The Less You Hurry, the More Time You Seem to Have | 10 Ways to Slow Down Time

Why slowing down might be the most productive thing you do

At first glance, it sounds like nonsense. Move slower… and somehow end up with more time? But when you look at how our brains, attention, and decisions actually work, the paradox starts to dissolve.

Hurrying creates a kind of internal friction. When you rush, your attention fragments, you jump ahead, second-guess yourself, miss details, and often have to backtrack. Tasks take longer not because they’re inherently complex, but because your mind isn’t fully with them.

Slowing down does the opposite. It gathers your attention into one place. You make cleaner decisions, fewer mistakes, and you move through tasks with a kind of quiet efficiency. The time you “lose” by not rushing is often gained back, and then some, because you’re not spending extra minutes (or hours) fixing, redoing, or stressing.

There’s also a psychological layer. When you hurry, your nervous system reads that as urgency or even threat. Time starts to feel scarce. But when you move deliberately, your body relaxes, your thinking sharpens, and time feels more spacious. You haven’t changed the clock—you’ve changed your experience of it.

The Less You Hurry, the More Time You Seem to Have | 10 Ways to Slow Down Time

The Real Problem Isn’t Time - It’s Hurry

We often assume that if we just managed our time better, we wouldn’t feel so rushed. But the deeper truth is this: hurry isn’t a scheduling issue, it’s a lifestyle pattern.

In The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, John Mark Comer makes a compelling case that hurry has quietly become the default rhythm of modern life. It’s not just something we do occasionally—it’s something we live inside of.

If that’s true, then eliminating hurry isn’t about squeezing more into your day. It’s about designing a life where rushing simply doesn’t make sense anymore.

How to Slow Down your Life

1. Protect your sleep like it matters - because it does

Going to bed earlier and waking up earlier isn’t about discipline, it’s about dignity. Most rushing begins in the morning. When you start your day late, everything that follows carries a subtle pressure. But when you wake up with even a little extra time, your entire day softens. A calm morning creates a calm nervous system, and that changes everything.

2. Begin your day in quiet, not consumption

Before the world gets to you, take a few minutes to be with yourself. No phone. No news. No input. Instead:

Sit in silence
Journal your thoughts
Reflect or pray
Enjoy your coffee slowly

This isn’t wasted time—it’s how you set the tone for a day that doesn’t feel rushed.

3. Do less than you think you can

This one takes honesty. Most people overestimate how much they can handle in a day. The result? Constant pressure and the feeling of always being behind. Try this simple rule:If your schedule feels “just manageable,” it’s already too full. Leave space. That space is where calm lives.

4. Give yourself a real day of rest

One full day a week with no productivity goals.

No catching up. No squeezing in errands. No “just one more thing.”

Rest, enjoy, connect, breathe.

This kind of intentional rest resets your system. It reminds your body that life is not an emergency.

5. Simplify everything you can

Every possession, commitment, and obligation carries a hidden cost: your time and attention.

The more you own and manage, the more you have to think about. And the more you have to think about, the more rushed you feel.

Simplify your home, your calendar, your digital life. Less stuff, more time.

6. Create boundaries with technology

Much of our urgency is manufactured. Notifications, messages, constant updates, they all create the illusion that everything needs your attention right now. Consider:

Turning off non-essential notifications
Keeping your phone out of reach during focused time
Creating tech-free windows in your day

You don’t need to respond to everything immediately. Very little is truly urgent.

7. Build transition time into your day

Rushing often happens in the spaces between things. When you move from one commitment to the next without pause, your nervous system never gets a chance to reset. Instead:

Leave 5–10 minutes between appointments
Arrive early instead of “just on time”
Give yourself time to close one task before starting another

These small buffers create a surprising amount of ease.

8. Let your body lead the way

Your body can teach your mind how to slow down.

Try:

Walking a little slower
Eating without distraction
Pausing before you respond in conversation

These are small acts, but they send a powerful message: there is no emergency.

9. Accept your limits

This may be the most important shift of all. You cannot do everything. You were never meant to.

Much of our rushing comes from trying to fit too much into a life that has natural limits. Letting go of that expectation isn’t failure, it’s freedom.

10. Redefine what it means to be productive

Instead of asking, “How much did I get done?” Try asking, “How present was I in what I did?”

Presence creates quality. And quality often matters more than quantity.

Book recommendations

Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman offers a grounded, refreshing perspective on time, one that invites you to stop trying to do everything, and instead focus on what truly matters.

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer takes a more lifestyle-oriented approach, showing how hurry has quietly become a way of life—and how practices like rest, simplicity, and intentional living can gently dismantle it.

Takeaway

Hurry isn’t a time problem, it’s a way of being. You don’t eliminate it by becoming more efficient. You eliminate it by creating a life with enough space, enough rest, and enough intention that urgency is no longer your default setting. When you slow down - not lazily, but deliberately - you don’t fall behind. You finally arrive.

If you’d like support in creating a calmer, more grounded relationship with time, stress, and productivity, you’re warmly invited to book a wellness counselling session. And if this resonated, consider subscribing to Simply Abundance Magazine for more reflections like this.