SlowCast From the Vault 1: Creating Space to be Slow

THIS IS A SLOW BLOG. It is updated when I have something to say, rather than trying to say something just to update the blog. Learn more about Slow Blogging here. Since this is a Slow Blog, may I suggest you subscribe by RSS by clicking here, or subscribe to receive email updates by clicking here (to learn more about RSS click here for an FAQ).

The biggest excuse (and it is just that -  an excuse) I get from people who want to slow down is that they “don’t have the time”. So in the first of an intermittent series of “from the vaults”, I have given a simple process to de-clutter your mind and your life to create space to be slow.

You can listen to it here, or subscribe in iTunes here (if you like it, I would really appreciate it if you gave it a good review!)

Matt

Your Own “NOT to Do” List

THIS IS A SLOW BLOG. It is updated when I have something to say, rather than trying to say something just to update the blog. Learn more about Slow Blogging here. Since this is a Slow Blog, may I suggest you subscribe by RSS by clicking here, or subscribe to receive email updates by clicking here (to learn more about RSS click here for an FAQ).

The slow life is the simple life is the easy life. Yet we often find we clutter up our lives with things we don’t want or need to do.

A way of releasing yourself from these habits is to do a “NOT to Do” list. I wrote about what it is and how you can do it in this post here. But, for your ease and convenience, I have created this pdf “NOT to Do” list for you!

You can download it and print it out and stick to your notice board/fridge/computer screen/wherever, for ease of reference.

Click on the thumbnail below to download it.

How To Do a ‘NOT To Do’ List?

As a reminder, here is how I suggest you do your list, but feel free to do it how you want.

1) Listing things you never intended to do in the first place can act as catalyst to get you going.

2) Then, begin with things that you feel you should do, never do and then beat yourself up about not doing.

3) List things you are doing now, but you are not sure why. You probably have lots of habits that have just developed over the years that no longer really have any reasonable function; you just do them because you have always done them. Not sure if it should be on the list? Put it on for a week and see if you miss it, if you last a week, leave it there for a month, if after a month you still haven’t needed to do or missed it, put it on forever.

4) Your “not to do” list is not a place to shirk responsibility, or list things you need to do. Don’t put ‘”pay my credit card bills” on the list for example!

5) Then of course, it frees up time and energy (and, often, money too) to do the things you actually want to do…

Matt

PS, If you liked this post, please bookmark it on Digg, Stumbled Upon, Twitter, etc. I would really appreciate it

The Overflowing Teacup

THIS IS A SLOW BLOG. It is updated when I have something to say, rather than trying to say something just to update the blog. Learn more about Slow Blogging here. Since this is a Slow Blog, may I suggest you subscribe by RSS by clicking here, or subscribe to receive email updates by clicking here (to learn more about RSS click here for an FAQ).

“Once, a university professor went to visit a Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked continuously about Zen, his thoughts, his ideas, his understands and his questions… As he spoke the master poured the visitor’s cup to the brim, but then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself “It’s full! No more will go in!” the professor blurted. “You are like this cup,” the master replied, “How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup.”"

I am, I have to admit, a terrible “grass is greener” sort of person. I have always been afraid I am missing out on something…

And, I have very broad interests, because of this I am easily (very easily) distracted, and can spend hours thinking about or researching (the internet can really be a curse) something completely irrelevant that I will forget about almost as soon as I have learned it.

I often feel like my teacup is flowing over and I can’t fit any more in. So I end up scattered and, to quote Bilbo Baggins “I feel… thin. Sort of stretched, like… butter scraped over too much bread…”

Which is not really the “Slow Way” (or if you are trying to sound all pretentious, you could be all faux Eastern, mystic and say the “Tao of Slow…”).

In fact, one of the things that first attracted me to the Slow movement and the Idle philosophy was the idea that I could reduce my field of interest. It showed me that I don’t need to know, do or try everything. That I am not really missing out on something if I am not at the forefront of it, if I don’t know everything about it with five minutes.

(I tell you, I am marketers dreams…)

But how do you practically stop yourself from doing this? How do you start to cut back on your fields of interest, of reducing your desire (addiction?) to the new, the fresh, the exciting, the smell of the grass over the fence?

How do you start limiting yourself?

The ‘Not Reading’ List

Ironically, I started limiting myself many years ago, before I had even heard of the Slow movement or before I even realised that I really, really needed to.

