There is nothing better than a full creative life where we are using every aspect of our creative energy to thrive and prosper in this world.
If you talk, make, lead or work you are likely creative.
I talk a lot with my private coaching clients — creatives and heart-centered womxn who know they are more capable than they are showing up in the world — about how vital my creative energy is to me and how I work tremendously hard to maintain a strong sense of vitality and clarity in my work as a creator and coach.
And, with that, I am also a fan of slow.
The first book I wrote and published was called Savoring Slow.
Keeping and maintaining a slow life is becoming more and more of a struggle in this modern era of constant information and rushing around — especially now that the pandemic is over in some parts of the world and life is resuming to normal.
But, for me, keeping a slower pace means truly slowing down.
And now just what I put on my schedule — but in all that I do.
If you are mentally and emotionally zapped all the time, it may be time for you to slow down as well. And perhaps you’re wondering how to even do that with a super busy schedule.
At the start of summer, during our Emerging You Retreat, I vowed to myself that I would try my absolute best to maintain the same slow life that I had gotten to enjoy over the pandemic.
And I’ve managed to do just that — with a few exceptions out of my control such as needing to get my twin teenage daughters to and from work and heavy client calls during two weeks out of the month.
The truth is that if we want to create more space for the things we love — our YES projects and more — we need to have the emotional and mental bandwidth as well.
4 Slow Living Practices to Spice Up Your Creativity and Life
Slow Reading
This has been by far the No. 1 game changer for me. It began with slow reading my emails.
Yes, emails. I subscribe to a lot of beautiful email lists. I love to read what a soulful, smart person has put their heart and soul into and I always want to give them the time they deserve.
Until I adopted my slow reading habit, I often ignored most emails or delete without reading — which didn’t feel good. Now I subscribe to the best ones that fill me up, make me think and I take time on Saturday mornings to read through them, slowly.
The same goes for books. It’s easy to get caught up in the “what are you reading” spin cycle that leaves us rushing to get through books to get to the next one. Or, to have a pile of books on our nightstands that we snap an Insta about as a performative gesture. But the truth is that great writing is meant to be relished, savored and truly absorbed. You can sign up for my newsletter here.
Slow reading means being fully present for the reading experience. It means reading to learn, reading to reflect, reading to appreciate, reading to enjoy the act of reading.
When we slow down our reading habit, we may not rush through and meet our 100 book reading challenge or get to all the bests — that fear of missing out is real — but we will soak up the story or the information in a more pleasurable way.
My slow reading habit is now a part of my daily routines and, as a result, has influenced my own creativity. I find that I am picking up so much more details and great one-liners that I am using them more in my conversations and starting more conversations with others about them.
And by reading more deeply, I am also finding I am able to string together more creative ideas of my own — and my own love for writing has deepened as well.
Slow Cooking
Chop the carrots, the celery, the onion.
Sauté with some oil and spices.
Stirring together a few ingredients to make a perfect sauce.
Sipping a drink, swaying to the music on the speaker, embodying the moment.
Taking your time with layer after layer of a recipe that is more involved and more challenging, even, is a beautiful practice to slow things down and allow all of your senses to wake up. This sparks creative energy inside of you, especially if you are fully embodying radical presence.
In all the hype to get things done more quickly we forget that creativity thrives with space and spaciousness and there is nothing more interesting than getting an idea while stirring a pot of simmering soup or folding in the cream.
The benefits of slow cooking is the way it ensures that everhything
Slow Practice
When we expect to get things done perfectly the first time, we set ourselves up to not only fail but also to give up on trying.
Like this blog post.
There was a time in my life where I could — and would — write 2,000 words and not change a thing. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn’t.
Now, I see a blog post draft as a starting point.
This is the practice.
The practice of showing up. Doing the work. Making it happen without any judgments of the outcomes.
This is how we let go of perfectionism.
Your creative practice — gardening, indoor plants, crocheting, painting, content marketing, planning out lessons, styling a room or baking a cake — needs your practice.
Slow practice just means you aren’t in a hurry to finish. You aren’t in a hurry to get to the end. You are enjoying the act of creating, making, writing, doing.
Slow practice includes a lot of breaks, breathing and boundaries to prevent you from giving up.
Slow Waking
I am a huge morning fan. I just love waking up and starting a new, fresh day. I don’t need much motivation to get out of bed. I hop out quickly most of the time.
But one of the things I’ve been playing around with lately — because I am at that stage in my life where I can — is that I am intentionally waking up more slowly.
I’m stretching in bed.
I’m moving more slowly when I step out onto the floor.
I’m spending longer time in meditation and yoga.
I’m journaling more slowly.
It’s all unfolding but at a pace that feels slow, nourishing and pleasurable.
Our creative energy doesn’t just show up spontaneously when we sit our butts in the chairs or grab the brush or try to solve the problems.
Our creative energy begins with how we wake up, how we move through our day, how we shape our lives.
What slow living practice will help you thrive in your creative work today?