Slowing down seems to be a foreign concept to our modern culture that values being
busy as the way to get things done. But what if we’re missing a key concept and
actually thwarting our efforts to productivity?
According to statistics, 89% of Americans have experienced burnout in the last year [1],
and right now in the U.S., over 40 million adults have some type of anxiety disorder [2].
We obviously need a solution other than busyness, yet something that will allow us to
get things done.
Many of us sit at a computer for 8+ hours a day, answering emails, attending in-person
and virtual meetings, posting on social media, emailing our email list, putting out fires,
and whatever other miscellaneous tasks come our way. If we’re a homemaker, we may
spend our days tending to our children, cooking, cleaning, and scheduling appointments.
We go about our days struggling to focus as we multitask like crazy, and by the end of
the day, we feel drained of most (if not all) of our energy, yet feel like we hardly got
anything done of importance. What if there was a better way?
What if we could feel clear-headed enough to focus on one task at a time and actually
complete it with excellence rather than mediocrity? What if we could end our days
feeling excited about what we got accomplished AND still have energy to spare for our
loved ones, without feeling irritable and ready to snap?
While it may seem to make more sense to always be “doing”, we really need to start
focusing on “being”. It’s in the being that we truly learn how to do more of what matters.
How do we learn to just “be”, and how can we use it to our advantage? The answer lies
in nature.
Nature Therapy (also known as Forest Bathing, Forest Therapy, or Shinrin-Yoku) is
widely known to reduce anxiety and stress, lower blood pressure, help us focus better,
spark creativity, and improve our overall mood [3]. Some say being in nature gives them
peace, which makes sense considering nature was uniquely designed by our amazing
God, The God of Peace.
What exactly is nature therapy? How do we do it?
In its simplest form, this practice is just getting outdoors and immersing yourself in
nature. Surround yourself with trees, plants, and flowers, and really allow yourself to be
present in the moment. This could mean going to a local park and walking through the
woods, or sitting out in your backyard next to plants and flowers. It could mean working
in your garden, or laying on the grass and doing some cloud gazing.
Time in nature isn’t just reserved for children, or for those who have plenty of time on
their hands, or for those who are “nature lovers”. Nature is crucial for EVERYONE,
especially those who feel stressed out, overwhelmed, and struggling to get things done.
And the great news for those of us who are “super busy” is that we only need to be
outside for 120 minutes a week to experience benefits [4]. If you break it up, that’s just
20 minutes a day, 6 days a week. And those 20 minutes don’t need to be all at once.
When we feel up to our necks in tasks and deadlines, the best thing we can do is take a
break (even if a very short one) and get outside. This may seem counterintuitive when
we already feel we don’t have enough time, but stick with me, here. Not only will it give
us the time and space we need to process all that needs to be done, but it also helps us
clear our head enough to think of HOW to get those things done more efficiently.
Have you ever tried to figure out how to do something and got so frustrated, only to
come up with a really cool idea a day or two later while you were walking to the mailbox, or watering the garden, or even taking a shower? Those times of slowness are when we gain clarity.
When we stay glued to our screens, or constantly moving from one chore to the next
without a break, we actually become less efficient in our tasks, and our work becomes
mediocre. Taking a nature break teaches us how to slow down, focus better, enhance
creativity, and find calm.
It can also help us see more clearly those things on our list that might not actually be as
important as we thought they were. Perhaps we said “yes” to our boss to do a task that
we really don’t have the capacity to tackle, and it’s causing a lot of stress. That nature
break can help create space to process that, and give us the confidence to go back and
tell them we can’t take that on afterall.
If you have several meetings throughout the day, or a long list of house chores, take a
5-10 minute break between each one to step outside and inhale the fresh air. Find a tree, plant, or flower nearby to sit or stand next to. Engage your five senses by smelling the leaves, noticing their texture, feeling them, and listening to the sounds around you. Is the wind blowing? Can you hear a bee buzzing? Take a snack with you and eat it outside, noticing the taste of each bite.
Even with this short nature break, you will be able to go back into those meetings and
chores with more clarity, less anxiety, and feeling a bit more energized, helping you
tackle those tasks more quickly and efficiently. You may also notice that you feel more
alive than you would if you had stayed indoors the whole day.
In Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden, he wrote "I went to the woods because I wished
to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn
what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
Thoreau had the right idea. When we learn to live deliberately by making time to slow
down and connect with nature, we actually begin to truly live, and that’s when we see
ourselves doing more of what matters.
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Meet the author:
As a health and wellness coach, I work primarily with clients with Type 2 Diabetes, helping them transition to a more plant-based lifestyle so they can lose weight, lower their blood pressure, and enjoy a better quality of life. I also encourage them to spend adequate time outdoors to help lower their blood pressure, lower anxiety, and boost their immune system. I’m a trained nature therapy guide, and have led numerous walks both in-person and virtually, and have personally seen the positive impact of spending more time in nature.
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