What Is Slow Living? Practical Tips and Benefits of a Slower Life

Slow living is a trending movement that encourages mindfulness and flexibility in daily life. In today’s fast-paced world, the slow living lifestyle has become especially relevant. While AI-technologies and social media feed people with fast and synthetic content, the slow living movement helps its adopters reconnect with their true values.

How to live a slow life? How can you view life as a journey rather than a race? Read about the concept of slow living, slow living examples, its benefits, and practical tips to embrace a slower lifestyle.

What Is Slow Living?

The Slow life movement originated in the 1980s. Italian political activist Carlo Petrini founded the International Slow Food movement as a protest against a recently opened McDonald’s in the center of Rome. Although the restaurant remains, impacting the authentic ambiance, that protest had been a starting point of the slow life movement.

Today slow living has developed its core principles:

• Doing less, but better.

Modern society is fixated on fast success. However, unhealthy perfectionism and constant hurry can only lead to burnouts and disappointments. Slow living allows taking your time for the best results possible, working at your own pace.

• Prioritising self-care.

Sometimes all we need is to stop and take a few deep breaths. Self-care practices are helpful for people, who often experience stress due to fast-paced living. Even a few minutes of focus and mindfulness can become a solution to an impasse.

‘More than anything, slow living taught me that sitting in stillness, and allowing myself to feel all my emotions, even the bad ones, was actually a really good thing.’ – Renee Benes, the author of The Gentle Art of Letting Shit Go eBook.

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• Getting comfortable being comfortable.

Ever found yourself unable to relax? Indeed, many of us have grown up, being taught a no pain, no gain concept. But sometimes the most effective thing to do is doing nothing. Slow living teaches how to rest without feeling guilty or missing out.

‘This kind of mentality goes hand-in-hand with the belief that we should over-stuff our bellies because people in other countries are starving. — We will never eat enough ourselves to fill the belly of another just like we will never over-work ourselves enough to lighten the burdens someone else bears.’ – Renee Benes, the author of The Gentle Art of Letting Shit Go eBook.

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It’s easy to say that work-life balance and mindfulness are important, but most people are simply used to living on autopilot. There is a way out, called slow living. Learn how it can transform your daily life.

The Benefits of Slow Living

Living with no hurry, you may feel that time also starts going slower. But not only this paradox makes a slow lifestyle worth trying. Let's explore physical, mental, and emotional benefits of slow living:

• Flexibility.

Flexibility is a soft skill that helps in maintaining emotional well-being. For example, you can plan out your day perfectly, but a sudden traffic jam will ruin your mood. Being flexible means leaving more space in your schedule for any unexpected changes. In this way, it is easier to stay calm and organized even in stressful situations.

• Reconnecting with yourself.

Researchers say that stress plays a key role in aging and disease. Mindfulness can protect attention and working memory, counteract depression, addictions and other illnesses. The slow lifestyle gives you more time for self-care practices. They include mindful breathing, walking, journaling and reading, or just sitting still and noticing your thoughts come and go. These moments will add up, contributing to your mental and physical health.

• Finding fulfillment and purpose.

Lifetime goals are different for everyone. Something that is valuable for your parents may not resonate with you. Not only being mindful helps finding your own purpose. Taking your time to do what’s the most important to you makes your lifestyle more intentional and fulfilling. Listen to your intuition and find your true passions. Slow living protects you from living someone else’s life.

• Advancing relationships. 

Do you spend enough time with your family and friends? No matter how busy you are, it is very important for healthy relationships to show your interest and engagement from time to time. Slow living helps in maintaining work-life balance. When you prioritize, you begin to spend more quality time with your close ones.

We’ve talked about the physical, mental and emotional benefits of slow living. People also point out that slow pace of life helps them save money, as they become more sensible consumers. However, such a lifestyle doesn’t mean being lazy or uninspired.

Common Misconceptions About Slow Living

‘Unlike common misconceptions, slow living doesn’t mean being lazy, sluggish, or uninspired. It isn’t all about slowing down the pace of every task we do, but instead changing the tasks that we do, giving us the headspace to prioritize what’s important and assign the right amount of time to each task or activity,’ – says Slow Living LDN. 

