The Art of Slow Living: 12 Ways to Embrace a Calmer Lifestyle

Slow living is all about living consciously and meaningfully in line with your core values. You intentionally simplify your lifestyle so you can be better connected to yourself and the things that matter to you.

Fast doesn’t always mean better. In fact, it can mean poorer-quality work and more mistakes, which contribute to time loss. Slow living is about doing things at the right speed, which helps with quality.

Here are 12 ways you can embrace a calmer lifestyle with slow living.

Make Time for Your Loved Ones

There is an epidemic of loneliness in the United States. Many of us spend long hours at work and have busy schedules, meaning we could go months or years without seeing our families and friends.

Slow living is about prioritizing what’s important to you. We need to give ourselves time with family and friends to share in life’s joys, sorrows, and celebrations.

Slow Down Your Meals

Microwavable and convenience foods are popular choices as people are more rushed than ever. If we don’t watch what we eat, we could develop health problems later. Instead, enjoy the process of cooking and eating. Healthy food will make you feel good from the inside out.

You can pair the activity with other meaningful activities, such as cooking with family and friends, listening to music, or listening to your favorite podcast. Taste the flavor of the food and enjoy the experience.

Screen Downtime

Work may encourage you to stay on high alert at all times. Opening emails, taking calls, and listening to voicemails are no longer confined to the walls of the workplace.

You might be at the point now where the phone controls you more than you control the phone. I know that was certainly happening to me, to the point I had to give up phone usage during the day.

Making time off-screen helps us better connect with ourselves and live mindfully. Check how many minutes and hours you use your phone each day, and try to clock off early.

Limit Multitasking

People who multitask are chronically distracted and waste more time than they save. This is according to Clifford Nass, a psychology professor at Stanford University, in his interview on Talk of the Nation.

When you are working, you are working. When you are browsing social media, you are browsing social media. Let’s not try to pair the activities together. Focus on one task at a time and set breaks to give your mind some downtime.

Slow living is not about being less productive. It’s about living with your own ideas of success.

Make Small Changes

Slow living is a lifelong journey that won’t happen in an instant. You may need to undo a lot of the habits and routines you have formed over the years.

Find ways to enjoy your everyday life and stay present. One thing will lead to another, and you can eventually make it a more holistic practice.

Go For Walks

Getting outside to the park or making time for some sunlight when you first wake up are great ways to start your day each and every morning.

Be present in the moment and connect with nature. Feel the fresh air brush your skin, watch the birds, or listen to the sounds of water.

Enjoy Your Cup of Coffee in the Morning

Do we gulp down our coffees and teas without even thinking? Slow living encourages us to be more mindful and present.

Making and indulging in our favorite beverage is a sensory experience. We can see our clean kitchens, touch the utensils, and smell the aromas. Put down the phone and really taste the drink when you can. Allow yourself to enjoy it!

Practice Self-Care

When you reduce the distractions in your environment, you will have more time for yourself. Try to put some of this time towards self-care.

We need to take care of ourselves to avoid burnout and other health-related matters. Forget about the consumeristic version of self-care you see on Instagram.

Self-care is about advocating for yourself. It is being responsible for your own care. This may mean setting boundaries, meditation, exercising, reading books, listening to podcasts, or managing your time and finances.

Slow Fashion

Much of the clothes we buy end up in landfills each year. Fast fashion makes it cheap and easy to buy a needless number of outfits, which are then disposed of.

Many of these companies' workers are below the poverty line. Industrial waste, such as heavy metals, is destroying river water, many of which empty into our oceans.

Slower fashion works to halt the breaks on excess production and focus on ethics and sustainability instead. Find quality clothing that will last a long time, and be more intentional about your purchases.

Declutter Your Space

Decluttering in small ways could do wonders for your mental health. Clutter delays your decisions and causes you to lose things. It makes the daily routine much more hectic than it needs to be.

You’ve probably already tried decluttering your home only to find the mountain of stuff piles back up again. If you feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, take just 10 minutes to declutter a drawer or part of your home each day. Before you know it, your home will start to look a lot better.

Find Your Free-Time Passions

Hobbies are great for all ages, including adults. For some, they have let their hobbies go in favor of their busy schedule.

It’s time to find something you are truly passionate about. You could take up something you’ve never tried before, such as knitting or gardening, or fall back in love with something you used to do.

Live with Less

More distractions can actually inhibit us from living the life we want to prioritize. Instead, find ways to reduce your consumption.

Having too much “stuff” doesn’t make people happier. There will always be more to buy and new trends to follow.

You may find more meaning in life with the things that matter to you most.