E211: A Checklist for Slow Living
E211: A Checklist for Slow Living:
You’ve probably heard of the slow living movement, or seen the beautiful aesthetic on Instagram and TikTok, but what is slow living really? This week on the show I’m investigating what slow living really means, and sharing with you some of the ways you can create your own slow living routines and rituals…
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[00:51] I sat down to write this episode a couple of times, and a few of those times, I felt pressured by deadlines or rushed by the next appointment or task on my calendar.
And the third time I sat down I decided, you know what? This isn't slow living, and this is why I'm having a hard time sitting down to write this. It's because I'm not coming from a place of slow and mindful and meaningful.
I will share a disclaimer that I do not advertise myself as someone who practices slow living, but rather I'm someone who aspires and intends to slow down more.
You see, I live in the Greater Toronto Area. And for those of you who know or live in big cities, you'll know that it is go go go even though I'm not in the downtown core. There is definitely an energy of fast paced moving and always on the go. “Busy” is worn like a badge of honour.
And it wasn't until I traveled to Belize for the very first time and was on the island Caye Caulker, when I really had this wake up call to slow down. And funnily enough, it was while I was rushing from my hostel to the bar that I was meeting my friends at, that a local said to me, “You walk too fast.” And I stopped in my tracks and cranked my head around and looked at him and was like “Excuse me?!”
And he was walking super slow behind me and he repeated himself and said, “I walk too fast.” And I can't remember exactly how the conversation went because it was years ago now. But he was going to the same place that I was going. And so I guess we started walking together. And I was in so much pain, trying to walk that slow because I remember thinking, but we could just be there now.
And all over this island of Caye Caulker. There are signs that say “Go Slow.” And it was really during this trip I was on, that I started slowing down. I came home after months of being in these sleepy villages and you know small cities and towns where the pace is, you know, whatever the person feels like that day.
After coming home from all of that I really noticed how fast everything else was moving. And it was a turning point for me. It was a deciding moment for me that I wanted to continue on being a little slower.
Some things change pretty quickly. I was a lot more patient in traffic. I noticed that I was giving myself more time to do things. More time to drive to work, more time to get ready to leave the house and not rushing places and I was giving myself time to eat meals more presently.
And like I said this trip was a long time ago so I can definitely see how just being in an environment of fast paced lifestyle can bring you back into those old patterns and old habits.
So again, I don't advertise myself or I don't claim to be an expert on slow living. However, I think this is another kind of turning point in my journey where I'm nearing the end of a year where I can look back on this past year and I can notice that my mental health was really low.
At the beginning of the year. I struggled a lot mentally, emotionally, and physically. And I finally feel like I'm hitting this turning point and when I look at the tools that I use in my toolkit, what I'm discovering was working really well for me is that I was taking time to slow down. I was taking time to prioritize rest, and really noticing how life-changing that has been for me in such a short amount of time.
It was the actions such as taking items off my plate that really helped me. It wasn't doing more it was actually doing less and so I wanted to learn more and research more and share more about these practices.
You’ve probably seen on Instagram and Tiktok this ‘slow living’ or the ‘slow lifestyle’ and it's very aesthetic. And throughout my research, I’ve learned that it's not always so beautiful.
It's really more simplified. Essentially your priorities change. It's not about getting everything on your to do list done. It's about feeling good at the end of the day, and sometimes getting a lot of things done feels good and I was noticing that I was measuring my level of how I felt that day with how productive I was. And I actually don't know if I feel better when I'm productive or if I just feel like I've checked off some boxes – perhaps someone else's boxes.
So it's been a really interesting journey for me and maybe this is part one of a slow series, a slow living series. Perhaps stay tuned for more parts of this as I continue exploring.
I’ve given it a lot of thought and I recognize that that slow living isn’t something I truly want to describe as my life or define myself as.
I definitely love the idea of it and I'd like to incorporate more of that into my life and daily routines. I think being the Aries rising that I am gives me a sort of fiery, impulsive energy and naturally I will need to have those bursts of energy and I feel like a bolt of lightning and I want to get all the things done and I'm excited about that. And that's something that I want to keep doing.
