🌱 Why Embrace a Slow Life

Image by Uriel Mont from Pexels

This is the most human way to work

Hey you! Yes, the one reading, have you been rushing around lately?

Maybe it’s once in a while, every week, or gasp — every day!

If you work a 9–5 or have many responsibilities, you’re not the only one running this race.

Most “Knowledge Workers” have to deal with arriving at a cubicle or needing to work by 9 AM, or else life can get messy.

Actually, even if you don’t work in a cubicle you’re still a Knowledge worker because you’re working with information and making them an “artefact with market value” (Slow Productivity, pg. 38).

Ever since the age of the internet we’ve been becoming more and more rushed & having piles upon piles of work. The thing is, even though the internet gives us tools that alleviate that onus, there’s always an endless supply of things to do, making us feel as though we’re never given a chance to catch our breath.

What alternative is there to working my 9–5 & living in a rush?

From the research of good ‘ol Cal Newport in his book Slow Productivity, I have a few suggestions up my sleeve.

Go slow

Whenever you’re planning for the future, take the smallest steps to get to your goal and think of one thing in particular: quality.

The more we slow down to enjoy the small aspects of our work, the more likely we’ll get it done not quicker, but with better attention to quality.

Newport describes this when sharing about numerous Italian restaurants’ experiences with fast-food chains arriving in Italy in the 1980s, to keep garbage off the streets they needed a solution (Slow Productivity, pg. 33).

Just tell me first, what is the opposite of fast food?

Whether you guessed or not (I can’t tell from the author’s perspective), if you guessed slow food, you’d be right!

A “seasoned activist and journalist” named Petrini came up with bringing back the traditional diet of Italy but with a twist — it was made to be enjoyed slowly so that each person could not only spend more time with each other but also enjoy every bite (Slow Productivity, pg. 31).

This alternative paid off because even with fast food’s appealing haste in the technologically growing world, people still wanted memorable dining experiences.

What does this mean for us?

Think of one way you’d like to enjoy your day, maybe an activity with friends or treating yourself. Choose a time & make sure to enjoy it without worrying about what to do next.

Slow living means being comfortable with our life, though it may be hard if we’re dealing with economic issues, we might find one thing in our life to enjoy a little more.

Highlight taken from the Excerpt app by Author

Getting to the root

Cal Newport says that the only way to live a truly slow life is to get to the root of the following term: Pseudo-Productivity.

Pseudo-Productivity is the “use of visible activity as the primary means of approximating actual productive effort,” (Slow Productivity, pg. 21).

The opposite of Pseudo-Productivity is Slow Productivity, having a sustainable and meaningful work manner that “rejects busyness, seeing overload as an obstacle to producing results that matter, not a badge of pride,” (Slow Productivity).

We see Pseudo-Productivity in the workplaces much more now than ever, but with remote work having been a means of life for many as an alternative to the grind of commuting, it’s possible that “[rejecting] busyness” may be a possibility.

I have yet to read through the rest of this book, but have found this point about slow living very interesting for our routines and daily life,

How have you found ways to live slower, or have you already?