Slow Living Guide
All my life I felt like there is always something to do. In my childhood, I had chores and play. In my teen years, I had to study very hard, and then into my adult life I always worried about money so I worked and worked until I couldn't anymore.
Thankfully, things started to change three years ago when I decided to slow down and prioritize my my well being, mental and physical health, family and friends.
Since then, I have learned a lot about how to slow down. It might seem intuitive but as many of you probably already know — it goes against basically everything we are taught growing up. The world moves so quickly and we are almost expected to keep up with in order to sustain success. Hustle culture is real but so is burn out. Maintaining a busy life and mindset might propel you forward in some ways, but it can also hold you back from others.
What if I told you that didn’t have to be the reality you choose? That you could make the conscious effort to live more intentionally, slow down, and enjoy the present moment instead of rushing to the next one. It has taken some serious unlearning but I am proud of the progress I have made.
Today I will share with you the things that I have learned over this three year (and ongoing) journey, and how you can achieve a slower life too.
What is slow living?
For me, slow living has been comprised of doing what I love, take breaks when I need to, having defined goals and focusing on what is important for me. It has transformed the way I am able to focus and accomplish my goals, and live a more fulfilled life.
It might sound selfish at first, but in time you will learn that when you are happy within yourself, you will bring joy to those around you. It should also help shift your perspective on the world as a whole. Instead of being outwardly focused on interpreting the actions and feelings of others, you will start to see the value in your own experience and recognize the space that exists between yours and others.
This isn’t to say you will be disconnected from others. In fact, prioritizing your own needs will allow you to see, hear, and connect with others better. When you are aware of your own desires, thoughts, and feelings, you will minimize your projection of them outwardly; this will help you to acknowledge them internally and communicate them clearly.
Some of you may see the similarities of what I am explaining and the practice of mindfulness which is accurate. Slow living is also about embracing the present moment and calmly acknowledging one’s awareness. However from my experience, I have found that to only be the tip of the iceberg to all that slow living encompasses.
What does slow living involve?
Before I can get started into my guide on slow living from my lived experience, it’s important to cover the details of all it entails. To put it simply, every aspect of your life! In order to achieve a slower more intentional life you need to:
Learn how to set clear goals and boundaries
Listen to your own body and mind
Develop clear communication
Connect with nature
Refine yourself by trying new things
Slow living is more than just a mindset, it is a movement dedicated to redefining leisure and prioritizing wellness over advancement.
Redefining Leisure
Society has a pretty strong grasp on how and where we should structure our time. In the capitalist system, work is intended to be #1, while rest, leisure, and play are to be minimized. Slow living challenges that notion as it recognizes how much more life has to offer. It recognizes fulfillment in not only what you do but how you do it. Encouraging the integration of leisure throughout all aspects of life.
Prioritizing Wellness over Advancement
The second element you need to consider is your shift in priorities from speed to intentional care. I’m not saying you can’t be successful while living a slower life. In fact, I believe you will accomplish a lot more in your lifetime while avoiding burn out, frustration, and snap decisions that lead you away from your goals — it just might take a bit longer. Which is worth it in the long run as you will be able to maintain your physical and mental health.
Continue reading on to my 10 step guide if you are interested in learning how to incorporate leisure and wellness into your life.
Why choose slow living?
If you are anything like me three years ago, you might not yet recognize the serious benefits of adopting this style of living. You might still be wanting to get ahead by working long hours or overextending your abilities in order to help others instead of yourself.
I see slow living as a discipline as much as that sort of grind work is though. Slowing down isn’t always easy, in fact, it can be really hard sometimes. Especially when it feels as if everyone is moving so much quicker towards their goals than you.
As technology develops there are more and more things to keep us busy. 10 years ago you could market a successful businesses without the pressure of posting on social media multiple times a week. You were able to afford a lot more with a lot less and didn’t feel pressured to pick up a side hustle in order to maintain your spending habits. It’s also different because we are constantly exposed to the lives of others so it feels like life is more of a competition. It is all too easy to look at others who seem happier or more successful.
The important thing to remember is that even if they are moving quicker, they are moving at a pace and in a way that suits their needs, not yours. You can’t compare your life to theirs because it isn’t there’s. Whether or not you realize it yet you have different needs and desires all on your own.
You don’t need to accomplish every task on your list to deserve rest. You don’t need to take on more than you can handle for the recognition of others. Your life doesn’t need to look like theirs to be fulfilling.
The goal of slow living is to develop peace with your inner self and be present in all that you do. To develop appreciation for where you are now and make thoughtful choices towards your goals. At the end of your life, you will be able to reflect in appreciation instead of feeling as if it passed you by.
Regardless of your belief system, we can all agree that our time on earth is limited. While we all have different capacities of resilience, and a busy life isn’t a fulfilled life for all.
So if you are feeling like your life is too erratic, if you often feel lonely and displaced, if you feel like you have no purpose, or if you are experiencing other symptoms of burnout, I encourage you to try out slow living.
How can I get started with slow living?
If you check one more more of those boxes listed above, I suggest you explore these 10 steps on how you can get started with slow living. I can guarantee if you take the time and set intention with each of these steps, you will start to feel relief and develop a clearer sense of purpose.
Learn about yourself, your likes, dislikes, what makes you happy and what doesn’t
This is the first step because without it, you can’t know the direction you need to go. For some, this comes very easily and others it takes a bit more work to figure out. Not all of us were blessed with the space or encouragement to explore what makes us who we are.
Start by making a list of the things that make you happy. From small to big, take some quiet time to really evaluate what you appreciate about the world without any one else’s influence. Then continue on to list the things you do strongly don’t like.
That will give you a visual start to determining your purpose. All of your interests, skills, and knowledge have value. Whether or not you can see it yet, those are the qualities that set you apart from others in a wonderful way! When you are attentive to your interests and needs, you will find a greater sense of fulfillment.