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Slow pace of life doesn't mean:

• Just being lazy.

Everyone needs rest. Especially women, who can experience fatigue and cramps every month due to their physiques. Despite this, Amy Odell, the former editor of Cosmopolitan, proclaims in one of her articles that women actually tend to work more than men. She also mentions that the average job plus taking care of the kids totals 98 hours a week. ‘We've earned the right to binge-watch bad TV and not change out of our leggings.’ – Says Amy.

• Lack of motivation.

Slow living is about prioritisation, not being uninspired. It shows new ways of achieving goals. Being in a hurry may result in a burnout. Staying calm and connected to your senses may help you find motivation for what matters the most.

• Retirement.

Some people think that slow living is only for retirees. However, everyone can slow down by practicing mindfulness for just a few minutes a day. Slow lifestyle doesn’t require leaving your job. On the contrary, it helps develop time-management and other soft skills, effective for business and career maintenance.

• Moving to the countryside.

Everyone can benefit from spending more time on the fresh air, discrete consumption habits and sensible technology using. However, slow living doesn’t mean rejecting all of the progress’ goods and moving to the rural. It means using resources and technology within reasonable limits. Slow living principles can apply to urban environments as well.

We’ve dispelled the most popular misconceptions about slow living. And hope that you are ready to adopt a healthier lifestyle without any uncertainty. Let’s get to it.

How to Live a Slow Life: Practical Tips

Miranna’s life and business coaches support the slow living movement, as it helps their clients achieve their goals smoothly and without stress. Here is some practical advice on how to live a slow life. Remember that it is best to start small and not be too hard on yourself. 

Follow these tips to bring more mindfulness and flexibility into your daily life:

Tip №1: Simplify your routine

Slow living means prioritizing and decluttering. Try planning less activities than you can actually do and leave blank spaces on your schedule. Set boundaries for work-life balance and try delegating some of your duties. For example, order food, when you are too tired to cook.

Tip №2: Focus on your values

Visualize your future by mind mapping to decide on what’s most important for you. Try spending more quality time with your relatives and friends. Have long open conversations with your partner. Read books or take courses about something you are interested in. Find a hobby you truly enjoy and practise it in your free time.

Tip №3: Practice mindfulness and gratitude

Take a few minutes a day to be grateful for what you already have. Practice self-care by journaling, doing yoga, meditations or mindful walking in nature. Avoid unnecessary consumption, such as fast food and fast fashion. Limit excessive screen time.

Tip №4: Follow professional guidance

Does your life remind you of a race for success? It’s not unusual for a woman in our fast-paced world to feel that pressure. Step by step we can regain our lives back. Professional life coaches can help with slowing your lifestyle down. Explore the Miranna app to find an expert that will smoothly and slowly guide you to success.

Starting Your Slow Living Journey

Slow living is a transformative concept that can empower many women. It protects from stress and diseases, improves relationships and actually makes time go slower.

To embrace a slower lifestyle, we recommend starting small and being consistent. Prioritizing and decluttering, setting boundaries and focusing on your values can already make a big difference. You can also kick-start your slow living journey with expert support. Download the Miranna app and schedule a consultation with a coach to receive tailored advice and tools for embracing a slower, more intentional life.

FAQ

What is the meaning of slow living?
Slow living is a lifestyle movement that emphasizes mindfulness, intentional choices, and a slower, more deliberate approach to daily life. The slow living lifestyle encourages individuals to focus on quality over quantity, reducing stress and improving well-being.

What does it mean to live a slow life?
Living a slow life means embracing the slow pace of life by prioritizing self-care, flexibility, and meaningful experiences over constant productivity. It allows individuals to reconnect with their values and find balance in their daily routines.

How do you practice slow living?
You can practice slow living by simplifying your routine, setting boundaries for work-life balance, and engaging in mindfulness activities such as journaling, walking in nature, and mindful breathing. Implementing small changes gradually helps incorporate the slow living lifestyle into your daily habits.

What is the difference between simple living and slow living?
While simple living focuses on minimalism and reducing material possessions, slow living is about being present and mindful in everything you do. Slow living encourages a balanced and intentional approach to life, whereas simple living often revolves around decluttering and reducing consumption.