Slow living: Intentionally doing nothing is good for us

NORTH DAKOTA ( KXNET ) — Before speedy multicookers were around, Stephanie O’Dea used to write slow cooker cookbooks.

“I got fire,” chuckled O’Dea. “Then I had this out-of-body voice say, ‘Hey, Steph, just because you can do something fast, doesn’t mean you should.'”

So, in a fast-paced world, she decided to start doing more slow living.

While the movement is fast-growing, it promotes a slower, more attentive approach to life and making decisions.

“‘Go, go, go’ doesn’t mean you’re actually being more productive,” she explained. “But when you take the time to slow down and purposefully plan your day, and your life, you’ll end up meeting and even exceeding your goals. But in a sustainable way.”

The beginning of slow living starts with decluttering — which includes saying ‘no’ to the demands of a stuffed calendar.

“Cut out what isn’t working,” she said. “This could be the physical clutter in the house because the more you have the more anxious you are because you’re always trying to mentally inventory your things. Really decide what’s feeding your soul.”

This kind of lifestyle started to pick up during the pandemic when the pace of living had slowed down suddenly.

It forced people to observe everything — including relationships, careers, and health goals. But the push to live slowly hasn’t stopped.

In O’Dea’s book, “ Slow Living: Cultivating a Life of Purpose in the Hustle-Driven World ,” there are several acronyms that people can use to easily practice the lifestyle.

FOMO, or fear of missing out, is something many people struggle with while living slowly because of the anxiety of missing an interesting or important event.

However, O’Dea came up with a creative way to encourage people who chose the lifestyle.

“I rewrote FOMO. So, it’s not fear of missing out. It’s ‘Figure Only Myself Out,'” she explained. “It’s really going within and asking, ‘Is this serving me? Is this really what I want?’ It’s OK to say ‘no’ and feel uncomfortable.”

This ‘slow living’ concept isn’t for every day — it helps with time management strategies when life moves just a little faster.

Two tips that can work well include preparing for an event the night before and using timers when in the moment.

“I’m a huge fan of timers and setting yourself up for the next day,” she concluded. “It’s doing things that you know from experience work and consistently following through. It equals success.”

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