Inhale as deeply as you can. Now, exhale slowly until all of your breath is expelled.

Once again: Completely fill your chest with air, then let it all out over a long and patient exhale.

Feel good? Simple deep-breathing exercises like this are great for your body and your mind. You may notice that your heart rate is already slower than a moment ago, and your mind is being refreshed with a blast of rich oxygen. Physicians and psychologists alike recommend regular breathing breaks to lower hypertension, relieve tension headaches and manage anxiety.

It's a fast-paced world out there, and ever more stressful to keep up. Quite possibly, you were drawn to this page on The Practical Guide to Healthier Living because you're looking for a "quick fix" antidote to life's breathless pace. We're sure the irony of that is not lost on you! But you really can start making small changes here and now to bring some peace and calm into your life.

About that multitasking thing …
The term "multitasking" didn't even exist a generation ago, but today it's part of our lexicon and our lives. Sometimes it's great to get two things done at once, like reading the paper while enjoying a solo breakfast, or listening to an audio book while commuting. But few things are done well without our full attention.

An unfortunate but common result of multitasking is that each task needs to be revisited. For instance, if you type an e-mail while talking on the phone, you can't do justice to either exchange. You may need to retrace steps later to understand or be understood. You also may miss subtle messages or learning opportunities. So have you really saved any time?

The truth is that we stand to be more productive and efficient when we slow down enough to do things right. It's important to know that moving slower is not necessarily equated with accomplishing less. With focus narrowed on a single task, we are far better equipped to untangle problems and tie up loose ends. In the long run, our concentration is repaid by a boost in confidence and a drop in frustration.

Scheduling sanity
Reducing the pace of one's day-to-day life is easier said than done. However, you can make life a little less hectic while meeting the demands of job and family.

Experts in time management emphasize the need to make to-do lists, prioritize the items, and plot time for each task on a daily schedule. Even the most heavily scheduled day can be offset and slowed down by claiming intermittent moments for yourself. The key is to write time for yourself into the schedule, in pen, and honor those entries as you would any other commitment.

Allocating just five or 10 minutes every few hours can make a huge difference if you stick to the schedule. Guaranteed, you will gain peace of mind simply by knowing moments of downtime are planned into your day.

In those short blocks, you might do some breathing exercises or stretching. You might plug in your ear buds and listen to a song -- just one song, from start to finish -- while doing nothing else. Perhaps you could read a few pages of your book or write a journal entry. Above all else, avoid the temptation to catch up on unfinished tasks or even to socialize. Be with yourself. You give the world enough of your time.

The fewer things you do in your downtime, the slower time will move. Integrating short blocks of sanity can dramatically reduce your stress and equip you to manage those frenetic stretches of overscheduled time.

Time, precious time
With those slow-motion moments comes the opportunity for mental clarity. They're a stop-gap measure holding back the tide of outside demands, if only for a moment, so we can find the silence within ourselves. And it's in that silence that we can start making room for the philosophical or even spiritual changes that help us reprioritize our lives around the things that really matter most.

So, about that "quick fix." Big changes seldom come easily, and as we've been saying, anything worth doing well is worth an investment of time. Don't be too hard on yourself if it takes a while to shift your life into the slow lane. But know that when you do, the rewards await.