The Cycle of Hurry: Try Living Slower
The Cycle of Hurry: Try Living Slower
Uncover the joy of simple living
In this newsletter, we provide you with notes on 84% of Parents Feel Rushed Every Day, an episode of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast.
Hosted by Ginny Yurich, an author, speaker, and creator of The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast. Childhood is finite at just shy of 9.5 million minutes. We only get one shot at it. One of the biggest decisions we make is how we will use that time.
She is joined by Merissa Alink, founder of the Little House Living blog and author of Living Slower: Simple Ideas to Eliminate Excess and Make Time for What Matters.
Read our notes below.
Topics Covered in this Summary
Dealing with Perfectionism
Practical Tips on Simple Living
Dealing with Perfectionism
As parents, we mostly spend our time striving, consuming, and trying to "do it all." At some point in our lives, we all struggle with perfectionism in order to do the right thing and please everyone. That has resulted in a lot of stress.
It's so hard to move away from those sorts of cultural expectations or neighborhood pressures, wherever they're coming from—family, even within ourselves. It almost seems irresponsible and not culturally accepted because we should be constantly running, and it's a thing.
While there is a lot going on all around us, we don’t have to let ourselves get carried away with the busyness so much that we lose the peaceful, slow moments that let us connect with our loved ones on a deeper level.
It's scary to think about slowing down, thinking about your life, what your goals are, and whether you want to meet them or if you are scared to do so. It's a process, but you'll be in the right state for it because you know what you want.
Practical Tips for Simple Living
Simplifying life can help us create more ease, time, and freedom with less stress. Here are 3 simple living tips from Merissa Alink to help you begin simplifying your life today:
Reducing Screen Time
Even as parents, we get distracted by our phones, and that can really throw off our day. Have a conversation with your kids about how watching movies and playing games aren’t inherently bad, but we can get so caught up in them.
You can start by telling them, ‘’It could be really fun to play a game, but you have to think about how you really want to spend your time.’’
Come up with the things that they will be excited to do instead of spending that time playing games.
The goal is to have "real life" time with our kids instead of more screen time.
De-cluttering
Create a space in your home and in your mind. We might be cleaning up and get caught up in the idea that we need to keep something because we might use it someday. That’s the hardest mindset to break. But in reality, it's just something that we have to manage.
Here’s a good way to deal with it:
Pull everything out that's in the room and put it in the middle of the floor and leave nothing in your cupboards or dressers, and then figure out what needs to be kept.
Meal Planning
Planning meals in advance can reduce stress and save time during the week by getting rid of the decision-making around food. Rest assured, there’s a better way to feed yourself and your family.
Create a weekly/monthly menu. Decide each meal of the day. (It could be eggs for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, or some kind of beef dish for dinner.)
Reevaluate your priorities, take small steps toward a life more in line with your values, and take time to nurture your most important relationships.
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Listen to the original episode