously injured on the roads every day due to speeding. In Japan, 2,000 people die every year due to work stress.

Science and statistics are on the side of the “slow”. They enjoy life more and get sick less because they avoid stress and try to live every moment.

Recommendation #2

Life needs to be planned. But plan not for someone else, but for yourself.

Don't plan what you don't want to do! Just don't do what you don't like.

Determine what you want to do during the day/week/month/year/life and do it. Distribute the order of tasks as you like and want.

Do you think: “If I don’t, no one else will do what I don’t want to do”? You are deeply mistaken. It's quite the opposite. It is precisely because you do something that no one else takes on it.

Learn to delegate authority if you are afraid to let things take their course and allow the situation to resolve without your participation.

Doing something you don’t like is wasting your time. But these are the classes that take place in bustle and haste. Because you don’t want to do them, they irritate and make you angry.

Only you decide what to spend your life on.

Those who plan their time wisely stop fussing:

• doesn't take on too much
• doesn't do someone else's work
• does not want to do everything at once,
• leaves time for rest,
• does what he loves
• appreciates what he does.

How to join

There is no universal rule for “slowing down”. The tips below will help you understand in which direction you can work.

How to eat

• Avoid fast food and processed foods like frozen lasagna and pizza. As a last resort, snack on fruits, vegetable salads, and nuts.
• Don't eat on the go.
• Love cooking. It's akin to meditation.
• Prepare complete meals using fresh ingredients.
• Make it a habit to have dinner with your family at a common table, rather than alone in front of the computer.

How to work

• Work so that you have time for yourself and your family.
• Learn to say no.
• Quit if you've wanted to for a long time.
• Set aside 10 minutes a day for meditation or 20 minutes for an afternoon nap. This improves productivity and concentration. This is what John Kennedy, Thomas Edison, Napoleon Bonaparte, and John Rockefeller did.
• Insights come in a relaxed state. In the shower, on a walk, during meditation, while jogging, before bed. The brain goes into slow mode, releasing long alpha and theta waves.
• Take weekends without feeling guilty.
• Don't work on weekends or vacations.

How to relax

• Walk. Walking improves your health, calms your mind, allows you to notice many details along the way and builds a relationship with the world.
• Allow yourself to be idle. Remember that Charles Darwin worked 4 hours a day, and Albert Einstein lay in his office for hours and did nothing.
• Don’t try to cram all the entertainment into one evening: a movie, a concert, and a book.
• Take a walk in nature. A walk in the forest is the best antidepressant. Phytoncides contained in trees and plants increase the body's defense response, improve well-being, and lower blood pressure.
• Do some crafts, gardening, or another relaxing hobby.

How to exercise

• Don't squeeze yourself to the limit during training. Sport should fill you with energy, and not turn you into a disabled person.
• Remember that fat is burned at a heart rate of 70-75% of maximum. This occurs when walking or jogging quickly. If the pulse is higher, then the body begins to consume carbohydrates.
• Before you start mastering a difficult exercise, make sure your body is ready for it.
• Try slow sports: yoga, qigong, Pilates. They are available to everyone.

How to have sex

• Fast is not always good, but often bad. On average, sex lasts from 3 to 7 minutes, and a woman needs 10–20 minutes to warm up.
• Try tantric sex. You don't have to become a religious adherent to do this.
• If you are categorically against esoteric practices, then just don’t bother and enjoy the process.

How to drive a car

• Use the machine only when absolutely necessary. Most places can be reached on foot or by public transport.
• Do not hurry. At a speed of 80 km/h you will travel 4 km in 3 minutes. At a speed of 130 km/h - a minute less. What will you do with this minute?
• If you get cut off, get over it. There is no need to catch up with the driver, yell at him through the open window and cut him off in response.

There is no general formula for slowing down for all occasions. You have to decide where to slow down. The only thing that can stop you is greed, habits and fear of falling behind. It takes courage to give up speed. However, now you know that procrastination is normal and even beneficial.

Bad ways

There are methods of dealing with stress that have bad effects . You should not resort to such actions, as in the end the condition may even worsen:

• Drinking strong coffee. This leads to increased blood pressure and increased heart rate, which cannot be called calming. It is better to give preference to herbal tea.
• “Seizing” problem. Food, of course, brings pleasure, but everything should be in moderation. Excessive food consumption leads to obesity: it is a direct path to an inferiority complex and the development of serious mental problems.
• Smoking. This will not distract or solve the problem, but it will have a detrimental effect on your health. It's better to give up this habit.
• Drinking alcoholic beverages. Drunkenness will not lead to anything good. The stress will worsen, the problem will seem even more significant, and your health will deteriorate.
• Taking drugs. This is not worth talking about. Drugs are life-threatening.

How to stop fussing and acquire a dynamic mindset

Perhaps a glass of vodka or a cigarette, food or coffee really helps someone survive stress, but in large quantities it simply poisons the body. In this case, the harm exceeds the benefit, so you should refuse all of the above.

Diagnosis of attention problems and treatment

The best solution is to consult a qualified neurologist. It will help answer the question asked by patients: “Why can’t I concentrate, what are the reasons for poor memory?” He will also prescribe the necessary treatment or refer you for consultation to a specialist if poor attention is the result of any illness. In some simple cases, you can cope with the problem yourself.

The patient's examination begins with an examination by a doctor and tests. Modern techniques help to establish the causes of inattention:

• pathopsychological diagnostics – tests with stimulus material;
• double stimulation method – study of violations of modality-specific factors;
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging);
• EEG (electroencephalography);
• angiography.

Therapy involves taking medications designed to get rid of the disease that has caused deterioration in attention. Mostly medications are prescribed to help improve memory and psychostimulants. As with any disease, the sooner treatment is started, the sooner recovery will occur.