Thirteen Valuable Habits for a Slower Pace of Life

My husband and I have on many occasions reminisced about the ‘Good Ole Days’. You know, the days when parents sat on their large wrap around porches drinking sweet tea and watching their children play on the tire swing tied to the tree? The ‘Good Ole Days,’ when the phrase, “slow down” didn’t exist because life at that time already moved at a much slower pace.

The kids played until one of two things happened: the sun went down, or mom called them in for dinner. And if they weren’t outside, they were inside reading, watching a show, playing a board game, or just plain being bored.

Dad might go out to the garage and tinker around with the car or build a new shelf for the children’s relatively primitive toy collection. Mom took time every day to call a friend. Together they might talk for a long while about their days, and their kids, and maybe exchange a bit of gossip.

Reminiscing Because We Long for a Slower Pace

Truthfully, my husband and I barely recall those days in our own lives. The ‘Good Ole Days’ was really a time when our own parents were children. And yet, we reminisce because in all the busyness, (the rushing to and from activities, or jobs, with barely enough time to put a worthy meal on the table or give each other a passing smile of appreciation and love), we find ourselves yearning for a slower pace of life, much like those days they used to have in the ‘Good Ole Days’.

The Much Slower Pace of Gen-X Summers

I am on the latter fringe of Generation X and I don’t think I would err to say that my generation is possibly the last generation to grow up with lazy summer days. Children of my generation often toggled between true boredom and adventurous helmetless bike rides with neighborhood friends.

I think fondly of all the days I spent on my bed deeply engrossed in a highly descriptive fiction book. My summers consisted of road trips in a Volkswagen pop-up camper van, tent camping, lots of tennis, and several bike rides into town to spend the day at the public swimming pool with my girlfriends. I remember picnicking with my brothers and friends at the creek located about two blocks behind our house. We caught tadpoles, put them in large paint buckets, and brought them home in hopes we could keep them alive this time.

On the Fourth of July, the whole neighborhood lit up with the smell of barbecue at sunset and smoke after dark. One year my brothers and I ran through the neighborhood to see all the other fireworks that were happening simultaneously. My summers were packed full of barefoot-in-the-park, kickball, bee stings, sunburns, and lots and lots of laughter.

We can go at a Slower Pace When...

I cannot think of a single time throughout the year when things truly move at a slower pace. I know I think about it a lot though.

• “After Christmas, things will settle down a little bit.”
• “Once his birthday is over…”
• “This summer will be so nice, and slow.”
• “After soccer season is through…”
• “In the fall, we can take it easy and enjoy some family time.”
• “After the big Halloween event…”
• “Once we’re through Thanksgiving…”

And so on, and so forth.

There is always something, SOMETHING, that keeps us busy and moving fast. During the school year, there is the busyness of homework followed by athletics, followed by household responsibilities, followed by a quick and rushed dinner. In the summer, we stack vacation upon vacation, camping upon camping, and then of course the ever so trendy themed summer day camps to keep the kids from boredom. All of this while parents are either away at work, or busy making their homes look like a museum of art and beauty.

Their Good Ole' Days are Not Like Mine - Yearning for a Slower Pace

I know I’m probably not being fair to the older generations like the Boomers and the Post-War Silent Generation. I’m sure that even in all their outdoor and latch-key fun, they, and their parents still had certain troubles (although different from today’s Millennials and Gen Z’ers). Yes. I am certain they too reminisced about a different era of ‘Good Ole’ Days’. However, I am not certain that what they yearned for was time to halt and go at a slower pace.

In this modern world riddled with social media and advertisements that serve to pull our attention away from the purest, unadulterated celebration of life and nature, we need more than ever to slow down.

But how?

Thirteen Valuable Habits for a Slower Pace of Life

Below I will attempt to share a few ways that might help us quiet our minds, notice the subtle nuances around us, be still, pause, breathe, and ultimately enjoy life at a slower pace. These methods may help us achieve a level of calmness in a chaotic world. They will give us greater peace and rest than we are accustomed to having. And finally, they will enable us to slow down in this ever-increasing fast-moving world.

