#5: The Case for Slowing Down

☀️ Pause is a Productivity Tool
For a long time, I thought life was a hill we needed to keep climbing fast. If you weren’t accelerating, you were falling behind. Eventually, I realized it’s not one continuous uphill, but a mix of climbs and descents, and trying to stay in “go” mode forever only leads to burnout.

So nope, we don’t need to earn our rest. And slowing down isn’t giving up! It’s actually how we sustain growth. It signals to our inner systems that we’re safe, recalibrates our perspective, and opens up space for creativity, healing, and… actual progress.

We were all reminded of this during the pandemic. The world stopped, and many of us discovered that slowing down didn’t make us less, but it made room for more meaningful things. I can’t help but wonder - why did we need such an event to remember how important pause is?

So this week, we’re leaning into the pause. Not as an escape, but as part of the rhythm.
And Happy Easter to those celebrating! 🐣

📖 3 Articles to Spark Your Curiosity

1. The “Inside Out” Leadership Journey - Personal growth isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s the foundation of good leadership, and this read shows why slowing down for reflection can speed up transformation.

2. Cultivating the World’s Largest, Stinkiest Flower - It takes years of care, patience, and ideal conditions to make a corpse flower bloom. Nature doesn’t rush, and look what it creates!

3. Is Dining With Others a Sign of Happiness? - According to new research, eating together isn’t just tradition - it might actually be key to collective well-being.

🗞️ 3 Headlines From This Week

1. Baby Lemurs Sing Out of Tune (Just Like Us!!) - New research shows young lemurs learn songs the same way human children do - through trial, error, and off-key beginnings.

2. Sound You Can’t Hear Unless It’s Aimed at You? - This new tech bends audio like light, meaning only you hear the sound. Sci-fi? Nope, just science!

3. GoPros for Good: Hacking Cameras to Help Save Birds - Conservationists are turning everyday tech into powerful tools to help protect the endangered Bermuda petrel.

☀️ 3 Actions to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

1. Take a 30-minute “nothing” walk - No podcast, no phone, no destination. Just walk. See what you notice when your brain isn’t being fed.

2. Write a micro-journal entry - Just one sentence. How did today feel? (Sometimes slowing down is about noticing, not recording everything.)

3. Rearrange a small corner of your space - Whether it’s your desk or a reading nook, changing your surroundings can reset your energy.

⚡ 6 Quick Resources

📖 To read: What is traffic calming? - A clever design philosophy that proves slowing down can be built into systems, too.

🎮 To play: Decipher the Headline - A daily dose of puzzle fun from Morning Brew!

🌍 To plan: Your trip to Armenia - A land of mountains, monasteries, and quiet beauty.

💡 To try: 9 Creativity Exercises - Playful and proven ways to wake up your creative mind.

☕ To check: A visual history of coffee - For the curious (and the caffeine-inclined - not me tho, I’m a tea person haha).

🧠 To watch: Every Eye in the Animal Kingdom - An incredible look into how animals see the world (spoiler: it’s not how we do).

🎲 This week’s wonderfully random corner of the internet 

🎹 Binary Piano – https://binarypiano.com/ 

A piano that plays binary code… or binary code that makes music? Either way, it’s oddly relaxing!

📝 Word of the Week

Kairos (noun) - An ancient Greek word meaning the “right or opportune moment.”

Unlike chronos (linear, clock time), kairos is all about timing that feels right (that intangible sense of when something is ready to happen).

🧘‍♀️ Question of the Week for Introspection

What would it look like to honour your kairos moments - even when they don’t align with the clock?

See you next Sunday! Until then, keep your eyes open, your questions big, and your sense of wonder alive.

Your curious internet friend,

Ruxandra