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Lately, I’ve been feeling like a lady of leisure, taking my foot off the gas enormously. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’m an overachiever and perfectionist, and hustle culture has been my master for too long. Even recording podcasts about letting go of perfectionism feels ironic when practicing it myself is so challenging. Maybe you’re nodding along, understanding how hard it is.
Back from house-sitting in Bath, now in Yorkshire, I feel amazingly drained. Bath was lovely, but maybe the lunar cycles or Mercury in retrograde have me feeling tired, so I’m taking a step back, which makes me feel guilty. Who am I to not be working? To not be hustling towards my goals? Aren’t I a business owner? Shouldn’t I be slaving away 24/7?But this, my friend, is a burnout phase. I’ve worked too hard without, as I keep advising you to do, enough breaks. And what happens? We lose momentum, energy, excitement, and have to relegate ourselves to a full nervous-system reset (not that I’m complaining).
Whether you’ve burned yourself out like I have, or you’re just living your life, slowing down is crucial in this society we live in. Platforms like Instagram make us feel like we’re not enough, constantly comparing ourselves to curated perfection—it’s too often a pit of despair. It makes us feel like we’re not tanned enough, skinny enough, productive enough, pretty enough. That’s why I’ve minimised my social stuff, focusing instead on my Joy Collective, where we have real conversations and remind each other that we are enough (make sure to join me inside here).
My point? It’s all a lot, life is a lot, and slowing down needs to be crowbarred into our schedule—your schedule, my friend—more often than it is if we want to lead calm, energised, healthy lives. So let’s talk about slowing down.
Three Ways to Slow Down
I want to share three ways to embrace slowing down, inspired by my own experiences.
1. Go for a walk
Go out for a walk in nature without music, phone calls, or distractions. Regardless of whether you’re in the city or countryside, notice what’s around you. Feel the air on your skin, listen to the sounds, connect with nature. This easy-going practice can improve your focus, awareness, and even your sleep. It’s one of my favourite dailies for feeling better.
2. Mindful teeth-brushing
Yes, I know how daft this sounds, but it’s transformative: sit down and really focus while brushing your teeth. If it’s not brushing your teeth, make it something else. The point here is bringing proper mindfulness into a small task you do daily. It reduces stress and helps you cultivate the art of slowing down in other areas of your life, too.
3. Yoga nidra
Yoga nidra is a form of guided meditation done lying down, providing a complete nervous system reset. It’s also known as NSDR (non-sleep deep rest). It helps close all those tabs you’ve got open in your brain, reduces stress and anxiety, improves sleep, cognition, problem-solving, and creativity. This practice reframes your reality by shifting your nervous system into a calm state. Try this one before bed tonight:
The takeaway
Slowing down is essential in a society that constantly pushes us to do more. As my incredible coach Caroline Kay says, deep rest = deep work. Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a stay-at-home parent, finding balanced rest and work is crucial if you want to live a more connected, peaceful, and joyful life.
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