As the title states, this is a note to those who are always on the go– parents, ambitious professionals, caffeine feigns, busy bodies, the over-bookers, and to everyone who struggles with FOMO.

Always in a rush? Constantly hurrying to get to the next thing?

What does this do to your mind and relationships?

Some possible consequences… Thoughts become rushed and hurried. Emotional processing becomes rushed and hurried. Decisions become rushed and hurried. Interactions feel rushed and hurried. Life passes you by– rushed and hurried. Kids grow up– rushed and hurried. And on and on the vicious cycle continues.

Rush! Hurry! Get to the next thing!

If this is how you choose to live, that’s your right. But if you’d like to try something different and get a little calmer while you’re at it, consider these simple tips. None of them are groundbreaking discoveries, but maybe they’ll be helpful.

1. Slow Down.

Walk slower. Talk slower. Eat slower. Breathe slower. Reach for your next sip of coffee slower. Dare I say, drive slower? Doesn’t have to be a lot slower, just a little bit slower. Do it consciously. Choose your pace.

Intentionally slowing down basic, everyday actions will help disrupt your automatic patterns and down-regulate your nervous system– AKA help you get calmer.

Another way to slow down is to press the pause button. If you’ve ever played video games, you know about the pause button. Although we can’t have the exact same thing in reality (it’s just a metaphor), we should consider incorporating something like it into our lives. However, the premise for pausing in real life isn’t to check your phone or get food out of the microwave– it’s to create time for noticing. Notice things like the ground beneath you, the sky above you, the mood within you, the energy you’re giving off, these kinds of things.

But wait, you don’t have the time! You won’t get anything done!

That’s not true. Test the theory. You’ll still get plenty done.

2. Take advantage of “calm potentiality.”

Life sometimes presents gifts, and there doesn’t need to be a reason why. The only thing for us to do is to accept them as they come. One of these gifts is (potentially) calm moments. But in order to embrace them fully, you must know what you’re looking for.

Constantly being on the go can make anxiety your default psychological setting, which means you might feel hurried when there is no need to hurry or like you need to solve a problem when there is no problem to solve or that you need to get somewhere when there is no place to be. These moments naturally possess what I call “calm potentiality.” When there is no need to hurry, no problem to solve, and no place to be, recognize this and settle into it, even if it’s just a few minutes.

Might sound strange to say, but it’s okay to be okay.

3. Get some sleep.

This one is tough for those who are always on the go. It could be true that your life might be in a circumstance that makes this virtually impossible, so understanding the “why” behind your sacrifice might be the best you can do. I get that.

But in situations where sleep is possible, which is most cases if we’re being honest, we have to make it a top priority.

The research is absolutely clear: poor sleep negatively affects every single dimension of health. We need to honor our need for rest by having a bedtime routine, not consuming sleep-disrupting substances (alcohol, caffeine, marijuana, food, etc.) too close before dozing off, and giving ourselves permission to let go of the day’s activities. Quality sleep allows your subconscious mind to do its thing–reorganize information and clean out the junk. Without this, brain functioning suffers.

To conclude, here are some benefits to the tips listed above… You might actually be more thorough in your thinking. You might process emotions more clearly and be able to stabilize your mood. Your interactions with others will seem less pressured. You will make better decisions. Life will still pass you by because that’s what life does, but you will actually be present for more of it. Your kids will grow up too, but probably not so rushed and hurried. And ultimately, the vicious cycle might stop with you.