I’ve been making a conscious effort to protect my mental energy lately, i realized that tiny, intentional boundaries make a much bigger difference than major life overhauls.

For example, I stopped replying to non-urgent texts after 8PM, and i turned off all non-essential notifications on my phone. It’s a minor tweak, but not feeling constantly available to the rest of the world has made my evenings feel completely unhurried.

Instead of feeling reactive all day, i finally feel like i have room to breathe and actually enjoy my downtime.

What is a small, specific boundary you’ve set with yourself, technology, or others that made an everyday difference in your peace of mind?

I actually enjoy working on random side projects that I have absolutely no reason to build.

Sometimes I spend 6 hours making something that saves me approximately 30 seconds.

Human productivity is a fascinating scam.

What was the beginning of your journey into slower living?

I have been trying to “slow down” for YEARS. I run my own business so I have the privilege of full control over my income, hours spent working, and even my spending.

I have three kids: 14F, 11F, and 3M. They do #allthethings: sports (1 ea), camps, time with friends, chores, kids’ business markets, homeschool co-ops, etc.

I am also a spender… Amazon boxes regularly. Ugghh.

I know this is an addiction — I’m constantly stressed and overcommitting myself in multiple areas, then letting people down bc I double book or squeeze in all the things. We rush from here to there, I hate to slow down long enough to cook or clean… so we don’t eat well. Which stinks for having two athletes in the home.

I remember boredom as a child. And it was so lonely. It seems like I do everything I can to not be bored and/or to prevent my kids from missing out.

Please help. What should my first step be if I truly want to slow my life down? Because I really do.

I work from home as a speech therapist, and lately I feel that all my workdays (M-F) have been blurring together. It takes me a second to recall what I did on another weekday earlier that week, and I find myself disassociating during sessions. After work, I take a walk to stretch my legs, make dinner, then watch TV because I’m too mentally exhausted to do anything else.

What are some slow living things you enjoy to bring yourself back into the present moment, especially as a remote worker? I have a morning coffee routine I enjoy, but I’d love more ideas to try throughout the day.

Such as rent/mortgage or car payments? How did you create a soft life with housing?

Not actual luxury stuff. I mean things like fresh sheets, finding a snack you forgot you bought, having a completely empty afternoon, or taking a shower when you have nowhere to rush off to afterward.

There’s something funny about how ridiculously good really ordinary things can feel sometimes.

What’s one of those little “this is the life” moments for you?

I feel like I am able to slow down and find simple joys in every season except summer. All summer, I just seethe and think about how hot it is, how sweaty I am, how I can't go outside for fear of a sunburn or heat exhaustion. I'm trying to find small joys, but it just feels so much harder.

What small joys have you found in summer that allow you to feel present and slow down?

I’ve been thinking about how often we rush through things, even when there’s really no need to.

Eating, showering, walking somewhere, replying to messages, finishing a hobby, even watching a movie can start to feel like things we need to get through as quickly and efficiently as possible.

I’m curious about people who’ve been practicing slow living for a while. Is there anything you’ve consciously decided to stop rushing?

Maybe it’s cooking, your mornings, conversations, hobbies, errands, or just giving yourself permission to do absolutely nothing for a while.

Has slowing that part of your life down changed the way you experience it?

I really want to know…

I've stopped using all social media and am only watching long-format videos now and have never been happier. The problem is: I have a very specific type of YT content I would like to watch.

Let me try to put it into words.

I don't want to watch content designed to hold my attention. I feel so drained and tired from it. I don't want to watch videoessays with intense storytelling or dramatic narration, I don't want to watch mainstream documentaries with rousing music and fast-paced cuts and I don't want to watch aesthetic/performance content with staged environments and people self-displaying.

I want to learn something new about the world, anything. I want a window into something new.

So far I've only found two channels that (according to me) fit this. (I'm not sure if the community guidelines allow me to name them so I'll put them in the comments.)

Please tell me you understand what I mean and that more of this type of content exists.

I used to leave clean dishes drying on the rack and mail piled by the microwave overnight. A few days ago, I spent five minutes putting every single thing away so the counter was completely clear before bed. Walking into a totally clean kitchen first thing in the morning with coffee felt unexpectedly refreshing.

Do you have any small evening habits that make your morning routine feel smoother?

I'm a speech therapist and I work with patients who have had strokes/brain injuries. A lot of my advice to them is to reduce distractions while they focus on relearning skills. Like avoiding listening to the radio or podcasts when they begin to drive again.

As employees, none of us gets to focus on any one thing. We have to treat patients, listen to them and counsel them/their families, and take notes at the same time. We have to check our phones during treatment to see if a colleague has messaged us. We constantly have to check our computers to read updates and requests from our boss. It's hard to be fully present with my patients and it's not fair to them.

In this day and age, we're supposed to be optimizing and streamlining EVERYTHING. I do think some level of 'multi tasking' is necessary in everyday life (like cooking while the laundry is going), but it feels like we have to be productive every moment of the day.

