How to Slow Down Time…

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slow down time

“Time flies,” “please don’t grow up so fast” or “please slow down, time!”…how many times have you heard that from someone or thought that yourself? I was thinking it so often that I knew I had to do something about it! My oldest is less than 5 years away from graduating from high school. While I love seeing my kids grow up, I really wanted to learn to be present during the time we have left with them, as well as when I am not with them, for my own sake! So I decided to dive deeply into mindfulness and meditation.

Now I know, I know… mindfulness and meditation are pretty heavily overused words these days. But in all honesty, mindfulness is my secret to slowing down time. There are so many times in life when I feel like time is flying by. For example, have you ever spent two hours browsing social media and had no idea it had been two hours? Of course, I know I have! Another occasion that I feel time flies is when I am not paying attention to what I am doing, or when I am doing something that I have done many times before.

So instead of getting to the end of each day, month or year wondering what I did with all of that time, I am trying to be more mindful, all day, of what I am doing. I meditate in the mornings, which reminds me to be mindful for the rest of the day. On the days I do not meditate, I am much less mindful that day. I also try to learn new things as often as possible, as exposing yourself to new things (like the new puppy we have!) helps you pay attention and be more aware of what is going on. An easy way to be mindful is just focus on your breath for a few minutes. A small thing I try to do is to stay off on my phone during the few hours that my kids are at home, or actually when I am with any other people! One too many times I caught myself looking at Instagram while my teenager is actually talking to me! Not okay at all!

So while I know I cannot change the speed of time, I now intend to enjoy each moment more than ever, and make myself think I am slowing down time, maybe just a little bit.

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Katie Woodard
Katie has lived in Flagstaff for 22 years and grew up in North Carolina. She has 10 and 12 year old boys who are certainly an adventure! Her family is by far the most rewarding part of her life. Katie loves hiking and running in our beautiful hills, skiing, river rafting, traveling, health and clean eating (thanks to a whacky thyroid). She is also always taking small steps to clean up our environment, and she is currently learning meditation and just loves learning in general! Katie and her college roommate drove to AZ from VA after college and Katie has only left briefly but Flagstaff is her home for sure! She met her wonderful husband while river guiding in the Grand Canyon. Katie is a family photographer at www.katiewoodardphotography.com, here in Flagstaff and loves capturing the natural love and beauty in families. Her newest fun adventure is co-founding Women Empowering Northern Arizona.