Slow Living: Living Mindfully in a Mindless World

Last night, I was watching a lecture by Dr. Ellen Langer on mindfulness. She shared the results of multiple studies she’s been part of in the last four decades.

One study involved separating people into two groups. Each group was given a failed product and essentially the same task, but worded differently.

The first group was told that they had a failed product in front of them and were tasked with finding new uses for it. They were primed for mindlessness.

The second group was told that they had such a product in front of them (there was no mention of it being failed) and tasked with finding uses for it. They were primed for mindfulness.

Of course, the group that was primed for mindfulness gave more creative ideas than the other group on how to use that failed product.

What does this tell us? When we approach life mindfully, experiencing it right here and right now, we tend to be more creative, pay attention to details, and be open to new opportunities, ideas, and “uses” of whatever life offers us.

That is one of the biggest reasons why slow life and living through our days mindfully would increase happiness, boost our mood, make us enjoy our lives better, and essentially – improve us. And strangely, we find more ways to enjoy life and do more with out time, devices-free.

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Mindfulness, Work/Life Balance, and Slow Living

One of my favorite theories by Dr. Ellen Langer is that we shouldn’t find a balance between life and work but rather incorporate one into the other.

Balance means that we have a scale, and we put work on one side and life on the other. It simplifies the picture, doesn’t it?

However… We know that we can never enter the office and forget our argument with our partner from last night. We can also never take our work shoes off at the end of the day and simultaneously stop thinking about the heated chat we had with a coworker two hours earlier.

Here’s the reality: Trying to balance would leave us “trying”. Mindful living would help us prioritize, notice opportunities, and choose wisely what’s important at this very moment.

With these thoughts in mind, I am here to give you ten simple tips on incorporating slow living into your existing life. The transition should be mindful, of course.

1. Limit Multitasking

Science says that there is no such thing as multitasking, just switching very quickly between different tasks. It exhausts and tires us out faster than just sticking to doing one thing at a time.

This sounds like the perfect baby step towards slow living – doing one thing at a time. I am not telling you to do things slower; slow living isn’t about getting phlegmatic about stuff.

It is about cleaning your house and not solving your marriage issues. It is about having a conversation with your child and not scrolling on TikTok at the same time. It’s about giving your full attention to this very moment until the moment is gone.

2. Practice Saying Yes

I will never forget the idea that saying Yes to one thing means No to something else. We can only be in one place at a time, and we can only be good at one thing at a time.

The idea of saying no to “whatever” is to practice eliminating whatever doesn’t belong at this very moment. We can say no to going out with friends on a lazy Saturday afternoon and use the time to clean, work in the garden, or cook for the week ahead. Alternatively, saying no to isolating ourselves at home for the weekend would mean yes to interaction with people we love and care for.

Many people would say that simplifying and enjoying life slowly means eliminating stuff and going minimalistic. But if this usually puts you off (like it does for me), reverse the thinking: When you say no, what do you say yes to? When you make decisions, consider the positives, not the negatives.

3. Connect with Nature

One of the aesthetics of slow living is the instant connection with nature. I’m not sure if it’s about the cottage-core images of field flowers, sunrises through the windows, or the barefoot walk we get introduced to, but slow living is related to embracing nature.

Find your way to connect with nature. Each one of us would feel differently about this. To you, “connecting with nature” might mean gardening on all fours every afternoon. To me, it’s noticing the grass, the leaves, and the puddles while walking my dog. To someone else, it would be about sitting on a picnic blanket in the park on a late Sunday afternoon.

Yet, the idea of finding a few precious minutes to honor nature stays the same.

4. Practice Mindful Breathing

Hands down, the easiest way to feel the importance of a moment is to become present in it and breathe through it.

Mindful breathing is harder than you think if you try to do it for more than six breaths at a time. There are numerous exercises to help you start, but the simplest one is 3-6, where you inhale on the count of 3 and exhale on the count of 6. You can reduce these numbers to 2-4 if you’d like.

Finding your perfect breathing exercise and practicing it often would help you have a go-to grounding technique when you are anxious. Try it.

5. Do The Pointless Stuff

Hustle! Chase your dreams! Work for everything you want in life! Never give up!…

Do these sound familiar?

It’s the culture we live in. It asks us to keep moving in a never-ending spiral of chase for a better future that eventually never comes. Because all we ever know is the present, even while dreaming of that future.

Learn to do the pointless stuff.

Read a book.

Watch a movie just because you want to and not because it would teach you something.

Scroll on social media.

Do all these things as part of your slow life routine, not as an avoidance technique.

6. Practice Gratitude

There is no big news here; just another reason to learn how to express gratitude in life. You can hustle and bustle as much as you want. Only when you learn how to be grateful for whatever you have will something more enter your space.

There are countless ways to practice gratitude; here are my most favorite:

• Say, “I’m grateful for having another day ahead,” first thing in the morning, even before leaving your bed.
• Journal for gratitude using these ten gratitude prompts.
• List five things you’re grateful for on the notes app on your phone while waiting for the bus or while having your first cup of coffee for the day.
• Before you go to sleep, list three things you’re grateful for that happened today.
• …and many more…

7. Create Daily Rituals

I mentioned it above, but I will do it again: slow living doesn’t mean stopping to live life. It means finding ways to enjoy whatever is in front of you while it is in front of you. It’s about noticing the changes, the nuances, the moods, and the uniqueness of every day.

Creating daily rituals would help you incorporate slow living into your busy life. Those rituals would be the pillars to keep you “invested” in slowing down.

One simple ritual would be to use your 5 minutes of morning bliss (before you have to dive into the day) to notice new things around you. Notice new smells, and name three green things you can see around you (or in any other color of your choice). Take a few deep breaths. Describe the texture of two things you can touch.

Playing these games would help you focus on the present moment, be mindful, and slow down.

Bonus: Create Space for Creativity

Immerse yourself in a hobby to experience slow blissfulness. Whether it’s painting, singing, crafting, knitting, or taking urban photos, find something that makes your mind slow down and become present. Make time for it regularly, allowing yourself to fully engage in the activity and savor the moments of calm and creativity it brings.