I don't just want to say, “Oh no, I can't do that because that's not part of this lifestyle that I maintain or that I have.”
So, to me, slow living is really about mindfulness and intention and understanding who you are and what you want and not just defining yourself by the job that you have, or the checkmarks on your to-do list..
It's recognizing what is important to you, what is foundational and connecting with yourself by asking, “Am I living in alignment with those slow living intentions?”
Speaking of intentions, my intention for the podcast is obviously to empower women. And the intention I have for each individual show is to inspire you to take action right away through the tactical practical tools I can share.
So I wanted to share some of the descriptions or definitions of slow living with you as well as a checklist of some of the many ideas and areas of your life you'd like to feel more present, mindful, and slow down in.
Now, before we dive into all of that, I do want to say: the lists I’m sharing are here for you as suggestions and ideas. I want you to listen to this episode and tap into yourself and your intuition and ask yourself what feels good for you? Which of these ideas do you want to incorporate to create your own list!
From what I’m learning about slow living through research and experience, is that it’s really about grounding in your intentions for a more meaningful and intentional life. Not just in general, but in the details of the day.
A free tool that I have to help you create this more intentional life is called the Build Better Habits Guide. It’s a downloadable tool and you can keep it for the rest of your life if you'd like!
You can directly type into the digital workbook itself. And it is an excellent tool for you if you are starting a new habit or if you want to get back into an old habit in a new way. Especially if you want to be specific and intentional with those habits, and like I said, I think this is really part of slow living. It's knowing yourself and being okay by yourself and being okay with silence while you're sitting alone at home and you know, it's okay to say no to certain things and it's okay to prioritize rest!
Throughout my investigation into Slow Living, I found common themes, or pillars of this lifestyle.
[11:11] The first one is SIMPLICITY. At first I compared this to minimalism. And while minimalists live simply, they don’t automatically live slowly.
As described on MarthaStewart.com slow living is “... about creating opportunities to disconnect, (literally slow down, and be more present.” [source https://www.marthastewart.com/2224818/slow-living-lifestyle]
A lot of the time, creating opportunities to disconnect and literally slow down, can look like simplifying your schedule. If you have too many appointments, calls, meetings, or obligations you start to feel like a chicken with their head cut off! You’re always on the move!
With the slow lifestyle, simplicity has a lot to do with getting clear about what is most important to you, and eliminating everything else. To do this you can use this Simple Life Ritual:
1. Clarity: Make a list of the top 3-5 most important things to you. To help you, ask questions like: What’s most important to me? What are my core values?
Once you have these 3-5 things, you make these your top priorities. These are the things you will make (more) time for in your life.
2. Commitments: Check out your current schedule, calendar, and commitments. Which of these adds value to your life? Which of these falls under your top 3-5 priorities? Whatever doesn’t align… gets eliminated.
3. Time: In connection to your commitments is your time. How do you spend your days, including the time between your commitments. Complete a time audit by writing down everything you do in a day and how much time you spend doing each of those things. Eliminate anything that isn’t important or isn’t focused/aligned with your top 3-5 priorities or doesn’t add value to your life.
4. Tasks: Whether it’s work or home, it can be easy to keep adding to our to-do lists. This especially is where we need to focus on what needs to be done, and what we can eliminate or delegate.
You can continue this simple life ritual with just about any area of your life. From your closet to your communications, evaluate what’s aligned, and eliminate the rest.
[14:02] The second pillar of the Slow Living Lifestyle is MINDFULNESS. We talk a lot about mindfulness on this podcast, and it’s an important topic to me. One of the best habits we can implement is mindfulness.
According to Wikipedia, “Slow living is a lifestyle which encourages a slower approach to aspects of everyday life, involving completing tasks at a leisurely pace.” [source]
Of all the descriptions I’ve read, this one is probably my least favourite, although it is indeed very simple and obvious. The reason why I don’t like it is because to me, it sounds a little like slow living is lazy, when that isn’t the case. The leisure pace has a bit of a negative connotation, sort of like we’re dragging our feet because we’re avoiding something, when really it’s about enjoying the moment.