When I was at school I was told I was “word blind” (whatever that is?) and that I wouldn’t able to read very well (nothing like a nice positive suggestion is there??), so I hated reading, I was slow and it would take me weeks to read something that other people would read in a day.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, when I left school and thought “Stuff ‘em, if I want to read, I will read!” and started devouring books (I was – and still am – a slow reader, but at least I was motivated to try and read).

I fell in love with books, but soon found that (because I read slowly), if I just rushed to read a book just for the sake of reading that book, I wouldn’t retain any information and it was a pointless waste of time.

I realised I was probably not going to be able to read every book I wanted (or felt I should) and that I needed some form of plan.

At that point I started a ‘NOT Reading’ list and listed books I had no intention of ever reading:

Number one on the list was Gulliver’s Travels.

Number two was anything by Stephen King.

It was of course a dynamic list and I have since read some of the books I had placed on that list (I put “3 Men and Boat” on there as a bit of a knee jerk reaction, because someone kept pestering me that I should read it…), but the sense of relief I got from the decision not to read a book (and stopping beating myself up about having not got round to it) outweighed the gnawing sensation that I was missing out on something…

I still buy too many books. But there you go…

Anyway, I used this same principle to begin a ‘NOT to Do’ list…

The ‘NOT To Do’ List

Since getting into Slow and embracing its philosophy I have expanded this idea to write a ‘NOT To Do List’, things I never intend to do. Ever.

Number one on the list was “Extreme Sports”. There seems to be an odd belief that to “live life to the full” you need to have bungee jumped off a high bridge in Africa or other such pastimes. I spent most of my teens hanging around with these extreme sports guys, doing climbing and white water canoeing and such. And I hated every minute of it (other than the climbing – see my obituary of John Bachar here). It just scared me silly (it was only years later that I discovered the principle of high and low acting arousal systems and found out why I was so scared when everyone else seemed to love it.)

So when I decided to develop my NOT to do list that went straight at number one.

Number Two was backpacking (or “travelling” if you are more of a pretentious ilk). For years I felt like I had missed out on something because I didn’t go travelling when I was younger (it was besides the point I didn’t fancy the idea of cheap flights and fleapit hostels), and always thought I should do it.

Once I added those two to the list I felt an immense sense of relief. I managed to shrug off 2 massive hang-ups that I had.

Then I was on a role!

(Not that I am saying you shouldn’t be doing those, I am just using them as an illustration of things I have added to my not to do list and why. You may love extreme sports and backpacking. In which case, go for your like!).

Recently I have added Internet Forums to the list  (I just can’t cope with all the bickering) and I am seriously thinking about adding Twitter. I don’t get it and I can’t be bothered and it stresses me out because I feel I should be on twitter (because everyone else is, right? See, how this works?).

Tim Ferriss calls this “selective ignorance”, he uses it mainly in the context of information overload and doesn’t read papers and only checks his email once a week (I am still developing my slow email strategy – I will write about it once I have it sorted-ish).

Sherlock Holmes, that famous fictional detective, was well known for having very little “general knowledge” and avoided anything that didn’t directly effect (or is that ‘affect’? I am never sure) what he is currently working on. Although he knew a lot (he is often considered a polymath), he only knew it in the context of what he needed it for (I am not suggesting you be this strict with yourself!)

How do you start your ‘NOT To Do’ List?

Easy. But it does take a bit soul searching and discipline; you have to be honest with yourself.

I highly recommend you treat your ‘Not To Do’ list in the exactly the same way as a ‘To Do’ list: Write it down. Not on a scrap of paper, but in a decent notebook (so you won’t lose it). I also add a date and a reason why (some things I have added to my list I have come back to years later and can’t remember why I added them in the first place).

So, what do you put your list?

Well, listing things you never intended to do in the first place can act as catalyst to get you going, but it does seem a bit pointless if you have already, resolutely, made up your mind you are not going to do it. I could add “join the BNP” to my list if I wanted, but that seems rather daft…

So, begin with things that you feel you should do (see the “dreaded shoulds” here), these are often the things we struggle with in a our daily lives, never really get round to doing (because you don’t really want to do it), but they seem to gnaw await at you, you get a nagging feeling you ought do them…

Then start listing things you are doing now just for the sake of. You probably have lots of habits that have just developed over the years that no longer really have any reasonable function, you just do them because you have always done them.

Not sure if it should be on the list? Put it on for a week and see if you miss it, if you last a week, leave it there for a month, if after a month you still haven’t needed to do or missed it, put it on forever.

You see, the idea of a good ‘NOT To Do’ list, is to start cutting back on what you are doing now as well as resolving not to do new (irrelevant) things.

Then of course, it frees up time and energy (and, often, money too) to do the things you actually want to do, but we will talk about that next time…

Matt

The Slow Coach is Off to See Banksy

Sorry for no post again today, not been great recently. Been busy, busy, busy (and as I said in this post, “busy” rarely means “productive”!). Still, remember the 1st rule of slow blogging  – “it happens when it happens”!

I am off to see the Banksy exhibition at Bristol museum.

Will be back tomorrow,

SC

Is Slow Anti-Work?

I am just reading “Useful Work Vs Useless Toil” by William Morris (one of the excellent Great Idea’s Series by Penguin) and I was thinking about a question I wanted to talk about for some time, which is “Is Slow anti-work?”. I am going to give a brief answer here and hopefully expand the idea of “Slow Work” and how to do it over the next few posts.

William Morris was a leading figure in the Arts and Crafts Movement and argued that all work should be a source of pride and satisfaction, and that everyone should be entitled to beautiful surroundings – no matter what their class (although, sadly, most people only remember him as a type of wall paper!).

He made a distinction between work and toil and thought that what most people call work is in fact “useless toil”. Surprisingly, for a man of such prolific output, he described himself as an Idler!

Because, remember Slow is not about being lazy or slothful, it is about getting the right things done to the right standard and holds quality above quantity.

Sadly, when most people work they are very busy, but rarely productive. They do things to either fill the hours they are at work or do things because “they have always been done that way” with no thought about why they are doing it or if there is a better way for it to be done. We just pile more and more stuff to be done on our desks and plough through it. Rarely having the time to stop and think if it really NEED’s to be done. Our answer to all this extra stuff is to work longer hours or try and introduce time saving devices (such as the Blackberry!) which rarely solve the problem and ofte just make it worse!

And even more sadly, we reward busyness in our Society! It is not about how much you get done, it is about how much you are PERCEIVED to be getting done! You know the old phrase “you want something done give it to a BUSY person”. Nonsense!

Over the next few posts we will look at ho to be more productive, so you can get more done to a better standard in less time and with less stress. Often, by applying Slow ideas in the work place you find you seem to speed up! And then wonder what you used to do all day…

SC

The Best of Tortoise Knows Best So Far…(Part 2: The WordPress.com Days)

Continuing the best of theme. Here is the “best of” the WordPress.com days (running from October ’08 – January ’09):

The Little Things
Where I muse on how it is often the little things that we don’t really pay attention too that makes us the happiest in life, not the big bucks stuff we would expect.

Tempo Guisto
About how Slow doesn’t always mean ‘slow’…

Slow Time Part 1

First (and so far only) entry in an occasion series discussing time…

Secret Agent of Slow

How, by slowing down you will start to help and inspire other people to do the same, just by your actions.

How to Be Slow in Fast Environment Series

Part 1:  Centering

Part 2: The Key Traits to be Slow in a Fast Environment.

Part 3: Breathe!

I started this series again and continued it  in the SlowCasts (see yesterdays “Best Of”)

Cleanliness is Next to Slowliness
About how being slow isn’t about being lazy or slothful (a re-occurring theme) and how disorganisation and mess is “anti-Slow”.

Slow Odes Part 1: Public Transport
First (and so far only) post in an occasional series praising Slowness.

Twittering Nonsense.
Being rather critical of Twitter. I have been experimenting with it recently here and will post a follow-up entry soon.
Part 3: The Podbean Days will be up tomorrow.

SC

De-clutter your mind to give you space to slow down. Part 6: Shoulds

Right, we are onto the last step of de-cluttering your mind. Tomorrow I will post a short review of the steps.

The final step is to deal with those annoying “shoulds”, you know the things on the list you found it very difficult to get rid of or cross off because they seemed very important you think you should be doing them.

Well, who says? We spend a lot of our time doing and stressing about things we think we should do. Yet we rarely stop and question why we should be doing them. They are things we have picked up as habits from other people telling us to do things. Often we have picked them up at an early age and just do them over and over again, until they become habit and we carry on doing them even though the reason we did them (if there ever was one) is long gone.

So, if there is anything on your list that you feel compelled to carry on doing even though it doesn’t have an obvious reason or creates as obvious result, or you have thought of a better way of doing it it, it is probably a “should”.

How do we deal with “shoulds”? Well it would be very easy for me to say “jut stop doing them”, but it isn’t as easy as that is it?