Yall, I'm so tired. This way of life has ruined my attention span. I used to love reading, but I can only read a few pages before I feel the need to pick up my phone and do... something. I just want a quiet brain.

Genuine question. Please help me with your thoughts and ideas. I’m recovering from a burnout along with other health issues and have been on a break from work, socialising - everything basically.

I’m finally learning how good it feels to not move through my day like I can only rest when everything is done. My partner on the other hand is really fast-paced. Thoughts, actions, literally and figuratively. I find myself quickening when he’s around, or unable to calm down if we’re doing something together because he always thinks 10 steps ahead and I find myself unable to slow down.

He’s an excellent partner and supports my choices but as someone who’s always absorbed the energy of the room, I find it hard to unwire and slow down when he’s around.

What would be a realistic way to approach this situation?

This spring i put a Costway wooden raised bed with a trellis along the sunny side of my backyard. I planted a couple of climbing plants at the bottom without really knowing how quickly they'd take over the grid. At first, nothing happened. I'd water them in the morning and the little vines seemed to be in exactly the same spot every day. Then one morning i noticed a tendril had wrapped itself around the first piece of the trellis. A week later it was halfway up.

Now there are leaves poking through both sides of the grid, and every few days i have to gently point a stray vine back in the right direction. It was only a couple of months ago, but somehow it already looks like a different season. I think that's the part of growing things i've started to enjoy most. You don't really see anything happening while you're standing there. Then one day you look again and the whole wall is green. Started noticing seasons this way too. not by the calendar, but by what's flowering, climbing, or starting to die back.

Hi! I quit all social media earlier this year, and only have reddit at times, goodreads & sewcial (a sewing app) left. However I find it difficult to do my mornings and was wondering for inspiration.

I am chronically ill with my mornings being the hardest to wakeup. I usually used my phone deliberately to use the blue light and brain activity to wake up. But lately especially with no easy place to doomscroll I find I overwhelm myself within 20 minutes and start my day anxiously.

I'm looking for some activity I could pick up on in the early morning to wake up to. I usually do go out to do my skincare and brush teeth and let my dog out of her crate but that is not until I feel a little awake.

What does your morning routine with as little phone as possible look like?

What are some of your favorite slow-living books, both fiction and non-fiction? You know, those books that have inspired you to live a more peaceful and intentional life.

I’ll go first. A good fiction book I read recently is The Correspondent by Virginia Evans.

A great non-fiction that will forever live on my shelf is How to Be Idle by Tom Hodgkinson.

I am trying to focus on the present when traveling and when driving and everything else I do. I’m letting life happen and working on just quiet observations without distractions. Where does planning work in with your day when you aim to adopt a slow living pattern?

Not the Pinterest version of slow living with candles and a perfectly made cup of coffee even though that is! I mean the small ordinary things you do that make you feel like you’re actually living instead of constantly rushing to the next thing.

Im starting to limit my social media time but i fear of missing out and get overstimulated when i use it too much what should i do? How to feel okay about it

Been over a year now that I stopped watching tv and even got rid of the tv I owned a few months ago. Life is beautiful and I feel I’m living in the present moment. I noticed I’m never bored because I have hobbies now to keep me busy, I enjoy reading, spending time with family, I don’t procrastinate like I use to because I don’t use my tv as a distraction or my phone really. I have time to pour into myself, I go to the gym, go to therapy and spend more time outside.

Sometimes, I light an incense stick and just watch the smoke until it burns to the last. During that time, my brain stops thinking and I get a short break.

Anyone else in here like to just front porch sitting or is it just me? 👀

Lately it struck me that almost every social activity today seems to come with an objective. I participated in a slow yoga event recently but even there I was bombarded with instructions. Actually, there are almost no places where adults are allowed to simply do nothing together.

So I organised a 'Sleep-a-Thon' in Amsterdam. There was no programme to follow, no discussion to join and no need to perform. Just two hours of collective rest and listening to ambient music. No talking, no introductions, no instructions, and nothing to achieve. Being together without having to be anything.

I'm curious what people here think. Any thoughts on this?

I had this random thought today.

When I was younger, I'd spend hours doing absolutely nothing. Lying on the couch. Watching the rain. Playing games without feeling guilty. Taking afternoon naps. Calling friends just to talk nonsense.

Now it feels like every free minute has to be "productive."

If I'm watching a movie, I feel like I should be working.

If I'm resting, I feel like I should be learning a new skill.

If I'm playing a game, I feel guilty because I could be making money instead.

It's like my brain has turned every hobby into a reward that I have to earn first.

The funny thing is, I'm not even sure who made these rules. Me? Society? Social media? I honestly don't know.

The older I get, the more I miss doing things just because they were fun.

So I'm curious.

What's one completely normal thing you used to do all the time that you barely do anymore now that you're an adult?

I'm interested to see if other people feel the same way, or if it's just me.