Do you feel like you’re always chasing more? Burned out or anxious, maybe even angry and resentful? Feel like you’re always behind?
Do you feel like you’re in pursuit of something that you’re not even sure what the end goal is?
Becoming mothers can make us wish we could slow time down because our little ones grow and change fast. It makes us proud of them and breaks our hearts into a thousand pieces at the same time.
We may not be able to slow time down but we can slow our world down by being more present and practicing simple daily routines and rituals.
What Is Slow Living Anyways?
The slow living movement has been trending for a while and images pop up of cute cottages, fields of flowers, and homemakers in linen dresses and while that is charming it may make it seem out of reach for you. But that slow-living aesthetic while lovely is not what it has to be all about.
Slow living is not what you may think.
The concept of slow living is an approach to life that emphasises a slower-paced lifestyle which goes against the grain of our modern world. It traces back to 1986 when activists in Italy started a slow food movement promoting the importance of farming and traditional food practices to combat the opening of a McDonald’s in the area. Over the following years, it expanded into a slow city movement and has become popular as a lifestyle in other countries including the United States.
The slow living idea has influenced other sectors including:
- Slow Fashion: Advocating for ethical and sustainable fashion practices.
- Slow Travel: Promoting travel that emphasizes local culture and sustainability.
- Slow Education: Focusing on a more personalized and less pressured educational experience.
- Slow Tech: Encouraging mindful and balanced use of technology.
Slow living is about mindful living and going at a more natural pace versus the sped-up world that we find ourselves in. One of the common misconceptions is you have to start frolicking through sunflower fields in linen dresses to reap the benefits. But you don’t. I mean if you want to do that you do you but we can create a slow living routine right in our fast-paced world and normal lives.
While I did take a somewhat drastic approach when I was feeling burned out several years ago and moved abroad to another continent you can take a gentler approach and I’ll show you how in this post. My personal journey may look very different from yours but the principles of slow living can be applied almost anywhere.
In this post, we’ll talk about some important components of simple living, some tips, and some activities to try. I’ll also share a downloadable slow-living cheat sheet with you that’s a fun game to try.
Why Consider Implementing Slow Living Into Your Life?
I’m a strong believer that slow living can benefit everyone but especially moms. It can improve our mental health by reducing mental clutter and stress and by allowing us to see that less truly is more.
We can feel more fulfilled, focus on the things that are truly important to us and our families, pursue hobbies that fuel us, get more quality time with the people we love, and it can help us prioritize people over things.
Slow-living ideas can help us live more purposeful, balanced, and grateful lives.
If a slower life sounds good to you keep reading. Small changes in your approach to life and motherhood could completely change your life for the better and help you focus on the most important things.
What If We Brought It Back To The Basics?
Here are some what-ifs to ponder…
What if instead of focusing on the overload of information in our world we practiced some common sense and just thought about simplifying things? Now let me be clear that information can be good and advancements in our world have taught us many helpful things.
But there is also a lot of confusion and lack of wisdom in our world. Getting back to some basics could transform our lives. Here are a few ideas…
- What if instead of watching all the conflicting health and fitness gurus online and being utterly confused about what to do about our weight we just ate real food, moved our bodies, and improved our rest?
- What if instead of reading the myriad of parenting books and philosophies out there we prayed and listened to our Creator on what we should do about raising our kids and actually give them a childhood focused on nature and play instead of having them in a hundred modern activities?
- What if instead of keeping up with the Joneses we cleared out our homes of all the excess and clutter and we had space to play, and create, and imagine, and be? Space to breathe and pursue our passions and hobbies?
To be clear: I’m not saying never to listen to a health professional or read a parenting book. There is so much we can learn from all the information we have now and what a blessing that we have it!
What I am saying is a lot of it is noise and not helpful and just divides our focus.
Now I’m going to get into some areas to think about if you are interested in slowing down your life a bit and then I’ll share a list of easy activities that you can do to slow down daily.
Health
A slower pace of life could greatly improve our health. I put this one first because as someone who has struggled quite a bit in the area of health, I know how valuable it is. When we don’t have our health all other areas of life suffer.
Just a quick background so you know where I’m coming from:
I was born premature and spent the first few days of my life in an incubator. I had numerous infections and suffered from headaches even as a child. I got healthier but later dealt with clinical depression and fibromyalgia. I believe the latter caused the former. I also had gastroparesis and suffered with my stomach which used to swell so much that I looked many months pregnant when I wasn’t.
I was swollen and heavy and I could always tell that stress made everything worse.
I went on a health journey and it’s always a work in progress. I have recently gone through long periods of lack of sleep and stress- hello motherhood and my weight and health have suffered. I have braces on my lower teeth currently because of some shifting teeth and that is causing pain that also impacts my sleep but I’m working on it. I am currently doing a 15-day metabolic healing and reset and it’s hard but I know it will be worth it.
We can and should get professional help as needed but also return to the basics as mentioned. Here are some ways:
- Eat clean real foods without unknown ingredients.
- Drink lots of pure water.
- Move our bodies in ways we find fun and restorative, walking is great.
- Do the best we can even as busy mommas to get the rest we need.
Intermittent fasting is so good for our physical health and allows our bodies to rest too.
*I’m not a medical professional and this post is not meant as medical advice or otherwise so please get the help you need.
Haven
Our homes can become havens for us to shelter our families from all the harshness and stress in the world.
How do you feel when you go to a well-planned and minimally decorated hotel room? Don’t you just feel more at peace? Sure the fact that you’re not the one that is going to have to clean it helps. But there is something to be said for minimal design and no clutter.