So what I propose is a series of “should” fasts:

Get the list of things you think may be “shoulds” , start at the top and resolve to stop doing the first one for two weeks, just two weeks, that is all. If there is a need for you to do it, you will notice within those two weeks and you can start doing it again. If you don’t find a reason or doing it in those two weeks, cross it off the list, never do it again and move on to the next list.

Why one at a time and for two weeks?

Well, remember the best way to slow down is slowly, if you try and slow down too fast you will end up getting in a mess and fluster and be back at square one before you know it.

So, by doing one at a time you can focus on it and make sure you do it properly, and the 2 weeks thing  is to give you enough time to consciously break the habit.

Make sense?

Matt

De-clutter your mind to give you space to slow down. Part 5: Needs

Well, so far we have got you to capture all the stuff rushing round in your head, so it is out and  written down. That probably made you feel much better already! I often carry a notepad with me, so that I can scribble stuff down as I think of them. Makes me feel better.

Then we got you to organise that list into the reasons why you wanted or needed to do that task.

Then we got rid of the initial “capture” list and, with the goals in mind started developing ways to achieve that goal in a fun and creative way, so that the journey becomes the important part, not the goal setting.

But, on that initial capture list there would have been things you NEED to do, that you couldn’t get rid of your capture list, things like paying the bills for example. You don’t enjoy doing it, but you need to do it.

Remember being slow is not about being slothful or disorganised or not doing what needs to be done.

So, simply with these tasks you need to be disciplined, develop a process for doing them and stick to it.

I, for example, do my finance stuff once a month. I hate doing it, but because I am organised, it doesn’t take too long.

What process you do is up to you and what suits you best, but 2 quick tips:

1. Automate or Outsource.

Get someone or something else to do it for you! The obvious example of this is direct debits. If you set up direct debits, you know the bills will be paid and you don’t need to worry about the. With outsourcing, is there someone else you can get to do it for you? You could offer to do something in return for the exchange or pay for it. There is a big growth in virtual assistants, Timothy Ferris talks about them a lot in his book The 4-Hour Work week!

Be creative about your options.

2. Reward.

If we give ourselves a treat for doing something we don’t like we will be more motivated to do it (obvious really!). But you have to be disciplined with yourself (don’t trust yourself? Get someone else to reward you once you are done!). Don’t do half a job and then have the reward, thinking “I will finish it up later…” you won’t!

Tomorrow we will look at the final step, the dreaded shoulds!

Matt

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De-clutter your mind to give you space to slow down. Part 3: Why?

Hello again, carrying on from the mini-theme I started last week I am going to carry on talking about how to de-clutter your mind and your thought processes to streamline your daily activities so that you can find space to be slow and really appreciate what you want to in life…

OK, so you have now got all your stuff sorted and chunked into categories. Remember there is no right or wrong answers, just what feels right to you.

Now you have go your categories. Ask yourself why you want to do it, or why you think you should do it. Why are you doing that category. Make sense?

So, if one of your categories was “fitness” ask yourself why. Write down a few sentences about why you want to be fitter. Something like “so that I can be healthier and have more energy and confidence to enjoy life”.

If you cannot think of a why, the chances are that you are doing this category because you think you should.

Should is an awful word! Think about anything you think you should be doing and you probably don’t want to do it do you? And, if you really think about it, you probably don’t NEED to either, it is just some silly habit you have picked up often by external pressure of people making you think you need to do it. Abandon anything you think you SHOULD be doing (more about that in later posts) and you will instantly free up a lot of your time!

Next we talk about generating creativity and choice to finally get out of the “to do” mentality…

Matt

Finding the Space to Be Slow

The slow life is the simple life, is the easy life. To be able to slow down you need to create space to do so.

To create space you need 2 things:

1) (Ruthless) elimination of non-essentials. This frees up time and resources to embrace the slow lifestyle, spending more time doing what you want rather than what you think you should…

2) Discipline (so that you can do number 1!)

These make the difference between slow and sloth. Sloth is about not doing what you need to and generally ignoring things that need to be done in favour of doing something (or nothing) else.

A slow person organises their life so that they get done what they need to get done in a way that gives them plenty of time to do what they want.

Make sense? The only thing that stops you from embracing your slow life is the emotional attachments you have to the clutter you have gathered, the old habits, the junk in the loft, the stuff piled behind the sofa… All the things you know you don’t need but are clinging on to, just in case…

You need to start de-cluttering by de-cluttering your mind. Creating slow habits. If you don’t do that you will not get very far at all. A lot is talked about creating habits, but, as you know if you have ever tried, it can be quite tricky, so over the next few posts, I will talk you through a simple process to create your tortoise habits!

Matt