I remember it clearly from my startup years: highly stressed, rushing through urgent tasks, constantly feeling behind on the important ones. People around me — with the best intentions — kept telling me that such a lifestyle was not sustainable.

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What it’s about

• You’re overloaded and someone says “slow down” — Good Lord, how annoying!

• It only creates more tension.

• You can’t slow down: sometimes it’s objective reality, sometimes you’re trapped in an identity that won’t allow it.

• The real solution isn’t slowing down. It’s finding and protecting your own rhythm — creating space where you can move with it instead of against it.

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What’s happening

You’ve been running at full throttle for too long:

• The body is tired, sometimes even ill. The head feels empty. Meaning slips away.

• Grumpiness, emotional flatness, irritability — at work, in relationships, inside yourself.

⠀And then it comes:

• The classic line: “Slow down, don’t take it so seriously. Just relax.”

• Or the spiritual deluxe version: “Return to your center, live more in the present moment.”

⠀It often makes things worse. You feel even more tension.

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The result

Slowing down doesn’t work. Instead of relief, you feel disappointment: 

“I can’t relax.

I can’t do things calmly.

Maybe I’m just not good enough — I can’t even get my priorities straight.“

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What now

“Slow down!” is a lousy piece of advice.

Tip #3: The key is not doing less — but doing things in your own rhythm.

That means building conditions where your rhythm is possible:

• Carve out blocks of time where you can follow your own pace.

• Protect attention with a distraction-free environment — and back it up with the ability to say no.

• Go full speed when your body wants to. Stop when it needs rest.

• Dive into deep work when you feel inspiration.

• Drop it when you only feel resistance.

• Find passions, hobbies, or side activities that balance the pressure of work — spaces where things flow the way you want them to.

I know from my own years as an entrepreneur and manager that much of your time can be shaped if you step back. As a therapist and coach, I see this again and again: high performers in the hamster wheel believe they have no choice, but once they look from a distance, they’re surprised at how many options they actually have.

So do not stick only to clocks and task lists. Follow your inner compass. Chronic overload doesn’t come from too many activities. It comes from moving against yourself.

If this topic speaks to you, you can find the detailed extension here.