Take it easy: you become less attractive if you are always busy

Running, flying, zooming: we are all just busy-busy-busier-busiest. And that may sound interesting, but you might as well take it a bit easier.

Getting through all those emails, appointment after appointment at work, then dutifully exercising for 1.5 hours, cooking healthy, and being a bit social with your friends – it sounds like a regular Monday for many. A wise lesson: cut some things from your to-do list.

Because anyone who wants to look somewhat flattering in a few years better put a big line through their agenda. Research shows that when you want to do a million things at once and are overloaded day after day, you will look older faster. And although you may not have a wrinkle in sight right now, it's better to prevent than to cure.

Journalist Carl Honore has given a real TED Talk about our eternal busyness. He is convinced that we all could take a step back right now. And his talk about the so-called ‘slow movement’ has been viewed more than two million times, so he clearly has a point that resonates with many. According to Carl, people who take it a bit easier are actually the ones who achieve more in the long run. Everyone participating in the ‘slow movement’ doesn't necessarily do much less than the busy bees, but they do all their activities without stress, with a bit more attention and calmness. By ‘unhurrying’, you actually become more productive, healthier, and happier. Sounds good, right?

How do you achieve this yourself? You don't have to throw away your phone or put your career on the back burner. You can be ‘slow’ everywhere. You just need to approach everything you do with a relaxed attitude. Don't waste your energy on trivial matters that won't matter a day later, for example. Don't worry too much about a deadline, because they will always be there. Instead, think more about things that make you happy and choose your moments of rest in a week. Furthermore, Carl's tips are: eat pure and with full attention. And, you can see it coming; exercise regularly. That does every body good.

I'm signing up for that yoga class tonight. Because wrinkles before my thirties, no thanks.

Do you always have too few hours in a week? You can somewhat solve that by getting a cleaner . Yes, really. Because it makes you happier, as you have more time left for fun activities. Do you want to be more successful in everything you do? Then get a bob.

FACTS

• 60.5 percent of Dutch women have a job.
• Cohabiting partners in the Netherlands rarely both work full-time (so one of the two often works part-time).
• About a quarter of working women in our country work full-time.

Source: TED.com

Written by: Tessa Heinhuis