Happy Sunday!
This week I started with a Note, saying it is finally time to slow down. I could feel the burnout creeping in, from more than one place. The remnants of a quarter of heavy workload in my job, building on Substack while planning an international wedding, and not to mention the frustrations of injuries while trying to achieve my dream wedding physique…
How did I respond?
I read more this week than I have in over a year. I willingly missed days on Substack, to give myself time to recover. Kylen and I dedicated Saturday to spending time together and putting us first.
It was awesome.
Not because I delayed responding to messages. Or because I let myself be okay with ‘doing less.’
Because I got back in control. I tapped the brakes. I stopped letting deadlines, expectations, and aspirations push me into an all-out sprint for yet another week.
That’s why I want to celebrate Summer Slowness. From the moment I posted that note on June 1st, I knew exactly what I wanted to talk about today.
Now let’s get going… slowly!
What is the Point of Summer Slowness
We have 24 hours in every day. These can feel drastically different when we are slow and in control versus rushing and chaotic.
I vividly remember growing up in the summer when the days were incredibly slow. My brother and I would play video games, play sports outside, and swim in the pool (in between running… errands with our Mom). Life was simpler then, and I always cherished the slow pace before getting back into the school in the fall.
Now my days are filled in their entirety. We have two dogs, I work in finance, we’re planning an international wedding (along with bachelor and bachelorette parties, and our honeymoon), and I write this little ole blog here.
“I need to slow life down man. The sprinting everywhere isn’t sustainable in the long-term.” - Quote from my journal earlier this week.
Why am I in such a rush?
Why are we enabling the system to press further and further down on the accelerator?
The point of ‘Summer Slowness’ is to push back. It’s to enjoy the moment a little bit more. It’s to take some time to do something for you. To spend time with your loved ones. To not let the speed of everything around you rattle your shell.
We are humans. Not race cars.
Why is Slowing Down More Important Than Ever?
In Year of Sunday Spirit #27, our guest mentioned “I was surprised to learn that growth doesn’t always come from doing more, it often comes from slowing down and listening.”
How many of us does this statement apply to?
It’s even more true today than it was a year ago too.
A couple days ago, Anthropic released an article on Recursive Self-Improvement, a fancy way of saying AI is able to help build better AI.
The company that is quite literally speeding up the world faster than anything else is saying we have to slow down. This is no coincidence.
We simply cannot keep up. Humans are awesome, but we have technology at our fingertips that simply far exceeds our current collective capacity and skillsets.
We live in a world where if you aren’t optimizing all of your workflows with AI, digitizing every paper process, and automating every thought to a second brain, you are “inefficient.” I’d like to consider myself pretty proficient technically, and I am beginning to get pretty tired of it. People are getting left behind because everyone wants everything to be FASTER.
Spend time learning and staying close to current on what’s going on in the world, but don’t feel the pressure to be a software engineer yesterday. Don’t feel the need to 10X your work output because you are “AI-enabled” now.
I do my best to keep up, I do my best to learn daily, but going much further will only lead me right down Burnout Lane, which is not where I want to be.
I promised myself that during this summer, I’m going to try and slow down wherever I can. A seemingly ambitious task, considering our wedding is in less than 100 days, but I truly believe it is possible. It starts with acknowledging what I was enabling in my work and personal life. Now that I’m aware, I will actively seek ways to slow things down… and try my best to be okay with it.
How Can We Practice Summer Slowness
But what do you change when all of the things taking up your time are non-negotiable?
I’ve found three things to be really helpful for slowing down.
Clearing my social calendar and obligations for a couple days
Cleaning my environments (digital and physical)
Doing things that give me peace of mind (relaxing and restorative)
Kylen and I enjoyed our first weekend together at home in two months.
I cleaned our whole house and started clearing the endless tabs on my devices.
I spent time by the water and reading, which are two of the most relaxing things to me.
For me, the overall principle goes back to channeling that childhood version of myself that I referenced earlier. Another example is Kristian Saldana, who following a milestone at work, took his family on a vacation to disconnect and shared this Note: “Somewhere along the way, many of us trade presence for optimization.”
Instead of “optimizing” every second of every day, why don’t we try to enjoy the scenic route for once?
We can either become a slave to the endless feedback loop of doing more, or we can fight back against the system. The system is literally designed to make our current version of ourselves feel inadequate.
The truth is, we are more than enough. We have a good idea of what is truly important. We are capable of creating a life where we live more on our terms.
I set out on June 1st with this goal of ‘Summer Slowness,’ not consciously aware of how close to burnout I was. After reflecting on how chaotic and busy my life was getting, I realized I needed to change something.
Embrace the weekends where you can slow down. Cleaning your environment helps you feel at peace. Investing in your health and wellness is ALWAYS a good choice.
That’s how I’m practicing ‘Summer Slowness.’ What can you do in your life?
Final Words
No matter what season of life you are in, look for places where you can regain control. Schedule time for relaxation and wellness (I will be scheduling a massage this week). I will be continuing the slow momentum I built this week and see the effect on my health and energy in the coming weeks and months.
If you have practices that help you “slow down,” I would love to hear them!
I hope your summer is off to a great start and you have an amazing week ahead!
And remember this summer that we are human, not race cars, and we should tap the brakes and enjoy the ride.
Chase! I appreciate you referencing my previous note around trading presence for optimization. Presence is something I am trying to be more intentional about. I also believe presence and time are the greatest gifts we can give our loved ones.
I like the balance you're striking between taking care of the non-negotiables (especially wedding planning, work etc..), but then also slowing down with purpose. It's never either or, but both/and. That balance will pay dividends and avoid future exhaustion and over-optimization.
I work in the software development space and we are EXPECTED to use AI for just about everything - where everything needs to be lean and efficient. It is very easy for that type of thinking to bleed into our every day lives.
Thank you for the reminder on the importance of slowing down.
Enjoy the summer!
It's funny how you talked about slowing down and taking a bit of time to relax and recharge, while I posted about the same topic just 4 days before you in "How to stop measuring our lives only by what's missing"! We must have been synchronised. Love this piece, taking time to slow down is so important