If you’ve heard anything about the growing ‘Slow Movement’, then you may have wondered how you could make this practice work for your business. The Slow Movement concentrates on living a life of more enjoyment and less rushing around to get things done, just for the sake of doing them. Its focus is value, both in your personal life and in your business, and that value in your business includes time for you as well as time for your clients.
While very much a proponent of work/life balance, The Slow Movement takes things a step further by incorporating all aspects of your life, ensuring that you are totally involved in every minute of your day, not wasting time on the unimportant. It takes notice of the fact that fast and busy are not the same as effective and focused.
Three noticeable ways that you can slow down while running your business are:
Stay calm.
Most business mistakes are made when we are under pressure. Decisions that are made in a hurry without listening to your inner voice can be costly. The lost art of reflection before action, spending time thinking things through before rushing into them is one that we should gladly learn to appreciate. It will be of benefit to you in many ways, not the least of which is your business.
Concentrate on value.
Recently, with the accelerating pace of our jobs and the expectations because of this, most small business owners feel they are in a race to always be the best – and the best these days usually means the fastest! But we aren’t necessarily receiving anything in return for this. Our lives are not improving, we aren’t making more money and we definitely aren’t happier. Our health and peace of mind are both paying the price for our increase in speed. In order to do things well, we need to slow down.
Decide what really matters.
One thing that is epidemic in our society is wasting our time on the unimportant. While The Slow Movement does consider that we rush around too much, it also emphasizes the fact that a lot of the rushing is all in our heads. The use of technology for so many more things than in the past has actually added to our stress by making an app available for just about everything. Step outside of the crowd and be bold enough to do things a little bit differently. Actually live your life!
The Slow Movement can be a lifesaver for those who find their lives filled with too many things to do and too many responsibilities – real or imagined! Taking the time to do things at the right speed and as well as you can – high quality work instead of a lot of work – means your business will benefit and so will you.
© Chris Draper, DemGen Inc 2013