It’s important to note that this can totally change over time so even if you are confident in your sense of self, it’s worth checking in on again every once and awhile.
Choose what you want to do for a living
This is a huge roadblock for so many people but a really important step in achieving a slow life. Most if not all of us need to work for a living, which is inevitably going to take up a large block of your life. In order to feel fulfilled in this aspect of life, you need to choose a path that suits who you are not who someone else things you should be. This can be one of the top reasons people quickly feel burnt out and unfulfilled.
It isn’t always our fault. Sometimes there is influence to follow a path that isn’t right for you due to family or societal pressure. However if you continuously pushing yourself to do work that you do not enjoy, you will be unable to sustain it and for the short time that you do, there will be repercussions on your mental health.
Before you go rethink the path you are on, consider your list of interests and skills. If you do not feel like your current work is aligning with your long term goals, see how you can make adjustments to use your talents in a new way. You are not one dimensional and neither does your purpose have to be.
Develop your short term goals
Short term goals will help you stay on track right now. They aren’t meant to have high pressure deadlines or add more to your plate. Instead they are meant to get your thoughts out on paper and allow you to visualize everything you want to accomplish.
If this isn’t something you do yet I promise it will help you to expel some of that inner turmoil almost instantaneously. When you are able to take some of the lists you are trying to keep up with in your head and write them down instead, you will be able to create space for your own thoughts and feelings.
Short term goals look different for different people over the course of a year or less. They could be daily routines you would like to maintain, upcoming career goals, things you would like to experience, or new habits you would like to integrate into the way you live.
Develop your long term goals
In order to get where you are going long term you need to plan how you will get there; even if it feels really far away right now. Just like your short term goals, these will look different for everyone.
With long term goals you have the opportunity to take into account bigger changes that you would like to see happen in time so that you are able to start preparing now. Whether that be a large purchase, new relationship, a big move, or simply maintaining the path you are on now — mapping out where you would like to be in 5, 10, and 15 years will help you gain perspective on the time and space you have to accomplish what you need to between now and then.
Set Boundaries
Saying no is just as important as saying yes. For those who tend to overextend themselves — you need to learn that no can be your superpower. There is nothing wrong with saying no to things that are beyond your capacity. You have limits that are unique to you and will look different to others. This is where knowing who you are and what is important to you comes into play. Boundaries are important to hold at work, at home, in relationships, and with your time.
When to say no:
When it challenges your morals or values
When you are already feeling overextended
When you are incapable of following through
When it jeopardizes your ability to put yourself first
If it isn’t a hard no and you are just at capacity, ‘not right now’ can work just as well for creating space until you have the capacity to take whatever it is on.
Set a budget
Setting a budget has allowed me to maximize the use of the money I make in order to live the life that I want. You can do the same when you start viewing money as the tool it is intended to be. When you are able to accurately assess your needs and how much money it will take to reach your goals, you can set up your finances in a way you are in control of, instead of having money control you. To learn more about my personal budgeting tips by reading: Pay Off Your Debt while Living a Zero-Waste / Minimalist Lifestyle.
Rest when you need
The human body is designed to thrive in a series of short sprints, not endlessly work at the same pace. This especially goes for females who have a month long hormone cycle as opposed to the 24 hour one of males. If you are looking to understand this more I encourage you to check out the book Period Power Harness Your Hormones and Get Your Cycle Working For You. By Maisie Hill
If you take a break during the day-even if it is for only a few minutes you will likely find yourself refreshed and ready to continue your day. Rest maintenance is as important as mental health and physical maintenance. If you ignore the signs your body is telling you, there will be consequences to your performance, health, and creativity.
When you take time out to relax and rest, and your creativity will naturally improve. Quiet moments allow you to reflect and breaking through creative and productivity boundaries. It is very important to take time off to replenish your reserves.
Always keep learning
Whether its working on a side project, taking a course, or learning a new skill hands on, in order to feel fulfilled it’s important to maintain balance. It’s like they saying ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket’ — because if you drop the basket, all your eggs will break.
If you put all your time and energy into one channel of work, one relationship, or one area of interest, you will easily become unbalanced if something starts to go wrong. When your interest and attention is spread across multiple areas, you will continue to feel in control. Continuing to learn will also help you grow a better sense of self and discover new interests and talents.
Work on your relationships with family and friends
Relationships are integral to our lives, and we cannot live without them. They may be hard at times to live with, but they are among the most important things in life. That being said they also are among the easiest to neglect. It is super important to allow yourself time for relationships.
Our personalities are expressed differently by different people, and our roles in life are fulfilled differently by different people. An outgoing friend can be a great motivator when you're in the mood for fun or celebration, whereas a quiet friend can offer the right listener when you're having trouble.
Diverse perspectives can also help us see the same challenge differently when we are experiencing troubles. In this way, these relationships help ground us and see the complete picture.
Start a journal
Writing comes naturally for some people and others it might feel foreign. By writing down our experiences, you can start to better evaluate cause and effect, which gives better context to how things play out in our daily lives.
This process also allows us to get a little distance from our experiences, so we can see them in a different way, by gaining more insights about ourselves and the world.
Whenever you feel something, we start expressing it. When you think too quickly it can be misinterpreted as over-analyzing or evading. As you journal, the feelings you have can be translated into thoughts. After a while, you'll see patterns which will help you better understand yourself and set goals. This process will teach you to slow down and process in a new way.
Learn more about other aspects of sustainability and the zero waste lifestyle.
Hey, Claudia here
I am a senior graphic designer, a dog mom, an advocate for a zero-waste lifestyle, climate change, and sustainability. My articles are based on personal experience and well researched to give you the best source of information for all things zero-waste.