What slow living really means
Helping you focus on what matters most
“Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sometimes, the daily grind can feel like we’re literally on a hamster wheel, running round in circles trying to survive, speedrunning our own lives.
The slow living movement can provide the perfect counterbalance for this feeling of overwhelm.
Adopting this mindset has made all the difference for me. Of course, I did it in the more extreme way of moving off the grid to a cabin in the woods, disconnecting from city life.
But that’s not the only way to live a slower life.
The slow living aesthetic
If you’ve spent even just a minute online trying to find some information about the slow living movement, you will have come across many influencers trying to sell you on a certain aesthetic.
There it pops up on your feed: the typical video portraying slow living. This is the only way to live the slow life. It showcases an immaculate, sun-drenched room with soft, muted, earthy tones. Your influencer of the day appears, dressed in a flowy, white linen dress.
They start their day drinking their, likely organic, coffee out of a rustic, brown stone cup. They’re sitting at their wooden table, writing in a leather-bound journal, at times staring dreamily out the window. The camera pans out and we see this young minimalist lives in a tiny house nestled in the woods, surrounded by towering trees and lush greenery. Of course, this tiny house is made of reclaimed wood - highly likely built with their own two hands.
While the soothing acoustic guitar music plays on, our influencer continues their ‘typical day’ of chopping firewood, baking sourdough bread and picking elderberry flowers to make homemade tea.
I can keep going, and it’s important you know I didn’t make any of this up - I just picked a random video and then transcribed it.
I’ll admit I love watching these videos because they convey a sense of calm. But it’s important we accept them for what they truly are: a heavily curated performance that is not real.
In reality, living a slow life is full of imperfections, days when you don’t want to bake sourdough bread (be real, I don’t even have an oven), and genuine moments that wouldn’t look great on Instagram but are meaningful only for the person who experiences them.
My experience with the slow life
Living the slow life has allowed me to be more present and mindful in the moment.
It’s allowed me to be more in touch with my purpose. Through this lifestyle, I have slowly uncovered what really matters to me. What truly matters is not being perfect or always productive. It’s about enjoying the small things and valuing time over money or possessions.
My way of achieving ‘slow living’ has been by moving off the grid. Removing myself from the noisy city life and reducing my reliance on everyday comforts such as TV has made all the difference. I’ve found more time to focus on the things I love doing, such as writing and gardening. I even found time to explore new hobbies, like sewing and making kombucha. Reconnecting with nature and living life mostly outdoors has also been a key aspect of slow living for me.
The most important switch has been reducing the pressure of always being switched on and always ticking things off my ever-growing to-do list. I hate how stereotypical it sounds, but slowing down and being intentional with my day has really brought more balance into my life.
So, what is slow living really?
Many people think slow living means doing everything slowly (it’s in the name, after all) and that everything ‘fast’ is bad.
However, it’s about being intentional, about making room for what matters most. It’s about being present, embracing simplicity, and finding joy in the everyday moments.
It’s about taking your time to do things, not rushing about and always trying to be more productive, finding new things to do and optimising your time.
Most of all, slow living means removing the excess in your life. It means taking some time to sit back and think about how you want to spend your time and what you truly want in life. It could mean having a long hard look at your calendar and schedule. What made a difference for me was when I realised that I said I valued things like writing and gardening, but didn’t actually make time for them.
Removing the excess in your life could also relate to material things, and for you, slow living could mean removing a whole bunch of clutter from your life. I definitely did some of that because we moved into a tiny home, which forced us to be more intentional about what we brought into our home.
It’s a deliberate choice
What I’m trying to make clear is that there is no right or wrong way to “do slow living.” The whole point of the movement is that you decide how you want to spend your time and what’s right for you. You make a deliberate choice about what it means for you to be authentic. No one else can decide that for you.
Stepping into a slower way of life starts with defining your values and really thinking about what matters to you.
Only you know where you have ‘excess’ in your life and what’s draining your energy. Once you have decided where you could do with some decluttering in your life, start small.
Remember, there are no expectations and you set the pace.
Let me know in the comments what your experience has been with slow living so far?
Something that inspired me this week:
A short video this week, with a great message from Cal Newport. Cal Newport is a professor and an author. His latest book is slow productivity, which fits in well with the premise of this article. I love his messaging about seasonality and working at a more natural pace.
This is what you can expect from me every week! A long-form article related to a reflection or life lesson on personal growth and one thing that inspired me this week. If you liked this, don’t keep it to yourself; share it with your friends:
'...relate to material things, and for you, slow living could mean removing a whole bunch of clutter from your life.'
Yeah, I think when we remove certain material things from our lives, we realize those things didn't meaningfully serve us and that we only purchased them due to our materialistic tendencies.
In doing so, we gain some perspective and become more aware of what actually matters in our lives
I love how you defined slow living, Sophie. Being intentional with your actions wherever we are is what I abide by. And what a timely thing that you mentioned Cal Newport’s Slow productivity. I read the book and started implementing it over the past month. My last post is my experience with embracing the three principles of Slow productivity as a mom writer who happens to have a clinic practice too. You’ve got to check it out, Sophie.