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The Fast Girl's Guide To Slower Living

The Fast Girl's Guide To Slower Living

Posted on: Sunday 24 June 2018


'Slow living' is all the rage now isn't it? In my opinion, the fact that it's a massive trend and seen as the 'in thing' is excellent because we always want to do the 'in thing' don't we so when said 'in thing' is something that's actually good for us that's a massive plus. Not sure whether I've ever started a blog post with a more nonsensical sentence, hellooo bad bounce rate. 

Anyway, my point is that the slow living trend is excellent and one that I think we should all get on board with. However, that's much easier said than done because if you're more of a 'fast' (seriously how many things can I put in inverted commas in one post?) person like me, you're probably not very good at it. I've mentioned before that I'm the type of person who likes to keep busy; I like always having something to do and feeling productive. I don't think that's always a bad thing, but even fast people need to live slowly sometimes otherwise I think we'd run ourselves into the ground. So, these are some of the things I'm doing to try and make my fast self live a little slower:

Figure out what slow living means for me. When I think of slow living I conjure up an idealistic image of waking up to a bit of meditation followed by some perfectly executed yoga and some sort of super healthy acai bowl breakfast and then an evening spent surrounded by candles and blankets curled up with a good book. I've tried meditation and it's just not for me, yoga just gives me acid reflux (TMI?) and I definitely don't have time for a cosy evening every single night. Slow living is different for everyone and I'm still in the process of working out what it is for me, but it can be something as simple as a morning cup of coffee enjoyed in the garden with no distractions or a chapter of a book read in bed.

Ditch the guilt. It's rare that I enjoy some down time to myself without feeling guilty for not being productive and that's something I want to change. How, I'm not quite sure, but we need to stop feeling guilty for what is essentially taking care of ourselves.


Make time. It's very easy to start the day with a long to-do list then once you're on a roll just carry on until it's time for bed. And then repeat. The thing is, I'm never going to get to the end of a day having crossed everything off my to-do list so whether I take some time out of that day to myself or not, I'll never feel productive enough. My point being, I may as well take some time out of that day to live a little slower. So, living a little slower is going on my to-do list from now on to make sure it's something I consciously make time for.

Be consistent. My worst downfall is that I make all these grand promises to myself, I deliver on them for a couple of weeks and then I fall back into bad habits. Being consistent will be difficult, but hopefully as long as I continue putting down time on my to-do list, it'll get done.

Are you any good at slow living? Throw your tips my way if you are!

Amy x

Comments

  1. It's something I'm really trying to work on at the moment too! I always end up booking up my time like months in advance but I've been trying to keep more time free and be a bit more spontaneous which to me is more like slow living! x

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    1. Yes I definitely agree with that! I often just fill up weekends and then don't have the time to be spontaneous, something I definitely need to start doing! xx

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  2. This is so hard for me! I'm definitely a verrry fast girl and want to get everything done at once, so I don't really know what "slow living" looks like :) What I started doing recently, though, was waking up at 6am (I used to wake up at 8/9am and rush out the door). Now I have these two, quiet hours in the morning for myself, and use them to meditate, read a little and have a relaxed breakfast :)
    http://www.lambassadrice.com/

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    1. That's a really nice idea! I definitely prefer having a bit of time in the morning instead of being rushed xx

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  3. This is actually such a good point! I’ve found even though I like being busy, scheduling in an hour every day to do something that makes me happy keeps me feeling balanced! Like you said, a cuppa tea in the garden is definitely part of slow living, even just for a few minutes xx

    www.natalieleanne.com

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    1. Especially over the summer it's such an easy thing to do as well! I feel like you are the slow living expert! xx

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  4. I'd actually never heard of this before so it was a really interesting read for me - thank you! Will definitely be trying out elements of it!
    Have a lovely day :)
    Rosanna x
    Rose's Rooftop

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    1. Natalie (comment above) has heaps of tips on her blog! xx

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  5. I think making time is so important - I always feel like I have a better day when I take a moment for myself, even if it means I'm not as productive! :) Blogging is my me-time so I try to do a little every day! :)


    Hope that you are having a lovely start to your week after a nice weekend :)

    Away From The Blue Blog

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    1. I tend to find it actually makes me more productive in the long run! xx

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    2. Consistency is key! I find that when I schedule out and write down when I'm going to relax, it's more likely to happen.

      Shann Eileen | www.shanneileen.com

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    3. Definitely! I've started adding it to my to-do list xx

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