Pursuing a Slower Life

I’ve taken a really really close look at my google calendar in the past 4 months and have been editing it and re-editing it often because I just needed a lifestyle change. As I had mentioned in my e-newsletter, I’ve been really working on keeping my life pretty minimal and low-key (although it still doesn’t feel that way LOL). Now that people are forgetting about COVID, it feels like everything is going back to a hustle + bustle lifestyle. But you know what? I don’t really want that. I think 2020 has taught a lot of us to slow down. So I’ve been trying to do just that, pursuing a slower life + prioritizing what I choose to do with my time + energy (especially as an introvert who needs lots of time to recharge after being an extrovert for a day or two LOL). 

So I have readjusted the way I’ve been time blocking my google calendar so far in 2021. And here are some changes I made:

MY MORNING ROUTINE

As an introvert, my alone time in the morning is crucial to me. It’s when I can slowly get ready for the day, meditate, do my morning chores so I don’t feel like my house is getting out of control. etc. I’ve had the same morning routine since 2018 (if not even earlier than that), then for 2021 I changed it a little to align better with my 2021 goals, but it just hasn’t been working for me at all. So I needed to adjust my morning routine once again. I desperately need that alone time with myself so that I can also in return show up as the best realtor for my clients, a better friend, a better daughter, a better wife, etc. Maybe sometime soon I’ll go more in depth about my new morning routine.

GETTING MORE SLEEP

While on our vacay in Jamaica back in March 2021, it was as if hubs and I were 70-years-old because we would always get an early dinner around 5-6pm, depending on what time the restaurant opened, and then immediately get showered and in bed after dinner. And we LOVED IT! I loved going to bed at like 8-9pm every night LOL Although in 2021 I have been working on my sleeping habits already and have been better about going to sleep instead of laying in bed until 2-3am, there was still some room for improvement. So I’ve made my bedtime 9pm in my calendar. I have my “get ready for bed” routine set to start at 8pm, so that by 9pm I am in bed.

AN HOUR TO PAUSE

The last adjustment I’m making is to have at least one hour in my day completely open with nothing scheduled. During this one hour, I am not cooking, I am not working, I am not cleaning, I am not doing anything. So what am I doing? I want this hour of time to be like a break and/or buffer. If I need a breather, that’s when I can sit and scroll through insta reels mindlessly if that’s what I need. If I need to call Verizon and be on hold for 30 mins, that’s when I can take care of this annoying task instead of pushing it off until a day where “I have more time”. If I want to go on a picnic now that the weather is warmer, that’s when I can do that. If I run into traffic driving home from the city, I have a little buffer time so that I’m then not running behind on whatever I have scheduled for the day. Honestly, some days it feels like I need this daily hour scattered in 5-minute intervals throughout the day for the amount of pee breaks I take whenever I reach my daily water intake goals LOL. It just feels good to take more breaks throughout my day and not constantly be running from one thing to the next.

To summarize, the lifestyle change I’ve made is to just take it sloooow. I think it’s really worth it for my mental health to simply live a slower life. I love staying busy and whatnot, but it’s not sustainable and it is draining. Plus, doesn’t it age you faster or something 😉

What lifestyle changes have you made to improve your life lately? Have any tips for any of us that are pursuing a slower life? Leave them in the comments below!

♥ Alena