Let’s face it when we have families and especially if we have small children there are going to be things we need in our homes. This is not about shooting for a white wall clinical feel. We want our homes to be cozy and warm and inviting and to have what we need and what our children need. Our homes don’t have to be Pinterest-worthy to make us feel good either.
But we do need to cut the excess that is causing stress and simplify.
Here are a few simple ways we can turn our homes into Havens:
- Declutter and clean spaces
- Use soft lighting with a yellow hue
- Bring in natural materials like wood and stone and plants
- Create cozy sitting areas and reading corners
- Use different textures
- Have functional and comfortable furniture
We have multiple posts about this here on the blog to explore further:
20 Ways To Create A Joy Filled Home And Simplify Living
How Minimalism Helps Moms Beat Overwhelm
Making our homes a haven can greatly increase our happiness. Let’s get into that next.
Happiness
While we eliminate the unnecessary and get down to the essentials to live slower we also want to focus on adding more of the good things like joy and happiness.
There are so many ways we can add more happiness to our lives and homes. I love Gretchen Rubin’s quote from her book The Happiness Project:
One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.
Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project
We as moms have so much power to set the tone. I’ll be honest I struggle with this a lot. I’m just more serious by nature. But I know how important it is for me to be happy to make our home a happy place so it’s something I’m working on.
Some things that bring more happiness into our homes that we can practice:
- Presence and mindfulness
- Gratitude
- Laughter
- Playfulness
- Regular breaks
- Savoring the flavours of our food
- Prioritizing health and well-being
- Creating fun traditions and rituals
It’s about living in the moment and appreciating the smallest things. Surrounding yourself with the things that inspire you and letting go of the obsessions that want to take over your mind. It is a daily struggle sometimes and hard work but happiness begins with your own attitude and how you look at the world.
―Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project
And now as promised here are some daily activities to help you slow down that you can start today!
Daily Activities That Can Help You Slow Down
Do each activity with focus and just that. These are in no particular order. Just pick ideas you like and try at least one each day.
- Drinking tea or warm beverages slowly
- Petting an animal
- Baking
- Cook from scratch
- Gardening
- Watching a fire
- Watching the rain
- Watch a period film
- Gratitude journaling
- Deep breathing
- Prayer and Bible Study
- Drawing or Painting
- Reading
- Take a nap
- Family game night
- Pretend to be a tourist in your town
- Volunteer
- Tell family stories
- Sit and feel, have tissues in case
- Go for a short walk, maybe even put your bare feet on the grass
Tips For Starting A Slow Living Lifestyle
And here is an easy bullet-point list of tips that are a great way to get started:
- Simplify
- Declutter
- Live with less
- Take it one thing at a time
- Focus on small changes
- Add some “slow” activities to your daily routine
- Focus on less but better
- Look to nature for inspiration
- Create a capsule wardrobe
- Do a digital detox 1 day per week or whenever it feels needed
- Schedule focused screen-free time
- Start spending intentionally with your values
- Simplify your schedule and learn to say no
- Start creative projects
Gamify Slow Living With This Fun Grid
Productivity and Slow Living?
I could not end this post without mentioning this because I love productivity and systems and doing. But what I don’t love is the hustle culture and the feelings it creates- that rushed, pushy feeling. This blog is about Grace over hustle. I believe we can do a lot but do it slower because we do it with clarity and focus. That’s what I’m seeking to practice. It’s always a work in progress but it’s what has changed my life and health for the better and it’s how I’m still changing.
I’ve talked about how I do more through things like reading while I’m rocking our daughter to sleep. But sometimes I’m just present with her too like this morning. I fed her while snuggled under the covers holding her little hands, stroking her hair, and and watching her smile as I tickled her. Sometimes I listen to a podcast while washing dishes so I can grow. Other times I just feel the warm water and focus on the task at hand.
To me, it is a balance because I do have passions and a lot I want to pursue. Sometimes I don’t get it right, but I will keep working at it.
Like a bee in a flower bed, the human brain naturally flits from one thought to the next. In the high-speed workplace, where data and headlines come thick and fast, we are all under pressure to think quickly. Reaction, rather than reflection, is the order of the day. To make the most of our time, and to avoid boredom, we fill up every spare moment with mental stimulation…Keeping the mind active makes poor use of our most precious resource. True, the brain can work wonders in high gear. But it will do so much more if given the chance to slow down from time to time. Shifting the mind into lower gear can bring better health, inner calm, enhanced concentration and the ability to think more creatively.
Carl Honoré, In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed
I wrote this post early in the morning with a cup of tea, soft lighting, a cozy blanket, and instrumental background music. I’m working but calm and focused. That’s how we can do life if we choose to, even as busy moms. It’s hard, it takes practice and fortitude but we can choose to slow down and I think we’re blessed when we do. The present moment is the only moment to focus on and daily life improves when we do.
A fair warning: If you choose to begin to practice slow living you will likely feel bored and distracted at first and tempted to reach for your phone and scroll through social media or find some kind of entertainment. That’s normal. Just sit with that as your mind wanders and ask yourself why. Is it just habit, conditioning, or something deeper? Sometimes we’re trying to escape our real feelings.
If you practice this over time you will be more in tune with yourself, your family, and hopefully our Wonderful Creator. Don’t let the growing pains of trying something new stop you. The benefits of practice are great. We’re not rats so let’s get out of the rat race!
The benefits of a slow lifestyle are numerous and can give you a greater sense of peace. Are you into the slow movement? I would love to hear how you practice it in your life in the comments!
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