After All This—Why Am I Still Rushing and How Do I Stop?

Why am I still rushing? Why, after all these months in lockdown and working from home, do I still feel like I should hurry through everything?

Most of the things I rushed through before the pandemic have slowed down significantly, or come to a complete stop. Yet, I am still rushing. What about you? Do you catch yourself rushing through your daily routines?

It happened again while having lunch today.

I’m sitting in my chair, completely comfortable, and I noticed that I’m rushing through my tuna salad sandwich. It wasn’t the sandwich—the sandwich was delicious.

Here’s a shortlist of some other reasons ‘it wasn’t…’

• a 1 pm meeting. I don’t schedule meetings for Wednesday afternoons.
• calls to make. Nope, no pressing calls or appointments to make.
• clients pinging me. I wish I had more pinging right now.
• an impatient boss (I’m him). Okay, a slightly impatient boss.
• a busy afternoon ahead. There is but one item on my to-do list for this afternoon—this post.

So, as I consciously forced myself to slow down, I started to enjoy the aforementioned sandwich—now gobbled down to less than half its original size, by the way.

I know it’s a safe bet that I’m not alone here.

Why do you think we still rush through everything? (See how I made this your affliction too? Am I right? At least a little?)

If you’ve been around me much, you’ll know I’m a list junkie. If it’s not on a list somewhere, it’s not happening. Having admitted to my list issues, I think rushing is something that’s not actually on one of my lists.

Good idea though, It should go on my ’Not-To-Do’ list.

Yes, I have one of those and I’m a big believer in having and following a Not-To-Do list. But, let’s stay on topic for now.

Realizing what I’m about to say won’t apply to everyone, I’m pretty sure it applies to many of us. And even in the truly busier-because-the-world-flipped-bum-over-backward realm, we still have opportunities for less rushing and less busyness.

The reality is this—we have a lot less to rush over.

So, let’s try to answer my opening question—Why am I still rushing? I quickly (see that? more rushing) brainstormed some possible reasons.

This is my list—

• Rushing has become a habit. Plain and simple. I’ll bet they’ve even identified a gene for rushing.
• Rushing goes hand-in-hand with our cultural obsession with busyness.
• The faster we move, the more productive we feel. So… we keep moving, even when we don’t need to be moving.
• The ‘tech’ that was supposed to make our lives easier has only made our lives faster.
• We’ve bought into the myth that we need to keep up with all the noise the world is producing now.

With your help, we could make a very long list of possible reasons. But there’s no need. I don’t think there’s even a debate that we’re all rushing more than we need to.

How many anti-rushers do you know?

You know, like The Dude in The Big Lebowski. Know any? I’m not sure I do. Maybe Brodie, our dog. But non-rushing humans? I don’t think I do. Okay, truth be told, I’m just trying to get you to self-identify so I can channel your behavior.

All poking fun aside, people do exist who don’t rush pointlessly through life—and that’s the point I’ve taken nearly 500 words to make. It is possible.

Not only do they exist, they tend to be more productive.

Mind-boggling, isn’t it? More productive, and dare I say more effective in general. (Just for clarity, I’m no longer talking about The Dude). What if we take it a step or two further? Could they also be happier, healthier, and more fun to be around?

I don’t know the answer, because I haven’t done the research. But, I know how I would place a bet on the matter.

My speculation is this…

I believe most of us, myself included, are simply in the habit of rushing. We’re left feeling like our self-worth is tied to how much we sign up for.

We stopped being able to do a whole bundle of things during the lockdown. But somehow, we didn’t think we could take off our busyness badges and allow ourselves to relax a bit. Maybe we should take a lesson from the Netflix bingers?

I think there’s still time though, what do you say?

But how? I’m thinking it might rather simple. Start by doing these three things…

1. Work on raising your awareness so you can catch yourself when you’re rushing merely out of habit. 
2. If you one who’s always traveling in the fast lane, follow a friend’s lead who knows how to find and take the scenic routes. (I was serious before when I mentioned channeling. Just not in a weird, mystical sort of way).
3. Stake a claim on your margins. You know, the white space along the edges. For example, you’re not commuting anymore? Claim that time as your own—because it is.

Sounds like a good start to me. Oh, and while I’m at it, I’ll be working on slowing down enough to enjoy my tuna sandwiches.

No need to rush. There’s plenty of white space.

Be untucked.

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