How to Slow Down Life: 10 Ways to Live More Mindfully

This post is about how to slow down life so you can live more mindfully.

I don’t know about you, but it feels like life seems to go faster and faster the older you get. One year felt like an eternity and summer didn’t seem to end when you were a kid, but now you blink and summer is over and a year has already gone by.

Life feels like a constant rush! It feels like we never take a break to pause and actually be present with the current day, week, or season. Realizing this makes me a bit sad… Because truth is, we don’t live forever. But at the moment I feel like I have all the time in the world too realize my goals and dreams in life. Yet often I see a day as a routine repeating itself, instead of an opportunity to make my dreams come true.

That’s why I got inspired to write this post. I’m sure everyone wants time to go slower, and I’m going to tell you 10 practical tips on how to do that. Because imagine savoring every day for the rest of your life and never feel like you missed a day! Here are 10 ways to slow down life to live more mindfully.

10 Ways to Slow Down in Life

1. Put that damn phone away

”Put that damn phone away!” Seems our mothers where right after all. If there is one thing that makes 3 hours go by in the blink of an eye, it’s your phone. How often have you thought: Just 5 minutes of watching TikToks or reels, and suddenly you have been scrolling for hours without noticing. It happens to me more often than I would like too admit. Just imagine how much other things you could have done in that time, things that actually matter and are important to you! Things that actually make you happy and fulfilled. Even on days that you don’t get stuck scrolling videos, just checking how many hours a day you spent on your phone can be a quite shocking realization (and that doesn’t even include watching Netflix…).

To slow down your life, one big step to make is spending less time on your phone. This can be a challenge, but you will feel like you suddenly have so much more time in a day! For example, you can make one day a week a phone free day, create a time limit of x hours of phone use a day, or put your phone away at a certain hour of the day. However you choose to limit your phone use, it will slow down time and give your mind a break to be able to focus on the really important things in life.

Of course this is not only about your phone but about other electronics too. Watching Netflix and playing video games can be fun and relaxing, but do so intentionally so you don’t waste hours in front of a screen and then wonder what you are doing with your life.

2. Start a mindfulness practice

Practicing mindfulness has the benefit of activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which will promote your mind and body to feel calm and relaxed. It will also calm the unrelenting urge to keep going 110% all the time, which makes time fly by.

You can choose any type of mindfulness practice you want! Some suggestions are: meditation, yoga, painting with relaxing music on, taking a nap in the sun or go for a mindful walk in nature. Your brain will slow down and you will feel more alert about your surroundings and present in your body instead of floating around in your head all the time. After your practice, you will feel more grounded, relaxed and have (re)opened your eyes to the importance of slowing down in life.

✧ Read Next: 15 Ways to Stay Grounded in times of Stress

3. Create an effective routine

Creating an effective daily/weekly/monthly routine can slow down life by truly freeing up time. For example, I’ve noticed that cooking food or preparing meals daily take a huge chunk out of my time. So now I meal prep my breakfasts for the whole week on Sunday, which barely takes more time than creating one breakfast. Also every time I cook I make a big enough batch so I can both make lunch boxes for work and eat it as dinner at least two evenings! This makes that I have the next 1-2 evening off to do something else then cooking.

Additionally, creating routines for cleaning, household tasks or even showering can save you time. By dedicating a certain day or time for a certain task, instead of doing little bits of everything everyday and never feel that you’re finished, you will feel and be much more effective! This way you don’t have to think about or do everything 24/7. It will free up time in your day, so you can do something more meaningful and slow down.

4. Practice being present

You are truly living life when you are fully present in the current moment. How many of you just feel like floating heads? I certainly do sometimes. My brain often feels like a buzzing beehive, which makes me forget to be aware of my body and my surroundings. But practicing being present will take you right back into your body and into the now.

Focusing on the senses can be a great way to get out of your head. For example: Smelling flowers, listening to the sounds from your surroundings, eating without distractions and really savor each bite, seeing and focusing on the details of what you see, breathing full deep breaths… I actually have a whole blog post about practicing being more present if you want to know more ways to stay present during the day!

✧ Read: 10 Tips to Become more Present

Also focus on the little things. Like really being there when petting your cat or dog instead of zoning out or be on your phone. Feel their soft fur, notice the patterns, see the tiny specks in their eyes… I’m getting teary eyed as I write this (hehe), they love you and your attention so much! Be truly there with them too.

5. Create variation in your day to day

Having the same routine everyday can make time fly by as all the days go up in one. This is because there is no variation. Nothing to remember that one day by, because it looks just the same as the day before, and the day before that… Instead of doing the same things every day, you can make life slow down by creating variation.

