Following the overachiever card, I’ve wondered whether there’s been too much happening, and I should slow down. Embrace slow living.

What is slow?

For the sake of argument, we’ll start with the definition:

moving, happening, or doing something without much speed

Cambridge Dictionary

In the usual way of the English language, slow can also mean not exciting, not clever, not on time, not hot (as in oven temperature), and getting even less fast than you were before.

All of which, except the temperature, seem appropriate to me right now.

But more to the point, slow living, is a rejection of fast living – that feeling of always being an hour, a day, or even a week behind.

And that’s the thing, slow living is easier to define by exception than it is by inclusion.

What slow living is not

Slow, by definition, is about time.

Slow living is not being slow for the sake of it. It’s thinking about how and why you do the things you do. Choosing to let some activities go, so you can focus on other, more meaningful activities.

It’s not about stopping per se. Slow is still moving, even if that’s slowly. Maybe a slow life provides the time to niche down and perfect your sourdough. Or learn all there is to know about your collection of china shepherdesses.

It’s also nothing to do with what your house looks like. Chances are you’ll find yourself living more simply, with less stuff, but clutter lovers can relax. It’s possible to live slow while enjoying a maximalist life. In fact, I can imagine a slow house filled with drying herbs, crocheted blankets, and pillows made of dog hair.

And it’s not necessarily about embracing the Luddite fringe. I will happily continue to use my electric dish and clothes washers. My rice and slow cookers. And the central heating!!! I will even keep my phone because it sure keeps my handbags small without the need to carry fiction books, notebooks, train time tables, bank cards, address books, cameras, diaries and so on.

What is slow living?

Modern life is kind of fast – email, direct messages, social media, traditional media, streaming services. There’s always something clamouring for your attention.

Not to mention the call to use AI so you can do more stuff in less time so you can create even more time to… do even more I guess.

Slow living is kind of the opposite.

Obviously, choosing life in the slow lane might seem easier for those of us with money than for those without it.

But, in an action packed fast lane life, slow living itself stems from not having money:

• Buying food at farmer’s markets rather than supermarkets
• Slow cooking tough cuts of meat
• Walking or taking public transport instead of driving
• Reading library books instead of streaming tv shows
• Making and mending clothes rather than buying them

As I mentioned earlier, slow living is more like deep living. Enjoying

• Deeper flavours only available through slow cooking over long periods of time
• Closer inspection of the sights and sounds in your environment you simply wouldn’t catch in a car
• Pleasure of walking into a cold house (that feels warm) after a long bracing walk in the colder outdoors
• A long soak in a bath instead of a quick shower
• Snuggling by the fire (which takes time to light and keep going)

Practicing slow living

A while back I was reading Wuxia fantasy (Chinese historical fantasy in which martial artists cultivated their spiritual energies and did superhero type stuff). The characters were given “stick” times, that is, the amount of time an incense stick takes to burn down.

You have an internal timer that gives you the idea it’s lunch time, or bed time, or that you’ve dilly dallied long enough. Your version of an incense stick.

The analogy doesn’t really work in the modern day seeing as you can buy incense sticks with varying burn times – I have both five and twenty minute sticks.

Incense sticks or no, for a lot of people picking up their phones is the first thing they do – even before getting out of bed. I’m not one of them, so I have no idea what they do with their phones, but I can’t help thinking this would immediately make you feel like you’re behind.

Once I’m sufficiently awake, I go make coffee. I open the blinds to look out at the other brightly lit early bird houses, but I don’t turn on a radio or listen to the news. I give myself some quiet time to wake up.

I don’t really try to keep up with the news, just half an hour in the evening is enough for me to get the gist of what’s going on in the world. I’m also quite bad at remembering to check social media – so bad I might as well not be on it it all! I’m pretty sure no one notices my absences.

Give yourself the time to enjoy your first coffee, or that lovely gooey cake. Sit down to eat instead of standing up, or at your desk. Take long lunches, and enjoy time spent with your friends.

Consider meditating, or even just sitting quietly listening to yourself slowly breathing in and out. It’s good for focus, and the shit your brain comes up with when left to its own devices is something to be heard. Sometimes there’s a burst of inspiration, sometimes you’re going over and over a few words someone else said, and sometimes you just need to let it go.

Journalling is another slow activity. Stringing sentences together and writing them down. Useful for remembering what happened during the day, as well as working out what you think or what your next steps are. Some swear by Morning Pages, others at the end of the day with Productivity Journalling.

Consider slow food; cooking from scratch with fresh fish and meat, fruit and vegetables, unrefined unprocessed grains and seeds. Buy the best you can afford and work from there. Which will also benefit your health, and possibly your wallet.

Maybe, after a time, you can look at slow fashion – buy timeless over trend driven, sustainable over unsustainable, higher quality over lower.

Read some historical fiction, and some history, see what you can learn and apply to your life. Probably not handwashing your clothes, but reading stories aloud, impromptu musical evenings, or card games.

Next time you’re in a queue, why not try playing I spy with yourself instead of picking up your phone. Or talk to the next person in line… Depending on whether they look like a serial killer or not.

It takes practise. But it’s worth it.

Remember, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.