So today I thought I’d just pick a problem, any problem, and hopefully try to say something helpful about it!

Problem to Address: Overwhelm and disconnection in modern life, leading to procrastination and sedentary behaviour.

Is this you? Are you constantly sprinting on the treadmill of life, doing all the running you can do just to stay in the same place? Will you be able to slow down and smell the roses, to smile and enjoy yourself a bit more once all the emails have been sent and the meetings ticked off? When will this be? Next week, next month, next year? Or never?

Has this busy-ness led to a decline in your connection to nature, your mental health, and your physical fitness? Have you had time to notice that or have the increased commitments in your life happened so slowly that you didn’t really notice?

This is an era of insanity. We have become lunatics suffering under an epidemic of busyness. We are all too frantic to be able to savour life or focus on the important things. You might worry that these are selfish concerns, but it it is important to invest in yourself as well as everybody else.

So today I want to remind you about the chaotic nature of modern life, the societal pressures that lead to disconnection, and the importance of finding balance and investing in yourself amidst the busyness.

What are some solutions?

1. Start Small

As my own life grew steadily busier and more constrained, I turned to microadventures to help me. These are short, simple, affordable escapes that fit in around the margins of your busy life. If you think you are too busy for a microadventure then you really, really need a microadventure! The key is to keep thinking of smaller and smaller ideas until you find something that fits around your constraints. If you don’t have time to walk a lap of your city then maybe sleep a night on a local hill. If that sounds too daunting you could have coffee in the woods with a friend, or just climb a tree you can see from your window once a month. There are loads of ideas for microadventures here.

“Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.” – John F. Kennedy 

2. Your Calendar is Your Friend

I have written before about the importance of scheduling adventure into your busy calendar. Do it right now. Scroll forwards until you find a vacant hour. Book in some nature time right now, and don’t let anything get in the way.

When I’m going a bit nuts writing a book, chasing a deadline, and really feeling that I need to break out and jump in a river, I come up with a compromise. This books needs to be written so I can’t just disappear. So instead I use the Pomodoro Technique to work at full sprint for 25 minutes, then spend 5 minutes sitting outside on my log looking at the clouds. 25/5, 25/5, 25/5… repeat that all morning and I get a lot more done than just feeling locked up indoors like a caged bear.

3. Every Little Helps

Have your next coffee break in the open air, make your next Zoom call a walking meeting, get off the bus a stop earlier and walk home through the park, do a daily press up challenge for 2 minutes (I love this one), do five minutes of stretches in your garden before heading to work, or fire up your Merlin app and notice what birds you can hear, take the stairs not the lift, or just sit on a park bench for a few minutes and notice the wild universe we tend to forget we are a tiny but precious part of.

“Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.” – Goethe

4. Over to You

OK, over to you… Fit five minutes of nature into today’s busy schedule. Add a small chunk of time to your calendar to devote to adventure. Try a microadventure this week. Pick a simple, nearby activity that you can do without much preparation. Share your experience with a friend or on social media, and notice how it makes you feel.

Or else unsubscribe from this newsletter! 😃 How’s that for some fighting talk?! 😂