Like mentioned before, you can dedicate certain tasks to certain days instead of doing the same things daily, or switch up your morning or evening routine now and then. Try out new breakfasts or dinner recipes instead of always eating the same old things or go to a new cafe (and try a new beverage for once). Just do something different from what you usually do! Sprinkling some new or different things into your daily routine will make everyday feel special and prevent your life from flying by.

6. Plan more of what you really want

The danger from doing the same things everyday and postpone the things you really dream of for ”later” is that ”later” will never come. What is something you REALLY want in life? Is it moving to the countryside? Go on a backpacking trip in Japan? Start horseback riding again? Well don’t waste anymore time of hoping that you will do all that someday. Actually start planning for the things that you’ve always wanted to do! Not only will you slow down life by creating lasting memories, but you will feel like you are living a more intentional life as well.

7. Reduce distractions and stop multitasking

Instead of doing 5 things at the same time, focus on doing one thing at a time and pay full attention to it. You may feel like you’re being super effective by doing more things simultaneously, but research has actually shown that we are more effective when we do one task at a time. Except for being more effective, it also creates more space in your head to focus on that one thing instead of juggling the next steps of 5 different tasks you’re currently doing.

Be present and focus on what you are doing right now. Are you eating a delicious meal? Savour each bite instead of also replying to a text message. Watching a good movie? Stop mindlessly chewing away snacks at the same time (guilty). To be clear, that doesn’t mean you can’t fill up the waiting time in your task. You don’t have to stand by the pot of rice and waiting for it to cook. Instead, see that as the opportunity to set the plates at the table and load the dishwasher! I think you get what I mean.

By focusing on that one task and reducing unnecessary distractions, you create more space in your head, which will help you slow down your busy brain and therefore, your life! We perceive life with our brains after all.

8. Declutter your life

Decluttering your life will give you a sense of space and create mental rest in your head. It feels so good to get rid of all the stuff you never use to create a peaceful and intentional home! However, decluttering your life doesn’t only mean decluttering your home from stuff. It also means saying no to things you don’t want to do and not spend time with people you don’t want to spend time with! You can even declutter your phone by uninstalling unused apps, unsubscribing from email lists and unfollowing uninspiring accounts. By reducing both mental and physical clutter from your life, you will slow down and free up time and space to focus on the things, activities and people that truly matter to you!

9. Go outside

I don’t know what it is, but somehow spending time in nature always makes me slow down. Maybe it’s because we are subconsciously reminded that nature is never rushing. A flower doesn’t rush to bloom, a tree doesn’t rush to bear fruit and animals are not rushing to get somewhere on time (except for pigeons when you throw them some food 😉 ). They simple are and that is the only thing they are doing. We could learn from being fully submerged in the now without worrying about what tomorrow will be like! That’s what living truly is about. Being there in every step of the journey no matter if you regard it as positive or negative. It’s all part of the experience of life!

One easy way to go outside more is to take your daily activities outside. Like eating breakfast (or lunch), practicing mindfulness or working out. You could also take a walk or bike ride in nature, pick some wildflowers, take a nap on a blanket out in the sun, collect stones in a river or shells by the beach!

10. Do nothing sometimes

We are so used to over-stimulation that we can’t even take the elevator without reaching for our phones anymore. However it’s so healthy to pause and just do nothing sometimes! Funny enough it’s also when new ideas often come to mind. By doing nothing you give your mind time to hear your own thoughts and come up with creative ideas and inspiration from within.

Give yourself permission to just be and do nothing at all sometimes. In silence. I love to do this while on the train, observing the scenery, or looking out of a window at the swaying trees or a thunderstorm! Doing nothing for a few minutes each day, can help you slow down and regain clarity in life.

Last Thoughts on How to Slow Down Life

Making your life slow down may feel rebellious in today’s fast paced world that wholeheartedly focuses on productivity. But by slowing down you may find it increases your wellbeing, happiness and presence in life. By slowing down life you will feel a deeper appreciation for the little things that otherwise are easily overlooked, such as stunningly dewy spiderwebs an early morning or the scent of your favorite beverage before taking the first sip. By slowing down you can find you will live your life more mindfully and intentionally.

We often get the urge to ”get things done” and just ”go go go”! But I find that no matter how many things I do, how many problems I solve, there is always going to be more and it never ends. That’s why you have to make time to slow down. It’s easy to think ” I can slow down when I’m done with my to do list”, but that’s likely rarely going to happen. Instead, plan time to slow down daily. You will still get things done, yet your mind will feel more clear, your body more relaxed and your life more slow.

I hope you found this blog post inspiring! If you have any additional tips for slowing down, feel free to share them in the comments so all of us can feel more inspired to do so as well.

Love,
Bo

Sources:

• • Multitasking: Switching cost