So today I wanna talk about this thing called Alyssa Pace. Heard about it first on some random online forum, honestly can’t even remember which one. Someone was raving about how it changed their daily routine, got stuff done without burning out. Sounded kinda vague, but hey, I’m always up for trying things that promise better focus.
Dipping My Toes In – The “What Even Is This?” Phase
First thing I did? Just grabbed a notebook. No fancy apps, no subscriptions. Figured I should understand the core idea before jumping in. From what I could piece together, Alyssa Pace is basically about doing things really slowly at first. Not slow-mo, but deliberately, paying attention to every single tiny step. It seemed counterintuitive – how does going slow help you get more done? But I kept seeing people swear by it.
Picking Something Simple To Try
Didn’t wanna overhaul my whole life day one. That felt like setting myself up to fail. Needed something simple, routine, something I rush through without thinking. Landed on making my morning coffee. Usually, I’m banging cabinets, spilling grounds, grumbling about being tired – pure chaos. Decided this was my test subject.
The First Attempt: Feels Ridiculous
Next morning, stood in my kitchen holding my coffee scoop. Instead of my usual frantic grab and dump, I actually stopped. Told myself, “Alright, Alyssa Pace time. Do it painfully slow.” Picked up the coffee bag, felt the texture. Slowly opened the zip. Sniffed the grounds – actually smelled pretty good! Carefully scooped. Felt the weight of the scoop change. Dumped the grounds into the filter one slow, controlled shake at a time. Poured the water deliberately, watching it soak in. It felt… weird. Awkward. Honestly, kinda dumb. Like I was wasting time.
Sticking With It (Mostly)
I kept at it with the coffee for a week, aiming for every morning. Some days I slipped back into rush mode, especially when I was running late. But when I managed it? The weird part was this little buzz I started feeling afterward. Not like caffeine, but more… calm? Grounded? Like my brain had settled down before I even took a sip. Started wondering if maybe there was something to this dumb slowness.
Branching Out – Email Incoming!
Okay, coffee experiment showed a tiny glimmer of hope. Felt brave enough to try something else: dealing with my work email inbox first thing. Normally, I blast it open, scan frantically, answer the shiniest thing first while others scroll off screen. Pure reaction mode. This time? One email at a time. Opened one. Read the whole thing. Actually paused to think about what it needed before hammering out a reply. Finished dealing with it (delete, reply, file away) completely before moving to the next. Took ages. But the crazy thing? No lingering “oh crap forgot that” feeling later. Huh.
Where I’m At Now & The Real Kick
Been weaving Alyssa Pace into random things for about a month now:
- Meetings: Actually listening to one person finish before thinking about what I’ll say.
- Cooking: Measuring ingredients precisely instead of eyeballing.
- Even walking: Paying attention to each step sometimes.
The biggest surprise wasn’t some massive productivity boost (though stuff definitely feels less chaotic). It’s how much less stressed I feel doing things I usually resent. Doing stuff slow and deliberate feels like… resisting the crazy rush of everything. It’s small, it’s subtle, but it feels like it puts a tiny bit of control back in my hands. Still feels awkward sometimes, definitely not perfect, but I’m sticking with it. See what else it shakes out.