And to enjoy the moment we must be present. And to be present in the moment, we must be mindful. Mindfulness is our ability to be fully present in where we are, and what we’re doing. This can be especially challenging for people wrapped up in the go-go-go environment, or who have never learned how to just be here now.
Being present doesn’t mean it takes you all day to complete a task, in fact, when I’m really practicing mindfulness I notice that I get more done in less time because I am focused on the task in front of me, and I’m not trying to multitask AKA task switch, which actually decreases our productivity by as much as 40%! [source*]
Here is a list of ways you can practice mindfulness throughout the day:
1. Make your bed with intention
2. Smell your soap while taking a shower
3. Eat meals without screens or books or papers in front of you
4. Notice your connection to the earth with your feet as you walk
5. Take several long deep breaths and notice the air entering and exiting your body
6. Feel the sunshine warm your skin
7. Do a body scan
8. Go for a walk and notice the nature around you
9. Practice meditation
10. Feel the softness of your pillow or the warmth of your bed
Blog Post: 101 Ways You Can Be More Mindful in Everyday Life by Rachael Kable
[16:24] The third pillar of Slow living is INTENTION. Earlier in this episode, I talked about intention. I learned a long time ago in my yoga practice, that it’s important to start every practice with intention. I took that ritual into my business, and my morning routine, and the podcast of course!
A slow living blog I stumbled upon defines slow living as “Slow Living means structuring your life around meaning and fulfillment.” [source]
Similar to simplicity, we’re structuring our life around what we value most. When we’re intentional we make decisions that are meaningful to us, and hopefully connect to those same values and priorities.
My most favourite (and easiest) way to set an intention for the day is to stir my feeling word into my morning beverage. You can do this too! Here’s how:
1. As your tea, coffee, or favourite beverage is brewing, hold your hands around the mug or glass. Ground through your feet and close your eyes if that feels good to you.
2. Take a few deep breaths and think of how you want to feel on this day. Maybe you go over the events you have planned, and perhaps you want to align with something specific to those. Or maybe you have another feeling in mind. Breathe it into your being.
3. When it’s time, pour the beverage into the mug/glass. Stir the ingredients counterclockwise to release any negative or stale energy from the day before/sleep.
4. Next, come back to your intention. Stir the beverage clockwise while infusing the beverage with your feeling word energetically. Seal it by drawing a pentacle with your spoon.
5. Drink the beverage (mindfully of course) and imagine the feeling word moving into your body and staying with you throughout the day.
It’s a simple ritual you can do every day, and for me, it helps me anchor into my feeling word in other parts of my day. I remember the feeling word when I’m stuck in traffic, or giving a presentation, or interacting with people during the day.
Simplicity, Mindfulness, and Intention are what I believe to be the three pillars of Slow Living.
As I reflect on the past year, and move into the new one, I intend to anchor into each of these pillars and build new goals, habits, and systems from these.
Here are some more Slow Living Rituals you might like to add into your own routines:
11. Breathwork
12. Have a long hot bath
13. Practice gratitude
14. Read a chapter from a fiction book
15. Drink morning coffee slowly
16. Stretch body head to toe
17. Practice mindful movement like yoga or pilates
18. Taste your toothpaste when you brush your teeth
19. Stop and smell the roses
20. Choose an outfit that makes you feel good in your body
I’d love to go deeper into conversation with you about slow living. You can find me on instagram and send me a DM @vallavignelife and share with me what your intentions for slow living are.
Are you already practicing this? Are you curious? Are you ready to dive into the lifestyle, or take a similar approach to me and sprinkle it all in? I always love hearing from you!
Podcast Host
Valerie LaVigne
Valerie is the creator and founder of Valerie LaVigne Life and the Women's Empowerment Show. She helps busy and empowered women create healthy habits so that they can become the best version of themselves and transform their lives. Learn more about Valerie here!
