What is Slow Living?
Slow living is a lifestyle that encourages you to slow down and enjoy life’s simple pleasures. It’s about taking time to appreciate what you have and finding joy in the little things.
Slow living can be practiced by anyone, anywhere–no matter how busy or stressed out they are. It doesn’t require any fancy equipment or expensive ingredients; it simply requires an open mind, an appreciation for nature and a desire to slow down long enough each day that you can appreciate what’s around you (and within yourself).
Planning for Slow Living
It’s important to plan for slow living, because it can be easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life. You might find yourself running around from one thing to another, without stopping to take stock of what you’re doing or why.
When planning for slow living, start by setting goals–both big and small ones. For example: “I want my home office organized by this time next week.” Or even just “I’m going to spend 20 minutes working on my novel today.” Once you have these goals in mind, prioritize them accordingly so that they get done first before other tasks come up (like laundry).
How to Create Mindfulness in Everyday Life
- Developing a mindful mindset.
- Practicing meditation.
- Doing yoga.
How to Cultivate Intention in Everyday Life
- Setting intentions.
- Taking action.
- Monitoring progress.
Tips for Practicing Slow Living
- Stay present.
- Say no to things that don’t matter to you, and say yes to the ones that do.
- Make time for yourself–even if it’s just five minutes a day!
The Benefits of Slow Living
The benefits of slow living are numerous. When we’re in control of our time and energy, we can spend it on the things that matter most to us. This means less stress and more happiness.
We also tend to be more present when we’re in a state of flow–the feeling when you’re so immersed in something that time passes without noticing it has flown by (think: writing an article). And being mindful helps us connect with people on a deeper level, which leads to stronger relationships with those around us–and even ourselves!
How to Incorporate Slow Living into Your Life
Slow living is a practice that can be incorporated into your daily life. Here are some tips for how to do it:
- Create a slow living schedule. Take time each day to reflect on what matters most to you, and then prioritize those things in your schedule. Whether this means carving out time for meditation or making sure that you have lunch with friends at least once every week, make sure that these activities happen first before anything else gets added onto your plate.
- Make time for activities that bring joy into your life–even if they’re only small things! For example, maybe it’s taking a walk around the block every morning before work; maybe it’s reading an article about something interesting or watching an educational video online after dinner; or maybe even just sitting down with hot chocolate (or whatever else makes you happy) while listening to music on repeat all day long…whatever works best! Just try not get too caught up in worrying about what other people think of us when doing these things because at some point we need stop worrying about others’ opinions altogether if we ever want true happiness.”
Maintaining a Slow Living Lifestyle
- Stick to your plan. It’s easy to get distracted by all the noise around us, but if you’re serious about living a slower life, then it’s important that you stick with it.
- Practice self-care. This means taking time for yourself and not feeling guilty about doing so! Give yourself permission to take naps or go on walks without feeling guilty about how much work needs done. It also means having fun with friends and family as often as possible–and not worrying about what other people think of this decision (because really, who cares?).
- Avoid burnout by setting boundaries around work and personal responsibilities so that there is room in your schedule for restorative activities like meditation or yoga classes at least once per week (if not more).
Tips for Staying Motivated
- Create a vision board. A vision board is a collage of images that represent your goals, dreams and aspirations. It can be anything from an old shoebox to an elaborate Pinterest-worthy creation. The point is to have something physical that you look at regularly so that it reminds you of what’s important to you in life and keeps those goals front of mind.
- Celebrate milestones along the way! When we reach certain benchmarks–like finishing our first 5k or making it through another week without soda–it’s easy for us not to notice because they’re such small wins compared with our end goal (which may seem like forever away). But these little victories matter! Celebrating them helps keep us motivated when things get tough later on down the road because we’ll remember how far we’ve come since then; plus, it gives us something positive about which we can reflect when times are tough instead of just focusing on all the negative stuff going on around us right now.”
Slow living is a way of life that encourages you to take time out of your day and enjoy the little things. It’s about being mindful, intentional and present in your everyday life.
It can be difficult at first but once you get into the habit of slowing down, you’ll find yourself feeling more relaxed and happier than ever before.
