It’s time to subscribe to slow living…
Welcome to Subscribing to Slow, I’m so happy for you to join me on this journey, flipping the script on what we are told that we should want from life and creating our own blueprint!
What is Slow Living?
Slow living can be interpreted in many different ways, and what slow living is for me might not resonate with you. But, at its core is a desire to live a life that fits with your values and using your values to live more consciously and create a lifestyle that is meaningful to you. This often means turning your back on the very narrow definition of success we have drilled into us at a young age (it’s not for the faint-hearted!).
The slow living movement isn’t new but it is growing (YAY!). I think the events of 2020 accelerated the movement and pulled the idea of rejecting hustle culture and consumerism into more people’s consciousness. I think many people had been craving an opportunity to stop and reset (I’m sure they would have rather taken a sabbatical that survived a pandemic but there you go…) and 2020 certainly offered that in its own way.
If you are looking to slow your life down, join me as I navigate and write about the slow living movement and how to incorporate it into your own life! Just hit subscribe below (it’s free!).
A Bit About Me
I am based in rural Lincolnshire in the UK and live with my husband, house rabbit and a family of barn swallows in the summer (they now own our outhouse!).
I am a content creator and marketing manager by profession currently working for a global software provider, a recovering careerist, an amateur weightlifter and a coffee snob (no instant coffee for me!). As a massive introvert, I am all about peace and quiet and not making life too chaotic, so making a move to slow living has benefitted me in so many ways!
What Does Slow Living Look Like for Me?
Renting rather than buying - We rent our house and have decided not to buy even though we could probably afford to (this seems to really push people’s buttons). We get more house for our money in a lovely quiet village location, don’t have to worry about fixing things and really just have to concentrate on living there rather than maintaining anything.
I used to own a house, I bought it in 2008 before the bottom fell out of the market. It was an absolute money pit and located in an increasingly bad area of the town I was living in. In the end, living there was making me miserable. When I moved in with my now husband, we sold up and I moved into the house he was renting. We’re still here 6 years later and loving it!
Stepping off the traditional career ladder - I know there has been a lot written about things like “quiet quitting” and “lazy girl” jobs, but this isn’t that! This is me deciding that I enjoy what I’m doing right now and that moving up the ladder into a bigger role, possibly managing people, is not right for me.
In my 20s and most of my 30s I was absolutely career obsessed and in many ways, I don’t regret that, it’s led me to a great job with a great company. But, it was so tiring, stressful and overwhelming for me, and there were a couple of periods of burnout that are still lingering, that in my late 30s I just thought “I can’t do this anymore”. I got real about what I wanted, communicated it at work and they were very supportive (I make it sound easy, it wasn’t easy to go so against everything I was told I should want - more to come on that).
Working remotely - One of the silver linings of the pandemic, in my opinion, was the rise in remote working. I now ease into my day with coffee and birdsong, have time to write and potter around the house and go to the gym or go for a walk in the evenings. And because I can work with few interruptions, I get more done, and I feel that my work is at a higher standard (win-win).
Not having children - And you thought renting rather than buying was the most controversial decision we’d made! Both my husband and I decided separately, and then together that we didn’t want to have children. There are many reasons for us making that decision, keeping life simple was just one of them, and it’s a decision we are very happy with (please don’t write to me to try and change my mind, you do you and we’ll do us, thanks!).
Ready to Join Me?
This is my version of slow living, and yours may look completely different, and that’s what I want to explore in this Substack. What is slow living, how do you get started (and keep going) and what are the benefits? I hope you’ll join me!
