4 Reasons You Might Want to Slow Down | The Art of Slow Living

I’m sitting on the couch right now, congested as hell, a tissue box at easy reach, blanket & pillows surrounding me, & the ambiance of rain hitting the nearest window. My routine all week has been catching up on tv shows like Daisy Jones & the Six, reading & the occasional restless nap while simultaneously popping cold medication like it’s candy in a dispenser. An indentation has definitely been made on these cushions. My original goal this week was to be productive, get some work done & take care of a few errands that have been pushed to the side. But the universe clearly had other plans for me.

What is slow living & why should we slow down more often?

I came across the term ‘slow living’ in the minimalist community. It basically contradicts societies need to be fast paced & overbooked. In this world, you aren’t successful unless you grind your little heart out. You may have a packed schedule already, but chances are you can eat your lunch while also typing away at your laptop. No time for breaks in this lifetime according to the majority of the world. I decided to try my hands at this ‘slow living’ because I wanted to break some of my anxious tendencies & manage my stress. I’ve learned you can actually be just as if not more productive if you simply slow down & take your time.

“Slow living is a mindset whereby you curate a more meaningful and conscious lifestyle that’s in line with what you value most in life.” – slow living ldn

Your Body Is Running on ‘E’

Case in point, my health this very second. If you are constantly on the run, doing task after task, eventually your body will tell you to stop. Maintaining more of a balanced life of work, play & rest makes for a healthier you. In a blog post I shared a few years ago called 10 Ways To Stay Stress Free, I share the concept of “dropping a plastic ball.” Within this metaphor, us humans are constantly juggling plastic and glass balls. As you can imagine, trying to balance both types of balls can become rather difficult. Ideally, the plastic balls represent our responsibilities, the to-do lists, the errands we have to run or the expectations we place on ourselves to accomplish said tasks. The glass balls represent our mental capacity & health. When we are allowing ourselves to run on empty, we are letting our mental health suffer. The emotional turmoil of trying to balance too many priorities at once can really hinder our wellbeing. So, instead of trying to juggle everything all at once. Let a few of those tasks drop to the way side & ponder them based on importance. When we make everything important, nothing truly is.

You Need To Reconnect With Yourself

When we slow down, we allow this mental & physical check in to occur. We can assess on how we are feeling & then pin point how to alter or shift to better align with our needs. Whenever I start to feel unbalanced, I take time for myself. In many cases this means tidying up my space, re-organizing or running frivolous errands to the “trifecta” [ Starbucks, Target & Barnes& Noble ]. Lately, I’ve been so burnt out where I was even suffering creatively. I didn’t have the motivation or drive to write or brainstorm topic ideas. And as much as it frustrated me, I allowed myself to step away from it for a while. I’m still working on getting that creative energy back, but I am starting to write slowly but surely. And I hope to regain that spark once again. In the meantime, I’ve been connecting with myself through reading more books & getting outdoors.

You Should Redefine Success

We tend to believe success thrives on overworking. We believe we aren’t working hard enough & are constantly adding on the hours & energy. The notion of constantly one upping ourselves will simply lead to an intense crash at some point. I’m more interesting in the “work smarter & not harder” mindset. For instance, when it came to blogging, I thought I had to spend hours online promoting my brand, be present on multiple social media platforms & constantly posting fresh & new content multiple times a week. Funny how, I’ve slowed down with all of that & am still equally, if not more successful with my blog. I learned the benefits of scheduling promotional tweets & blog posts. I learned blog traffic can become rather automatic once you better understand SEO. My Pinterest alone, provides me with tons of automatic traction that I could take a month off of posting all together & I’ll still get views. The key is to articulate your work & find ways to prevent yourself from working yourself to the bone when you don’t have to.

Sometimes You Discover Change Is Warranted

One of my favorite realizations when it came to slowing down my routines, was discovering some of my routines weren’t benefitting me whatsoever. When we are busy, we sometimes can’t see the small habits that are actually hindering our success. On my most busiest of days, I’ll most likely eat unhealthy, skip my workout, & stress myself out so much, my sleep schedule can become off. There’s something life changing about being more present. When I can, I try to eat my meals at the table, slowly & intentionally. If that means I wake up earlier to feel less rushed, I make it happen. Some of my favorite moments in the day is the initial wake up period when I sit down with a cup of tea or glass of water & quite literally sit in silence. I may look out the window or put on a Youtube video when I’m interested & just have that short moment to myself.

Slow living has taught me to be a better me. It has taught me to maintain healthier routines like eating better & staying active. This lifestyle has also helped me see the true meanings of success & that success itself can be altered in a way that is no longer over consuming. Living more slowly & with intention has made me reconnect with myself in a more positive way. I’ve even grown into a better person by not letting the stresses of life get to me as hard. My frustrated nature has subsided just by telling myself it’s ok to take a breather.

Would you consider slow living for yourself?

-B