Ask an American how they're doing and the answer is often "busy." It ends the conversation, because busy means you're thriving. Ask an Italian, and you'll find the language doesn't quite cooperate: the words closest to "busy" (occupato, impegnativa) lean toward occupied, demanding, binding. Italy has a different phrase for a life well lived: dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing. That contrast is where my conversation with Carl Honoré begins. Carl is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and two-time TED speaker, and his books on the power of slowness have been published in 36 languages. Our theme is one I don't hear discussed enough in healthcare, where I spend my working life: our relationship with time. Carl calls doing nothing one of the great superpowers of being human, and by the end of our conversation, I agreed. We talk about: - The night Carl caught himself speed-reading Snow White to his son, and nearly ordered a "one-minute bedtime story" - How children learn to hurry, and why one of his son's first sentences was "hurry up" - Why the phrase "You have the clocks, we have the time" says so much about how cultures treat time - Why "busy" became a badge of honor in English, and the lost art of dolce far niente - What a hurry-up culture does to medicine, from 10-minute appointments to the case for sometimes doing nothing at all - Why, as Carl puts it, we're often not running toward something but away from ourselves ## Carl's seven ways to slow down 1. Do less. Rank your schedule, then cut from the bottom, and keep a "not-to-do list" you revisit a few weeks later. 2. Turn off notifications, so you decide where your attention goes. 3. Go gray. Switch your phone's screen to black and white for a day and compare your screen time. 4. Hide the phone in any conversation. Even a visible phone keeps talk on the surface. 5. Build in one slow ritual: knitting, sketching, poetry, ten quiet minutes in the car. 6. Spend a little time in nature. It doesn't need to be three hours. 7. Break bread with people you love, phones and TVs off. That last one is the most Italian. As Carl notes, in Italy no one rushes you at the table, while in London, many restaurants hand you a time limit before the starters arrive. ## About Carl Honoré Carl covered Europe and South America as a foreign correspondent for the Economist, Observer, Time and other publications. He presented the TV series Frantic Family Rescue on Australia's ABC and the BBC radio series The Slow Coach, and created the TED Course "How To Slow Down." He lives in London. While researching his first book on slowness, he got slapped with a speeding ticket. ## Links Carl Honoré: https://www.carlhonore.info Carl's TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/carl_honore_in_praise_of_slowness If this episode gave you permission to do one thing less this week, hit reply and tell me what it was. Why Italians Live Well is a conversation series exploring the habits, culture, and mindset behind Italian wellbeing — from the passeggiata to the long lunch to the art of doing less, better. 🔗 To Join my Dolomites 2027 Waitlist: https://avantihealth.github.io/avanti-immersion/#join Claudia This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claudiacometa.substack.com
