Stephanie O鈥橠ea used to write top-selling slow cooker cookbooks.
That was until speedy multicookers hit shelves.
鈥淚 got fired,鈥� O鈥橠ea said with a chuckle. 鈥淭hen I had this out-of-body voice say, 鈥楬ey, Steph, just because you can do something fast, doesn鈥檛 mean you should.鈥欌��
So, she started doing more slow living.
It鈥檚 a fast-growing movement that promotes a slower, attentive approach to life and decision making.
Her new book , details how to get started.
“‘Go, go, go’ doesn鈥檛 mean you鈥檙e actually being more productive,” she said. 鈥淏ut when you take the time to slow down and purposefully plan your day, and your life, you鈥檒l end up meeting and even exceeding your goals. But in a sustainable way.鈥�
She said beginning slow living starts with decluttering. That includes the decision to say “no” to the greedy demands of a stuffed calendar.
“Cut out what isn鈥檛 working,” she told 草莓传媒. “This could be the physical clutter in the house because the more you have the more anxious you are because you鈥檙e always trying to mentally inventory your things. Really decide what鈥檚 feeding your soul.”
Slow living picked up steam during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the pace of life had suddenly slowed down, forcing many people to scrutinize nearly everything, including relationships, careers and health goals.
The push to live slowly hasn鈥檛 stopped.
O’Dea’s book is filled with acronyms to help people easily practice the lifestyle, she said.
For instance, many people struggle with slow living as the anxiety linked to missing an interesting event also called fear of missing out, or FOMO for short, kicks in.
O’Dea has a creative way to encourage people who choose slow living.
鈥淚 rewrote FOMO. So, it鈥檚 not fear of missing out. It鈥檚 ‘Figure Only Myself Out,’鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really going within and asking, 鈥業s this serving me? Is this really what I want?鈥� It’s OK to say ‘no’ and feel uncomfortable.鈥�
But slow living isn’t living slow every day. The lifestyle can help with some time management strategies when life moves at a faster clip, O’Dea said.
Two tips that work well for her are preparing for events the night before and using timers in the moment.
鈥淚鈥檓 a huge fan of timers and setting yourself up for the next day,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 doing things that you know from experience work and consistently following through. It equals success.鈥�
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