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KATE NORTHRUP WANTS YOU TO SLOW DOWN. HERE’S WHY (AND HOW).
If you’ve taken a barre3 class, you’ve heard your instructor remind you that sometimes, slowing down will get you the best results. Kate Northrup, an entrepreneur, bestselling author, speaker, and mom, fully supports this philosophy—not just in workouts, but in life. In fact, she believes so strongly in the power of slowing down that it’s the focus of her just-released book Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms.
Here, Northrup explains why doing less can actually produce better results, and she shares her top tips on how to get started.
We all want amazing results, whether it’s from our workouts or from time logged at our computers.
You want better results, you need to put in more hours, right?
Actually, though we’ve all been enculturated to believe that, the data says something different.
There’s some really good evidence (besides the feeling of calm we experience in our bodies) that slowing down and doing less can actually get us better results than rushing around and being busy all the time.
I’ve got two little kids (1 and 3.5), a 7-figure company, a husband, a family I love, friends I care deeply about, and causes that matter to me—not to mention a body, a house, and a heart—that all need taking care of.
I have a lot on my plate, just like you. We can all get seduced into believing that the faster we go, the more we’ll get done. But the science just doesn’t back it up.
If you want to get better results (a stronger core, advancements in your career, deeper connection with the people you love, more money in your bank account, and less stress, to name a few ideas), slowing down may actually be your ticket.
Here are 3 evidence-based strategies to try:
SCHEDULE REST AND RECOVERY
If you don’t give your body a break, it will force you to give it one. We’ve all been flat on our backs after pushing too hard and know exactly what I’m talking about here.
Most of us think that the way to be more productive is to push through the signs that our body needs something (fatigue, brain fog, physical discomfort, low energy, hunger, or thirst) and just keep working.
According to data reported by Business Insider, though, if we don’t take a break at the first sign our body needs one, then we’ll actually begin to distract ourselves by picking up our phones to scroll, opening another browser tab, or starting a new task while we’re in the middle of another one. Our mind and body need a break, so we’ll take it unconsciously, therefore derailing our productivity.
Instead, if we pause at the first sign of fatigue or a physical need, when we come back to our work, we’ll be more focused and get more done in less time. This saves us time and ensures we’re not spuds at the end of the day (so that we have energy for a workout or having fun with our families!) The ideal ratio is roughly 45-50 minutes of work following by about a 15 minute break.
Plus, taking regular breaks allows our brain to function more creatively and have powerful breakthrough moments where we make new connections or come up with novel solutions that we wouldn’t be able to figure out if we just stayed glued to our desks without hitting refresh every now and again.
DO ONE THING AT ONCE
If you think you’re multitasking to get more done, you’re mistaken. Multitasking is just switching back and forth between two tasks, and when you do it, your IQ drops by 40% and you make more errors.
If you really want better results, give yourself the space to do one thing at once. It may take practice to retrain your brain from jumping from thing to thing, but if you put in the effort, the results will be astounding.
When we switch from thing to thing (or get distracted), it takes us a full 25 minutes to get refocused. The average person gets distracted every 11 minutes during their workday (!), and if you do the math, it becomes pretty obvious that most of us are focused on what we’re doing for exactly zero minutes per day.
When you slow down, you’ll complete things more quickly and have less stress from constantly trying to get refocused so you’ll feel more energized at the end of the workday.
RESPOND INSTEAD OF REACT
When you practice building in time for rest and recovery and also start doing one thing at a time, you have more space and energy to be responsive instead of reactive.
When we’re rushing from thing to thing, doing twenty things at once, we drop balls, things get miscommunicated, we make more errors, and our days are generally chaotic. Throw the inevitable disappointment, uncontrollable situation with our children, or any other brand of unexpected life event into the mix, and we can lash out in all kinds of ways that require a lot of time and energy to clean up afterward.
The beautiful thing about slowing down is that it’s a self-fulfilling cycle of creating more space and ease in our lives because it gives us the wiggle room to respond instead of react to situations that arise.
For example, imagine you’ve been running from meeting to meeting all day, trying to shoot off emails in the elevator or the back of a cab, and your husband calls to tell you that he forgot to pick up dinner even though it was his night to handle it. Because you’ve been rushing and multitasking all day, you fly off the handle and react out of proportion to the situation at hand. Now, on top of feeling fried and exhausted, you also have an issue with your husband that you’ll need to clean up later tonight which will only add to the emotional and physical exhaustion, thus starting your next day depleted.
You see the problem?
When we slow down, we get better results because space begets space. Ease begets ease. Once we start getting better results from slowing down, it becomes a beautiful cycle of less stress and more fulfillment.
Give yourself the gift of slowing down, and you’ll receive the gift of amazing results and significantly more joy and peace.
Have you tried the slow-down approach in your barre3 workout? Try it in your next studio or online class and notice how it feels in your body.
