WellBeings: Dominic Bowden talks with Carl Honore on the science of slowing down

It all starts with one single small step, here are 5 ways you can slow down today and live a little more consciously. 

It’s hard to slow down when you're trying to do a million things at once. Instead, start with the conscious choice to do less. What’s important, what really needs to be done, and then just let go of the rest. Put space between tasks and appointments, so you can move through your days at a more leisurely pace. 

Research shows that serial multi-taskers take longer to switch tasks than others, but they also have difficulty in organizing thoughts and filtering out the irrelevant information making them much less efficient. 

Instead of trying to cram food down our throats as quickly as possible — leading to overeating and a lack of enjoyment of our food — learn to eat slowly. Be mindful of each bite. Appreciate the flavours and textures. Eating slowly has the double benefit of making you fuller on less food and making it taste better. I suggest learning to eat more real food as well, with some great spices (instead of fat, salt, sugar and frying for flavour).

Speedy driving is a pretty prevalent habit in our fast-paced world, but it’s also responsible for a lot of traffic accidents, stress, and wasted fuel. Instead, make it a habit to slow down when you drive. Appreciate your surroundings. Make it a peaceful time to contemplate your life, and the things you’re passing. Driving will be more enjoyable, and much safer. You’ll use less fuel too.

The opposite of multi-tasking. Focus on one thing at a time. When you feel the urge to switch to other tasks, pause, breathe, and pull yourself back. 

This is related to being present, but taking it a step farther. Whatever you’re doing, be fully present … and also appreciate every aspect of it, and find the enjoyable aspects. For example, when washing dishes, instead of rushing through it as a boring chore to be finished quickly, really feel the sensations of the water, the suds, the dishes. It can really be an enjoyable task if you learn to see it that way. The same applies to other chores — washing the car, sweeping, dusting, laundry, or even just going for a walk — anything you do. Life can be so much more enjoyable if you learn this simple habit.

We’ll all get a chance to hit the reset button as we come out of this, slowing down could just be our secret weapon, because when we take our time with things, it normally always produces our best work, our strongest friendships and deepest relationships.