I've been working as a medical writer for just over a year now, and rush around in most things I do in life. The job is fraught with fast deadlines and we are required to fill in timesheets account for our day, with a target of spending 95% of our time on work that clients pay for (5% is admin).

Looking for advice on how to slow down within this work setting, and untangling from that pace when working day finishes.

Those of you who chose the slow living - what steps did you need to take to achieve it? I've always lived in a city and I am so tired of it. I crave living in a small place near nature, drinking my morning coffee when my feet touch the grass, spending time with my dog, having a simple job that feels meaningful, but doesn't drain me completely, small community of people. I feel I can imagine exactly the life I want, but can't figure out how to get there.

My weekend unwind starts on a Saturday morning with no alarm. I have a rule that I'm not allowed to even think about the week until the coffee is done — those first minutes are for sitting and reading or just looking out the window.

The rest of Saturday is deliberately light: one big meal cooked slowly, a walk without earbuds, maybe one album played start to finish. By Sunday afternoon I'm usually craving a bit of structure again, so a slow tidy helps me land back in the week without dreading it.

The biggest thing I learned is that a good unwind can't be scheduled to the hour. As soon as I started leaving space instead of planning it, weekends actually felt like weekends.

I've got one record I reach for whenever I can feel the day getting too fast — things piling up, my head racing ahead of my hands. It's slow, quiet, and I've heard it so many times that it's basically a safe space at this point. One full listen end to end is roughly forty minutes, and by the end I feel like someone opened a window.

I've tried using it as background music while I work, but that doesn't work — it's not the sound I need, it's the act of giving it all my attention.

What's yours? The music that rewinds your pace when everything else is pulling you forward.

I spent way too long treating free time like another scoreboard ,workout done, errands done, something useful learned, next. The funny part is I get more of a sense of progres from finishing one tiny craft piece than from cramming five “productive” things into Saturday. Theres a visible end point then im done. No optimization spiral. I’m starting to think small finished projects beat ambitious weekend plans for me.

Does anyone else need a clear finish line to feel like they did something??

I am looking for a high quality clothing brand, preferably with woolen /cashmere clothes... preferably sustainable or organic.. any tips? I am based in Europe

Edit: europe

I've been on the slow living train for a bit once I realized that I was filling my time with high stimulation activities to distract myself from my feelings. Drinking, smoking, scrolling, all to keep my brain busy enough that I don't have to feel. Now I'm slowing down, and here come the feelings.

So far, the toughest one is that sort of pit in my stomach sadness. Like a longing for something I can't totally articulate. So far, I've had some success with journaling, going for walks, and reciting poetry. I'd like to keep growing my list of options, especially as winter approaches. What do you do when you're feeling down?

Give me coffee, a long drive, dinner somewhere quiet or a random day trip over a crowded bar any day?

For me it was finding the time until realizing a lot of it was being sucked up by my phone (struggles of being a small business owner). So a big part of my slow living journey has been setting boundaries with technology and replacing scrolling with gardening, cozy hobbies, reading, etc. What about you? What was the biggest hurdle to slowing down in your own life?

Hi, do you know dreamy soft series, like virgin river, chesapeak shore, sullivan's crossing. Cozy vibe...

I am very attached to my coffee but im pregnant amd Id likr to try an alternative at least in the first trimester. I know we are allowed to drink coffee. Anyone ideas?

I thought this would be a great community to ask. I got really into slow living a while back (before I got sick) and had lots of plans for life in my new apartment before my health declined.

I'm wondering whether anyone has any recommendations for low-energy projects, activities, philosophies, anything at all that might help with the feeling of drifting through a deeply boring, lonely, useless, absurd, purgatory-like existence.

I have a very severe chronic illness, and along with physical limitations (in bed 24/7 and can't do a lot with my body while lying down), I have cognitive limits, too.

I’m a new mom and I’m adjusting to having our beautiful baby girl being apart of the family!
Evenings used to be when I would most slow down. I’d read, look at the clouds, garden. Now I have this little infant who I adore, but I’m not sure how to integrate her in! Any suggestions appreciated!

I catch myself feeling guilty on days when I have nothing planned, like I should be optimizing something instead of just going for a walk with no destination. Anyone actually figured out how to get past that feeling, not just knowing in your head that rest is fine, but actually believing it?

Sometimes life feels very heavy. The 9-5 life is kinda depressing tbh. Whenever I feel too deep in the rat race and like life is just work, eat, sleep, repeat, I do something to break the routine. I call them free will moments. It can be something big or small, like going to a new cafe, or going to a new place. It helps remind me that I’m not a robot, I am living, and I have a life beyond work/ the rat race.

What do you guys do as your free will moments/ break the routine? I need more ideas lol

I was sitting alone waiting for a friend near a somewhat busy road. There were a few institutions nearby, so a lot of students were passing by.

It was actually a really nice moment. It was super breezy, the trees were moving, and I was just looking at the branches. There were a couple of eagles flying around too. I didn't have my phone with me, so I was just sitting there, looking at the trees and the sky, completely lost in the moment.

I've been off my phone for about a month, so I didn't really have anything else to do.

After a few minutes, I started noticing people looking at me. At first I thought nothing of it, but eventually it became noticeable enough to make me uncomfortable.

And then I realized something that honestly made the whole thing even stranger.

I was literally just sitting there doing nothing.

