A Beginners Guide to Slow Living
‘Slow living’ is something I get asked about a lot. How can you live a slower life when you have a demanding job, a home in the city or a busy family life? Can you slow down if you’re on a strict budget, or is slow living only for the privileged few? Not everyone can uproot and relocate, or leave their job to peruse their passions, and it’s important that anyone writing about or promoting a slower lifestyle understands this. I recently wrote about the reality of slow living as I want people to realise that this isn’t just an aesthetic - you can make small and steady changes to your daily life without spending much money or making drastic life decisions. At its heart, slow living should be about making your life easier and more enjoyable.
CONSIDER THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU
My personal version of slow living is to make time for the things that are important to you. For me, this means making time for taking photographs, reading books, personal writing, long walks with my dog, hanging out with my boyfriend & friends and travelling. Even when work piles up or I’m feeling stressed, I allow time for these things. More importantly, I don’t rush over these activities. I take my time to slow down and enjoy them. When I’m enjoying these activities, I feel calmer, less stressed and more creative - so it’s worth making time for them. Make a list of the things that are important to you and make time in your life for enjoying them without any rush. This could be as simple as going for a walk on your own once a week or insisting that your family all sit around the dinner table together to enjoy your evening meals.
SLOW DOWN YOUR MEALS
The slow movement started with food, so it makes sense to start your slow journey with your meals. There’s so much more I could go into here, but basically it’s all about enjoying the process of cooking and eating. Step away from convenience foods and microwaves and make preparing food an enjoyable part of your day. You could combine this with an item on your List of Important Things (listen to a podcast while cooking, cook with your partner, etc.). Rather than eating on the go or wolfing down your lunch at your desk, do as the Europeans do and centre your days around your meals. Enjoy the flavours of your food, linger at the dinner table, dine with company. Obviously it may not be possible to do this for every meal, but try to make an effort to savour at least one meal a day.
TAKE A WALK
Even if you don’t particularly enjoy walking, try taking a short walk surrounded by nature every day. If you live in a city, find your nearest park. Don’t rush or worry about the time, just stroll and breathe in the fresh air. Walking outdoors and being among nature helps us to calm down, relieves stress, sparks creativity and encourages the release of happy hormones. If you’re struggling to slow down because there’s something on your mind, a good long walk could be just what you need. For me, one of the reasons we moved to the countryside was that I wanted to be able to walk in the woods or in the hills, but I used to get my fix when I lived in a city by walking to a friend’s house rather than taking the bus, or heading to a local nature reserve.
CREATE ‘TECHNOLOGY-FREE’ TIMES OR SPACES
Slow living doesn’t mean you have to completely shun technology from your life. Yes, we need a break from looking at screens but how you spend your downtime is personal to you. I love taking photos and writing, so a lot of my downtime involves my cameras and my laptop. What is important though, is that you take regular breaks from interacting with technology to connect with other things around you - whether that’s family, friends and animals, or activities such as reading, exercise and eating. I’ve found that it helps to create barriers that stop you automatically picking up your phone. Designate a technology free room (such as the bedroom) or time period (such as between work and dinner) and try to make that work for you and your household.
MAKE TIME FOR THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE
One of the most important things for me is making the time to hang out with the people that I care about. I enjoy being on my own sometimes, and like to sit and read or go for a solo walk but I try to balance my time so that I spend enough time with the people that matter to me. I’m a natural organiser, so find it easy to make plans and encourage others to join me but this can be hard if you’re more of an introvert. It’s also tricky to find the right balance between making time for the people that you love and overwhelming yourself and planning too much. Try to balance your time so you have time on your own, but also see your friends and family as often as works for you.
MAKE SMALL CHANGES
Start small. You don’t have to overthrow your entire life overnight, putting your house up for sale and throwing out all your belongings. Make small, considered changes that work for you over time. One thing will lead to another, as you realise certain tweaks to your life are working for you and others just aren’t attainable. Slow living is a personal journey, and the whole point is taking it slow, without rushing.