Slow Living How to Start Today
Why Should I Want to Live a Slow life?
Leading a life that is intentionally slower has some great benefits to it. But if you’re new to this you might be feeling overwhelmed with how to start living a slower life. Maybe you haven’t heard of this movement until recently. That’s why today in this post I will be unpacking how to start living a slower lifestyle today.
I think it’s important to mention that no one’s lives are the same. We are all in different seasons of our lives but it’s how we live them that’s important. If you have been struggling in your life feeling like you can’t catch a break this post is for you. Or if you are feeling overwhelmed, burned out, and left angry all the time this is also for you.
Living a slower life is going to help you realize where you’re focusing your time. It will realign your intentions. Also it will help you plan out your day and encourage you to accomplish those goals you had planned! This is just to name a few benefits!

What Is Slow Living
In essence it is exactly what it is. You are choosing to slow down in your life. Also you stop running out to every event. Thirdly realign your to do’s and goals to be more home oriented. Fourth you stop being in a rush all the time. Lastly you take the time to plan, focus, and think out each goal.
You consciously choose to live a life of less stress.
Benefits of Slow Living
As mentioned above it reduces stress! I can tell you before I had children I was always on the go with my partner. We rarely stayed home,or focused on home chores. It was nuts and our house was cluttered and overwhelming. Most of everything was put on the back burner. Things would come up; money or events for example, we would not realize until last minute. That stress was gut wrenching…
Feeling Relief! I am by heart an introvert. When I started to focus more on living a slower lifestyle the relief I felt knowing I wasn’t going out every weekend gave me such relief. Knowing I have days where I am home and no time limits has helped me feel at ease with myself. I can only hope you feel the same as you begin your slow living journey as well.
Less anger. I won’t lie; I struggle with anger, especially as a mom. It’s something I am focusing on this year. When I am in a time crunch, and have too much on my plate, I ramp my agitation up. Unfortunately us moms know how hard it is to get young ones ready and out the door on time. Toddlers and babies are not the easiest to get ready in a pinch. When I have my day planned I know how much time I need to take to get my children ready. I know what I need to focus on that day, even what I am making for dinner. I can only hope if you struggle with anger, living a slower life can help!

How Do I Begin to Live a Slower Life?
You know the whys at this point, so how do you start to lead a life of slower living?
Evaluate your daily routine, Where can You Slow Down.
Let’s start by how you wake up. Are you always running late? Do you make plans to strategize your day? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants? These are just some of the questions to ask yourself.
Bringing intentional awareness to how you spend your day living might shed light on where you are wasting time. (social media scrolling as an example). You might become aware of activities you want to spend more time on. Examples could be cooking from scratch or reading out loud to your children more.
One way to see how you manage your day is; write down your daily activites with how much time it takes to complete. Don’t cheat, so all those times you stop and scroll social media as well. When you have a day written down you can evaluate it. Maybe there is less of something, more of another thing, or what you want to do instead.
Are you always a Yes Person?
When someone approaches you for help do you always say yes even when you want to say no? Do you feel guilty? If someone approaches you for help and you say yes because you don’t want to let them down, this is guilt.
If you answered yes to these questions it’s time for you to start saying No. Especially if you’re always saying yes to going to places when you really want to stay home. The raw fact; if your friends are truly your friends they will understand if you’re wanting to go out less. They will understand you wanting to change some of the ways you do “life” and will be there to honor and respect your decisions.
Do Not Be Afraid to Say No in a Time of Saying Yes.
Do you make a plan or do it on a whim?
If you always do things on the fly it is time you start planning, even if it’s your weekend. I lived like this for a long time. Prior to children it was the only way my partner and I did life. “What’s going on for tonight?” “I don’t know, want to go here?” “Sure…” And that was it. We would leave on a whim and go wherever but with children? That is just out of the question. I say it like this because I have 3 children all currently under the age of 5. I have to plan meal times, nap times, etc. But mostly I find when I am home my children are more at peace.
If you want to get out of living life without a plan I suggest starting simply. First I suggest a planner either digital or paper. Begin by planning events like your weekly shopping trips, doctors appointments, whatever outings you know of in advance. Once you get in the habit of this, adding more in until you have each day scheduled down.
Play around with your schedule. Just because you do it this way now doesn’t mean it won’t ever change. Another point to focus on; there will be seasons where you are very busy in your life. Do your best to stay on task and to adjust your schedule to better serve you. Make sure to schedule time in to rest. Filling up every minute of the day will eventually leave you with burn out.
Take time to declutter your house
Have you ever heard the saying “chaotic cluttered house, chaotic cluttered mind”? I can personally testify if my house is cluttered, needs cleaning, or unorganized then I feel overwhelmed, anxious, and agitated. If you haven’t thought of this, sit for a minute and reflect on how your house. Recognize what emotions that come up. If you’re feeling anything that I described above you have some work to do. I find the best time to do a good deep cleaning is in the winter and spring!
If you are struggling with what to get rid of ask yourself these questions;
- When was the last time I used this? Will I ever use it again?
- When was the last time I wore this? Will I ever wear it again?
- Could someone else benefit more by having this than me?
If there’s an inch of dust on it, get rid of it! Or if you bought it, you never opened it and don’t plan to, get rid of that! If it’s broken or well worn beyond repair, get rid of it. Go slowly, room by room. Take your time, and be gentle on yourself. The point is to just go through what you have and don’t want, not to judge yourself. In short, the more chaotic and cluttered your house is, the more it will reflect in your life.
Stay persistent
Like anything you do it takes practice. No one is perfect and neither is their lives. We all have those busy seasons. We might throw the planner out the window on a hectic day. What matters is we keep coming back to slowing down and intentionally living our lives.
Connect With Me.
Folks I hope you gained something out of this post! I really hope the seed of living a life more intentionally is planted in your brain! If you want to spend more time with me connect with me via email for my newsletters and more!
If you found this post helpful check out my other post Slower Paced Living where I discuss creating monthly goals, meal planning, etc.
Great tips, thanks for sharing!
I’m living a slower, more simple lifestyle these days and I love it! Thanks for sharing your journey.
I ask myself those same questions whenever I need to declutter my home. It’s so great to pass things on for a second life. Great post!
Stay tuned for my decluttering post! I’m glad you found this helpful!
This is such fabulous advice heading into the new year. My resolution this year is to slow down and be in the present. This post came at the perfect time!
That is great Debbie! I hope you achieve the resolutions throughout this year!