Permission to Slow Down

November has arrived, and apparently we’re supposed to pick up the pace. There are holidays to prepare for, gifts to consider, closets to organize, and any number of people offering helpful reminders that we’re already behind.

Meanwhile, the trees are dropping their leaves and settling in for a rest.

Perhaps the trees have the right idea.

Before the holiday rush gets its shoes on, this seems like a good time to make a small case for slowing down.

Your To-Do List Can Wait a Little

There is always something that needs doing. Finish one job, and another appears. Some days, the to-do list seems to be reproducing when nobody’s looking.

That doesn’t mean every waking minute belongs to it.

You’re allowed to sit down with a book before the laundry is folded. You can work a word search while a perfectly respectable collection of dust rests on the bookshelf. Most household dust has no immediate travel plans.

A quiet half hour doesn’t require a spotless house or a completed checklist. If it did, some of us would never get one.

Choose Something You Enjoy

There’s a peculiar temptation to turn even our leisure time into an assignment.

We should read something educational. Finish a certain number of pages. Complete the puzzle faster. Learn something useful.

Or we could simply enjoy ourselves.

Read a romance because you like the characters. Open a joke book because you could use a laugh. Find six words in a puzzle and leave the rest for tomorrow.

At Beaver Lake Books, we hope our books give you something pleasant to look forward to. No stopwatch necessary. No book report afterward.

Leave a Little Room in the Day

Slowing down doesn’t have to mean clearing the calendar. Sometimes it means leaving fifteen minutes unclaimed.

Put the kettle on. Sit near the window. Let the phone ring if you’re reasonably certain it isn’t urgent. Pick up that book you keep meaning to start.

There will be plenty to do later this month. For now, give yourself a little breathing room.

And if anyone asks what you accomplished, tell them you enjoyed the afternoon.

That ought to count for something.

See you next Monday at 9 AM.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy a quiet afternoon? Tell us in the comments.