Be a curator of your life. Slowly cut things out until you’re left only with what you love, with what’s necessary, with what makes you happy.
Leo Babauta
We have reached the end of our slow living month. We have gained a new appreciation for life and how adopting a slower more sustainable pace is good for us and our environment. Moving forward we need to be intentional about how we plan our days so we don’t lose our slow momentum.
Learning the Art of Slow Living
When I decided to begin slow living, I gathered tons of information on the topic. From that research, I created a 4 week slow living challenge, to take you and me through a different slow living principle each week. As I write this, I am implementing each change and challenge into my life right along with you. You can read more about my call to slow down here.
During the first week of the challenge, we learned to begin to shift our mindset.
We take a look at our home and closet during week three.
This week we bring it all together and decide what slow living practices we want to make permanent.
Ready to start?
Slow Living Challenge
Week Four – A Slow Living Life
Below you will find a graphic for each day. Clicking on the graphic will jump you to the section of the page with the instructions or inspiration for each activity.
P.S. Make adjustments to the prompts as you see fit. Have fun with it. This is all about how you are able to fit slow living into your life. The only rule is that you try to enjoy the moment!
Day 22 – Turning the Negative into Positive
Today, I want you to think about those little things in life that bug the heck out of you. What really stresses you out? What about your daily routine often gets procrastinated and pushed to the bottom of the list? We all have something. For me it is doing the dishes. No matter how much I hate seeing the dishes pile up, there is just something that stops me from keeping up with them.
Take that little annoyance and think of how you can make the experience a vehicle of change. In my example, I purchased a soap block and brush like this one with the aim of washing each dish as soon as I am done with it. No need to fill the sink and spend a 30 minutes doing a days worth of dishes but rather I spend a few seconds several times a day. Bonus, it is a better form of dish washing for the environment too – avoiding the plastic bottles from ending up in the landfill.
Are there any negatives you can turn positive in your life?
Day 23 – Journal about a Favorite Memory
Take out your journal and write about a favorite memory. Try to avoid distractions so you can really get back into that memory. Close your eyes and envision yourself there. Where are you? Who are you with? What was happening?
Reflect on the favorite memory. Think about how you felt during that time. What makes it a favorite? Was there anything that allowed you to be fully present in that moment that you can adopt for everyday? How can you recreate more of that in your life?
Day 24 – Describe your Perfect Day
Today, journal about your perfect day. If you could do anything, anywhere, with anyone, what would it be. Would it be a picnic on the beach? Getting cozy in front of the fireplace after skiing? Perhaps simply a day spent with family without the stresses of daily life?
By thinking about what kind of day would make you truly happy you can see the gaps in your routine. As you compare your perfect day to your typical day you can begin to plan to make adjustments to get closer to that day on a regular basis.
For a more in depth look at setting goals, read my post on doing a life audit.
Day 25 – Reflect on your Relationship with Nature
Life tends to keep us indoors and separated from nature. Spend a few moments to reflect on your relationship with nature. Perhaps you live in the city and rarely get to see nature that hasn’t been manipulated by humans? Perhaps you are lucky enough to live near a nature park but life’s busyness keeps you from enjoying it as often as you would like? Do you have a pet? What can caring for an animal teach us about how to slow down?
Why is reflecting on our relationship with the natural world important? Well, for starters, nature does not do anything fast. It takes a weeks to years to see a plant go from seed to fruit. Animals live each year fulfilling only a few desires – eat, nest, procreate – with the rest of the time spent enjoying the fruits of their labors. Nature can teach us a lot about being slow and intentional. Secondly, by nurturing our relationship with the natural world we will inevitably make better choices and think deeper about our role in nature. And finally, by taking the time to get out there and enjoy nature you will improve your physical and mental health and naturally fall into a slower rhythm.
Day 26 – Create a Bucket List
Create and keep a bucket list of all the things you want to do in life. They can range from big events like raising kids to smaller ones like growing a garden. Similar to comparing your ideal day to your current routine, making a bucket list will show you just how much life gets in the way from doing the things you really want. In other words, how much living is your life allowing you to do?
I think we often get stuck in a rut of doing the same things day in and day out without really thinking about whether they are contributing to the life we really want. It is time to start putting some of those things back on our to do list.
Day 27 – Plan for Slow
Now, lets make a plan to incorporate some of those slow living principles into our life going forward. Start small. Choose one or two things you think you would like to make permanent and fit them into your regular routine. Perhaps you would like to cook more real food? Does growing a garden sound like fun to you? Maybe you simply want to keep up with journaling regularly right now and see where that takes you? Whatever you do keep the slow mindset close to your heart. Notice the little things. Be in tune with what makes you happy and what pulls you out of your wellbeing. Be sure to put your self care into your day.
Day 28 – Reflect on your Slow Living Month
It has been twenty eight days of practicing slow living principles with the goal of getting back to what really matters in life. Reflect on your experiences this past month? Did you enjoy your time? Did you learn new things? Are there changes you are excited to adopt going further? How are you feeling now? Do you feel more connected to your day to day life? Are you more mindful about how you spend your time and money? Do you feel you are heading in the right direction for greater peace and contentment?
Keep this challenge handy. Pin it to your Pinterest board or bookmark it in some way and come back to it when you feel life is getting hectic again. When you feel ready to adopt another principle return to this post for more inspiration.
Go back to the other weeks of the challenge:
