Doesn't the time just fly? - Part 2 For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.

-Lily Tomlin



Let's face it, our lives, not just teenage lives mind you, have been pretty hectic compared to previous generations. Now there are more complicated things to deal with, more expectations and with the ridiculous pervasiveness of the internet and social media, things seem to be moving and happening faster than ever before.



Because of this, it's no surprise that a lot of mental and some physical illnesses are at an all time high.



A study in the UK found that The proportion of 15/16 year olds reporting that they frequently feel anxious or depressed has doubled in the last 30 years, from 1 in 30 to 2 in 30 for boys and 1 in 10 to 2 in ten for girls. Mind you, this was published last year, so it's very relevant.



Source



Source's Source: Changing adolescence

Social trends and mental health



Now to clarify something, we all know, without even looking at any study in particular (go ahead and research if you want), it's obvious that it's our lifestyle that is the cause of this, but I'd like to take a shot at a summary of this.



Because our lifestyle changes along with the way society advances, and society has indeed been getting "faster" in terms of the way we go about things, it's fair to say that our lifestyle, as a whole, has also been getting "faster".



That's enough on why we should change the way we do things, now I'll try to give you guys a couple of examples of what we can do to circumvent this, by slowing down.



In school, a ridiculous amount of teenagers seem to make the habit of leaving things to the last moment, and it's almost comedic, looking around at break times as the assignment in question is due next period, and everyone is frantically rushing to get it done just so they have something to show for it. Hopefully I don't have to get into to much detail on how to avoid this by now.



Apart from assignments and school though, you may be wondering, "What other stuff is there that we're 'doing too fast'?". Well, have you ever noticed how everyone seems to rush eating their food, at break, at the table, at dinner at home? Maybe not all the time, depends who you are, but it's quite common. People eat really quickly, so they can get to doing other things.





In the previous segment,, I discussed time management. This post however, will focus on the idea of thespeed of time (in terms of perception), and why we should try and slow down our lives, and relax once in a while.Let's face it, our lives, not just teenage lives mind you, have been pretty hectic compared to previous generations. Now there are more complicated things to deal with, more expectations and with the ridiculous pervasiveness of the internet and social media, things seem to be moving and happening faster than ever before.Because of this, it's no surprise that a lot of mental and some physical illnesses are at an all time high.A study in the UK found that The proportion of 15/16 year olds reporting that they frequently feel anxious or depressed has doubled in the last 30 years, from 1 in 30 to 2 in 30 for boys and 1 in 10 to 2 in ten for girls. Mind you, this was published last year, so it's very relevant.Now to clarify something, we all know, without even looking at any study in particular (go ahead and research if you want), it's obvious that it's our lifestyle that is the cause of this, but I'd like to take a shot at a summary of this.That's enough on why we should change the way we do things, now I'll try to give you guys a couple of examples of what we can do to circumvent this, by slowing down.In school, a ridiculous amount of teenagers seem to make the habit of leaving things to the last moment, and it's almost comedic, looking around at break times as the assignment in question is due next period, and everyone is frantically rushing to get it done just so they have something to show for it. Hopefully I don't have to get into to much detail on how to avoid this by now.Apart from assignments and school though, you may be wondering, "What other stuff is there that we're 'doing too fast'?". Well, have you ever noticed how everyone seems to rush eating their food, at break, at the table, at dinner at home? Maybe not all the time, depends who you are, but it's quite common. People eat really quickly, so they can get to doing other things. Eat slowly there's really no justified rush.



Needless to say, I keep that experience in mind as I eat outside the library waiting to go inside.



Now this may at first seem only applicable to eating and doing work, but it's applicable to almost everything you do in life. We scroll fast on the net, skimming even the articles or posts that we find interesting, we use acronyms to speed up our text messages, there's dozens of specific examples I could use to show this. Hell, have you noticed how many youtube channels bombard you with as much information in the most interesting way as quickly as possible, just to keep your attention? It's not just us, it's the entire world that's got into this mentality.





Now all of this, is alright, to an extent. We want to be efficient, maximize the time we have, but there's a balance between managing our time, and living at a slower pace. The biggest problem that I see with this whole mentality of doing everything as fast as possible so we can get back to being lazy, is that we don't even realise we're doing it. We're all so used to living life this way, that for the greater majority of us, it's our intrinsic nature. I even have trouble with this in my day to day life, I often have to remind myself to slow down.





Again, don't get me wrong, it's fine to be efficient, multi-task if that's what works for you, but there's a very careful balance between efficiency, and living life too fast. Obviously, the previous post on time management works very well with this. If you haven't read that post, I suggest you read it too.



I encourage you all, some time today, to remember this, and think to yourself:

"Am I doing this too quickly, am in a rush? If I am...what exactly is the hurry?"



So try to slow down sometime today. Hell, if you reckon you maybe skimmed this article, practice reading slower, not because you can't read fast, but just to get into the idea that "There's rarely ever a good reason to rush". Trust me, it's good for you.



Sidenote: Another quick little tip that I've found, not for everyone, but I still definitely endorse it. Meditate. I actually have a story that relates to this. This one time, I was waiting outside the school library, eating my sandwich. I was very eager to get inside for some reason or another (I'm quite the bookworm, can you imagine?). There's obviously no food or drink allowed inside the library. So I was eating really fast so I wouldn't run out of time at break to do this thing I wanted to do. I finished my sandwich as quickly as I could, so I walked inside, still chewing a mouthful, and within a minute, the librarian kicked me out for "eating inside the library", despite me not having any with me except in my mouth. At first it seemed extremely unfair, because they banned me for the rest of the term (I still went inside the last 2 weeks though :P), but later I learned that there really was a moral to it.Needless to say, I keep that experience in mind as I eat outside the library waiting to go inside.Now this may at first seem only applicable to eating and doing work, but it's applicable to almost everything you do in life. We scroll fast on the net, skimming even the articles or posts that we find interesting, we use acronyms to speed up our text messages, there's dozens of specific examples I could use to show this. Hell, have you noticed how many youtube channels bombard you with as much information in the most interesting way as quickly as possible, just to keep your attention? It's not just us, it's the entire world that's got into this mentality.Now all of this, is alright, to an extent. We want to be efficient, maximize the time we have, but there's a balance between managing our time, and living at a slower pace. The biggest problem that I see with this whole mentality of doing everything as fast as possible so we can get back to being lazy, is that we. We're all so used to living life this way, that for the greater majority of us, it's our intrinsic nature. I even have trouble with this in my day to day life, I often have to remind myself to slow down.Again, don't get me wrong, it's fine to be efficient, multi-task if that's what works for you, butObviously, the previous post on time management works very well with this. If you haven't read that post, I suggest you read it too.I encourage you all, some time today, to remember this, and think to yourself:So try to slow down sometime today. Hell, if you reckon you maybe skimmed this article, practice reading slower, not because you can't read fast, but just to get into the idea thatTrust me, it's good for you.