3 Simple Ways to Start a Slow Living Practice (even as a Busy Small Business Owner)
- Tara Simone
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Slow living isn’t wearing flowy dresses in the garden while your sourdough bakes. Although I am guilty of that! Slow living is often romanticized online, but in real life it’s much more grounded and practical especially if you’re a busy person or a small business owner juggling a never-ending to-do list. It is a mindset and lifestyle shift to move at nature’s pace instead of trying to keep up in society’s race, hustle culture, and constant urgency & pressure to be more productive.
Today I am sharing 3 simple ways to start practicing slow living this year even if you are super busy, feeling overwhelmed, or like me, running your own small business. These slow living practices are gentle, realistic, and designed to help you reduce stress, feel more present, and create a more intentional daily life without quitting your responsibilities or moving off the grid.
So make a cup of tea, get cozy, and let’s dive into your first slow living practice:
Slow Living Practice #1: Ask yourself “is this an emergency?” throughout the day
If the answer is “NO” then why are you doing it with such urgency? I catch myself all the time rushing through a task- whether it’s typing an email or doing the dishes - and trying to do it as fast as possible. Although you know it’s just a chore, this quick pace creates anxiety to finish faster that releases cortisol into your body leading to even more stress.
But slow living is the opposite of speeding through your days and to-do list. It’s taking the time to be fully present in that moment and task. Unless something is truly an emergency, which hopefully isn’t happening frequently in your every day life, there is no reason to do it with such urgency.
And you might even find it more enjoyable when you slow down to savor it. For example, I procrastinated doing the dishes every week for YEARS. But once I started practicing slow living and asking myself this question daily, I actually found this chore enjoyable - the feel of the warm water on my hands, seeing the birds out my kitchen window, the little bubbles that would float through the air. The mundane became magical just by slowing down!
Which takes us into your next slow living practice...
Slow Living Practice #2: Magical Moments
Or as some might call them glimmers or romanticizing your life. It’s those little moments throughout your day that make you smile and feel grateful to be alive. Such as the sun shining through the leaves making the shadows dance on your wall. The steam rising, swirling, and dancing off your coffee. Seeing strangers laughing and hugging on the sidewalks. Literally anything that makes you stop and think “there’s still good and beauty in the world”.
This little practice of looking and tracking the magical moments in your life helps train your brain to slow down and search for them without you consciously thinking about it. In short, it’ll completely shift your perspective on life. That’s what my magical moments practice did for me back in 2022 and something I still write down daily in my journal! You can start your own Magical Moments practice by either creating a list in your journal, phone notes, or even taking a picture of the glimmer and making an album on your phone.
But what about the days you can’t find any magic? When everything is going wrong and your brain is telling you “life sucks” aka your luteal phase. Then it’s your job to create the magic! Compliment a stranger, bake your favorite cookies, call your best friend, take a walk in nature, play some whimsical music while you work, or one of the 100 other ideas I share inside the FREE Magical Moments Challenge to help you slow down and romanticize your life. Download your free Magical Moments guide with tracker, inspiration, and tips below!
Speaking of creating magical moments for yourself, this next practice will infuse even more whimsy into your every day.
Slow Living Practice #3: Learn a Cozy Hobby
Such as crocheting, coloring, learning an instrument, baking sourdough, etc. Any activity that relaxes your mind and forces you to use your hands to create instead of consume content on social media (no judgement, I am guilty of doom scrolling too) is the perfect hobby to help you practice slow living daily.
Plus, when we make something with our hands, the “effort driven reward cycle” in our brain lights up and releases dopamine aka the happy hormone. So you’ll feel less stressed, more relaxed, and happier just by slowing down to learn a new hobby.
“But Tara, I’m too busy for that every day”. Trust me, I get it. I’ve run my business solo for the past 8 years. There is always more work I could be doing. But any time I recommend finding a cozy hobby to a client and they tell me there isn’t enough time in the day, we are able to find some in their screen time. I’m not saying to through your Iphone out the window and run away to the forest to live off the grid and never watch a funny cat video again, but if you replaced even just 30 minutes of consuming content with creating something instead, you’d feel the shift internally and have simple slow living habit to lean on every day. And possibly find your newest passion like I did with crocheting!
Need some more ideas of what cozy hobby to start? This video has 10 of my favorites waiting for you!
Slow living isn’t about doing less just for the sake of it. It’s about shifting how you move through your day, your work, and your life. When you pause to ask “is this an emergency?”, notice the magical moments around you, and give yourself permission to create instead of constantly consume, you begin to soften the urgency that modern life demands.
These simple slow living practices are small, doable shifts you can return to even on your busiest days. And over time, they add up bringing you more presence, ease, and joy into your everyday life, even as a busy small business owner.
ps. Need some support creating a more sustainable income and spacious schedule in your own business so you can live a slower paced life? Allow me to be your fairy god-mentor sprinkling a little magic and a whole lot of strategy and energy onto your business. Click the link below to enter your ✨Cozypreneur Era✨
Until our next blog and video, share down in the comments how you slow down and savor every day. Whether it's a mindset shift, a cozy hobby, or some other practice. I'd love to hear more about it!
Magically,
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