However, I will also say with a warning that these simple suggestions to help us slow down will not work without intention. There are habits that compel us to rush all over through life and fill in all the gaps with busyness. To effectively be able to take life at a slower pace, we MUST exchange those habits for new ones that invite calm, peace, and rest into our lives. It takes time, and as I already mention, intentionality.

Additionally, not all these methods will work for you. Take some liberty to explore them and discover (or rediscover) your interests.

Finally, before launching into these thirteen valuable habits for a slower pace of life, I encourage you to consider making at least one of these a priority to do daily (or weekly). In the morning? Mid-day? In the evening?  That is up to you and will depend on your schedule. However, practicing at least one daily or weekly will help you create new habits to slow down.

Check out these Thirteen Valuable Habits for a slower pace of life below. I have included each one of these habits with either a commentary or a story followed by a suggestion for implementation.

1. Read a book

Not a textbook, guide, parenting book, or other non-fiction expository book. A fictional book with fictional characters that tells a story you can get into. A memoir, on the other hand, is also an option.

You’d be amazed at how quickly your mind calms when you can get into your imagination. Books are great for that. They can get you thinking about a world other than your own.

Try setting aside just fifteen minutes every day to slow down and sit down and read some pages of a good novel.

I also suggest keeping a notebook and pen nearby in case you start thinking about your own world again. You can quickly jot down some bullet points in your notebook that you want to come back to when you’re done reading. Then allow yourself to set those bullet points aside for the time you allotted for reading.

2. Read the actual book (no audio versions)

While listening to others in a conversation is certainly not a passive task, listening to an audiobook is. You don’t have to engage your mind. In fact, it can very easily become just background noise (like music or keeping the television on all day long even when nobody is watching). And if it becomes just background noise while you busy yourself with other things, the value of reading a book is gone. In order to truly slow down, we must take time to sit down, and read.

When you must pick up a book, physically sit yourself down, focus on the words to read them, and physically turn the pages, the act of reading becomes far more intentional. It is easier for your mind to engage and stay engaged.

Also, there is often so much more to the words than we can realize. Things like language, symbolism, foreshadowing, metaphor, wordplay, hyperbole, and other forms of figurative speech in writing that, when passively listening, you will no doubt miss. The beauty of the written word is that we get to study and examine it as much or as little as we want. We can go back and re-read sections to search for details we may have missed before. Or we can engage in character studies to discover internal struggles. We can more easily follow timelines and structures set up within the novel that better help us follow the story.

So again, read the actual book. It is so much more worthwhile to do so.

3. Find something to do just because you want to do it, with no other intentions or expectations.

For example, have a dance party with yourself. Roller skate through your neighborhood. Go see a movie by yourself? Or go to a restaurant by yourself. Take a picnic blanket and some food to a park and relax while watching people stroll by. Get on your bike and go for a ride. These are just a few ideas, but you get the point. Taking time to do something you enjoy without any other intentions will positively slow down your pace in life. That is because you are setting specific time aside to enjoy something for yourself.

4. Listen to a music genre that relaxes and calms your mind and soul.

I personally love the piano and the violin. Those instruments have the power over my mind to soothe and calm. What is your favorite calming music? Make a habit of listening to it while you drive or cook. You can also just sit down and think with your music on play.

5. Get some plants. Plant them. And take time each night to water them.

There is nothing that paints the picture of living at a slower pace like planting a garden. It takes lots of time, lots of patience, and lots of waiting for the right conditions or the right seasons, etc. Gardening also serves as a reminder of life’s changing seasons, and growth. That is why it is such an excellent way of reminding us of the moment and encouraging us to just be in that moment.

What are your favorite plants? Flowers? Go get some, come up with a plan for your yard, and then get working.

Oh, and one more thing, about the watering…

When you water them, do it with an actual watering can or hose (no auto sprinklers).

I'll tell you a story about this...

When I was a child, my mother used to go out to the front yard in the evenings and water all the plants in the yard as well as the lawn. She loved doing it! Myself, my brothers, and our friends were typically out there riding bikes or playing some other sweat-inducing game. My mother watered and watched us play. Sometimes, our friends stopped by to say hello to her. Other times they rode their bikes over the lawn and frustrated her. But this was her time to slow things down, connect with us and our friends, think about her day, and relax.