If you’ve taken a barre3 class, you’ve heard your instructor remind you that sometimes, slowing down will get you the best results. Kate Northrup, an entrepreneur, bestselling author, speaker, and mom, fully supports this philosophy—not just in workouts, but in life. In fact, she believes so strongly in the power of slowing down that it’s the focus of her just-released book Do Less: A Revolutionary Approach to Time and Energy Management for Busy Moms.
Here, Northrup explains why doing less can actually produce better results, and she shares her top tips on how to get started.
We all want amazing results, whether it’s from our workouts or from time logged at our computers.
You want better results, you need to put in more hours, right?
Actually, though we’ve all been enculturated to believe that, the data says something different.
There’s some really good evidence (besides the feeling of calm we experience in our bodies) that slowing down and doing less can actually get us better results than rushing around and being busy all the time.
I’ve got two little kids (1 and 3.5), a 7-figure company, a husband, a family I love, friends I care deeply about, and causes that matter to me—not to mention a body, a house, and a heart—that all need taking care of.
I have a lot on my plate, just like you. We can all get seduced into believing that the faster we go, the more we’ll get done. But the science just doesn’t back it up.
If you want to get better results (a stronger core, advancements in your career, deeper connection with the people you love, more money in your bank account, and less stress, to name a few ideas), slowing down may actually be your ticket.
Here are 3 evidence-based strategies to try:
SCHEDULE REST AND RECOVERY
If you don’t give your body a break, it will force you to give it one. We’ve all been flat on our backs after pushing too hard and know exactly what I’m talking about here.
Most of us think that the way to be more productive is to push through the signs that our body needs something (fatigue, brain fog, physical discomfort, low energy, hunger, or thirst) and just keep working.
According to data reported by Business Insider, though, if we don’t take a break at the first sign our body needs one, then we’ll actually begin to distract ourselves by picking up our phones to scroll, opening another browser tab, or starting a new task while we’re in the middle of another one. Our mind and body need a break, so we’ll take it unconsciously, therefore derailing our productivity.
Instead, if we pause at the first sign of fatigue or a physical need, when we come back to our work, we’ll be more focused and get more done in less time. This saves us time and ensures we’re not spuds at the end of the day (so that we have energy for a workout or having fun with our families!) The ideal ratio is roughly 45-50 minutes of work following by about a 15 minute break.
Plus, taking regular breaks allows our brain to function more creatively and have powerful breakthrough moments where we make new connections or come up with novel solutions that we wouldn’t be able to figure out if we just stayed glued to our desks without hitting refresh every now and again.
DO ONE THING AT ONCE
If you think you’re multitasking to get more done, you’re mistaken. Multitasking is just switching back and forth between two tasks, and when you do it, your IQ drops by 40% and you make more errors.
If you really want better results, give yourself the space to do one thing at once. It may take practice to retrain your brain from jumping from thing to thing, but if you put in the effort, the results will be astounding.
When we switch from thing to thing (or get distracted), it takes us a full 25 minutes to get refocused. The average person gets distracted every 11 minutes during their workday (!), and if you do the math, it becomes pretty obvious that most of us are focused on what we’re doing for exactly zero minutes per day.
When you slow down, you’ll complete things more quickly and have less stress from constantly trying to get refocused so you’ll feel more energized at the end of the workday.
RESPOND INSTEAD OF REACT
When you practice building in time for rest and recovery and also start doing one thing at a time, you have more space and energy to be responsive instead of reactive.
When we’re rushing from thing to thing, doing twenty things at once, we drop balls, things get miscommunicated, we make more errors, and our days are generally chaotic. Throw the inevitable disappointment, uncontrollable situation with our children, or any other brand of unexpected life event into the mix, and we can lash out in all kinds of ways that require a lot of time and energy to clean up afterward.
The beautiful thing about slowing down is that it’s a self-fulfilling cycle of creating more space and ease in our lives because it gives us the wiggle room to respond instead of react to situations that arise.
For example, imagine you’ve been running from meeting to meeting all day, trying to shoot off emails in the elevator or the back of a cab, and your husband calls to tell you that he forgot to pick up dinner even though it was his night to handle it. Because you’ve been rushing and multitasking all day, you fly off the handle and react out of proportion to the situation at hand. Now, on top of feeling fried and exhausted, you also have an issue with your husband that you’ll need to clean up later tonight which will only add to the emotional and physical exhaustion, thus starting your next day depleted.
You see the problem?
When we slow down, we get better results because space begets space. Ease begets ease. Once we start getting better results from slowing down, it becomes a beautiful cycle of less stress and more fulfillment.
Give yourself the gift of slowing down, and you’ll receive the gift of amazing results and significantly more joy and peace.
Have you tried the slow-down approach in your barre3 workout? Try it in your next studio or online class and notice how it feels in your body.