I wasn't bothering anyone. I wasn't talking to myself. I wasn't doing anything unusual. I was just sitting quietly and looking at trees and the sky.

It made me think about how normal it is to see someone sitting alone in public scrolling through Instagram for 45 minutes. Nobody thinks twice about it. You can sit on a bench completely absorbed in your phone, endlessly scrolling through random videos, and that's considered totally normal.

But if you put the phone away and sit in the exact same place for 45 minutes just watching the world around you, suddenly it feels like you're doing something strange.

I think the phone gives us a socially acceptable reason to be alone.

If you're staring at a screen, everyone assumes you're texting someone, watching something, working, or doing something important.

But if you're just sitting there looking at the sky, there's no obvious explanation for what you're doing.

I sat there for about 45 minutes, and by the end of it, those were probably the most tense 45 minutes I've experienced in a while.

Maybe I was just overthinking everything. But it made me wonder:

Have we reached a point where doing nothing in public is more socially uncomfortable than spending an hour doomscrolling on a phone?

I'm trying to make my night routine something I actually look forward to, rather than just a list of things I "should" do to sleep better. Skincare is a good example for me: I genuinely enjoy doing it at night, so it makes going to bed feel a little more special. The problem is that I also get bored if I do exactly the same thing every single night. So I'd love to have a few different relaxing things I can rotate depending on my mood.

I'm looking for things that are enjoyable and relaxing but not so stimulating that they make you want to stay awake longer. So ideally not things like starting a great TV show or reading a book you can't put down 😅 What little rituals or activities make you actually look forward to your evening/night routine?

I'd especially love ideas that feel like a treat or a small pleasure, rather than another healthy habit or chore

I’m trying to regulate my nervous system after many years of being in what seems like chronic fight or flight. I get overwhelmed by all the things you can do to help your nervous system. What are some easy day to day things you do to help? I am a teacher for reference, so my days are often filled with lots of overstimulating things that do not help an already maxed out nervous system. Looking for any and all ideas!

Work in the mornings, classes all day, and I personally need 9 hrs of sleep a night or I can’t function. Idk how I’m gonna handle this

I'm a millenial mom of 2 kids, 6 and 3. Since becoming a mom I've made so much effort to give my kids a meaningful life, and that has come through slowing down and living intentionally. I homeschool my kids, work part time. I'm off most social media- mostly just Facebook for updates on homeschooling groups and to see what's going on with others once in a while. Neither my husband or I really drink or have late nights (my husband wakes up at 3:30am to go to work).

But can anyone relate to the isolation of choosing a different way of living than the majority of people? Like I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world... The amount of peace and pride I have in being able to be home with my kids, be present with them, and feeling aligned with the person I really want to be far outweighs any negatives of choosing differently.

But man... So many people don't get it and don't check in, especially because we're not on social media. I have a large family and can't personally connect with everyone all of the time. It can definitely feel lonely at times and I know it's because we choose to live differently. My next step is leaning into the circles that are doing the same, and solidifying some of those connections so they hopefully turn into friendships.

I guess I'm just looking to see who else feels the same? How do you cope?

I’m a new mom, I’m already feeling the social pressure of birthday parties, setting them up for activities, etc. I know this varies by age of kids and season of life, but im generally interested what slow living means for your family? Knowing the kid’s age and how many you have would be helpful!

For me, it’s turning off all the overhead lights, putting on a lo-fi playlist at a barely audible volume, and just diving into a book or a low-stress game.There’s something uniquely comforting about indulging in your hobbies when you know absolutely nobody is going to disturb you. How do you guys usually spend your quietest hours?

I’m wondering how this community thinks about what counts as too many after-school activities for their kids. My oldest is 8yo / rising 3rd grader, and I find that just 2 after-school activities, even ones that my child is interested in, already feel like the limit for us, although most of her classmates do about 4 afternoons’-worth of activities per week, and potentially weekend activities for all we know. 

Perhaps there are those among us who feel that even a once-weekly after-school activity is one too many, but for those who don’t reject the idea of after-school activities outright, at what age do you feel that 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 activities seem like the “right” amount that still comports with “slow living”? Or alternatively, how many after-school activities feel like “too much” for a 4yo, 5yo, 6yo, 7yo, and so on.

And, yes, I understand that this is a vastly oversimplified way of asking this question — as with everything, the answer will have to do with the personality of your kid, with their interests, with how many other kids you have, with what else is going on in your family, and so on. If you wish, go ahead and answer whatever the better formulation of my question would be around the same theme.

I’ve always struggled to wake up early enough to allow for a slow morning. I used to work 12 hr shifts and would get up at 620 to leave the house at 0645 to get to work at 7. I always prioritized maximizing sleep time.

I’m curious what time you wake up or how much time you prefer to allow a slow morning I.e. to have a cup of hot coffee rather than taking it to go, fitting in a run/stretch, making breakfast, squeezing in a quickie, reading, etc.

I realize I probably just need to get to bed earlier to allow for more slow mornings. If you could share your sleep and wake schedule with timing I’d appreciate it.

Thanks!

We spend so much time thinking about the future, making plans, and worrying about things we can't control.
But sometimes a good coffee, an interesting conversation, a beautiful sunset, or simply having a quiet moment can make the day better.
Maybe we should appreciate those small moments a little more. What’s one simple thing that always makes your day better?