As an adult, I go out every evening now to water all our plants. We don’t have nearly as much, but it keeps me out there long enough to chat with neighbors walking along. It has become like therapy to me, and I love it.

So, if you have plants or a lawn, do yourself a favor and make it a nightly (or even bi-weekly) occurrence to go outside and do some watering.

6. Wake up an extra 20 minutes early.

I used to know someone who would wake up, make her coffee, and sit on her porch every morning before going to work. At the time she lived in a little bungalow in the older part of town. It was a quaint tree-lined street. Just gorgeous. She sat on the porch, drinking her coffee, and watching as people walked, ran, rode, or drove by in the early morning hours.

I was always so jealous of her for making it a priority to slow her mornings down and do that. In those days, I never took time in the mornings for myself. It wasn’t until a few years later that I started getting up earlier to stretch before heading off to work.

Take time for yourself to do something you enjoy in the morning before officially starting your day. Yoga. A book. Sitting outside and watching nature (or people) in the early morning hours, etc.

7. Learn to draw or paint or do photography just for fun.

I'm not an expert in painting. I'm more of a dabbler. However, I have recently been painting in a new way that I had never explored before. I am having so much fun doing it. There are some forms of art that require a little more time than others. But whatever your art form is, go ahead and set aside time (whether daily or weekly) to enjoy this ever-evolving hobby.

8. Sift through old and new pictures.

Give yourself permission to reminisce about your own personal ‘Good Ole Days’. Make a photo album or scrapbook with your favorite memories. Then share it with others as your share stories from the ‘Good Ole Days’.

9. When at home, drop your phone.

I know it’s hard. Believe me, I know!

However, you can do this. There really is no need to keep your phone on your body when you are home.

Leave it on your bed stand, or somewhere you only visit a handful of times each day. You can check it when you happen to be in that room. Trust me, you will realize how much you love not having it with you all the time. There is a sense of freedom. Even more than that, not having it on you when you’re home will force you to take time to be with your family, and slow down.

10. Take a Friday or Monday off

I know this luxury is not something everyone can do. But if you can, then do it. Take one Friday or Monday once a month and give yourself a long weekend. You’ll enjoy the weekend more at a slower pace, and you'll feel more rested and be more productive as a result.

11. Cook a nice meal and take your time. Be fully present throughout the process.

I used to love cooking until I had to start cooking. I know that sounds ironic, but the truth of it is that cooking is much more fun when you aren’t in a rush to get something on the table for your family.

That is why I love occasionally cooking a meal during a non-meal time of day.

When my son was a baby, I cooked in the mornings, after breakfast. Everyone had “full bellies” and there was no rush due to hunger, or an impending mealtime approaching. I was able to go at a slower pace, cook what I wanted, take my time, and enjoy the full process.

If you currently love cooking or have in the past, give yourself an opportunity to rekindle that love. Turn on the music if you want. And just be in the moment, in your kitchen, creating something delicious. Then, make it a regular thing.

12. Call a friend

When was the last time you called a friend for no other reason except to simply say hello?

It seems we are living in a time when phones are used for nearly every purpose but the one purpose they were originally intended for: to call and talk. When we do make those phone calls, rarely do we do it just to say hello and talk. There is usually a quick question, a need, or a motive of some sort. In fact, it seems that a quick text has even replaced nearly all excuses for calling.

Why not make a commitment to call a few people each week, and just allow yourself to slow down and have a real, and long, conversation about life?

13. Go for a jog, fully unplugged.

That’s right, fully unplugged.

Don’t take your run tracker, your music, your podcast, or your audiobook. In fact, tell someone else you’re going for a run, let them know where, and then don’t even take your phone at all (unless you’re charting new and unfamiliar territory). Instead, listen to all the wonderful sounds of nature around you, spend time thinking, brainstorming, mental journaling, rehearsing conversations you want to have with others, etc.

Thirteen Valuable Habits for a Slower Pace of Life