Slow it Up : The Magic of Slow Mornings

I have this tendency to pack my life similarly to how I pack my suitcase – clearly overstuffed and needing me to sit my entire body weight on it to get it to zip closed. I fill every little moment and try to squeeze every ounce of productivity out of each second. It’s both kind of a necessity of life right now, as well as how I tend to function best – but we all have our limits. After spending the weekend in Atlanta for a Pickleball tournament, waking up at 5 each day and then getting home from the airport at 2am and heading to work at 7am on Monday, you could say I was tired. Maybe tired isn’t the right word – zombieque might be closer to the horror show of me surviving solely on coffee and dry shampoo. I also had a personal project I was working on, so the few quiet minutes I had this weekend were spent trying to extract any sense from my brain to put towards that.

Now ya’ll know I am a certified gym rat. Exercise is a huge priority in my life, because I know I feel better physically, mentally, and basically all ways when I’m sweating it out on the daily. It’s usually the highest priority on my to do list each day, because I know everything else will feel like I piece of cake after that. Usually I wouldn’t miss it for the world, but today I decided I needed to skip it. Instead of waking up and running non-stop from the second my alarm went off I decided to just have a slow morning. I still got up early, but was able to take my time, get a shower, play with my pups, change my outfit thirty or so times, and pack my lunch without feeling the need to check the clock every few seconds.

Sure, I could have woke up a little later. Sure, I could have fit my workout in. Sure, I could have done a hundred more productive things in that hour and a half – but I didn’t, and that’s not just okay, that’s awesome. Slow mornings can have such a huge benefit for mental health. It’s like a mini spa day for your brain. Not needing to rush rush rush helps your brain reset, turn off that fight or flight response for a few minutes, and actually let your brain switch back to a healthy thinking pattern.

So, yeah, It’s Wednesday and I’ve only gotten one workout in this week, but I’ll survive. Sometimes you just need a morning to reset and play with your puppies – at least, that’s what they told me.

(P.S. – Ten points to anyone who got that Office reference in the title – a truly classic Angela moment)