I’ve really been trying to indulge in a ‘slow morning’ whenever possible lately. I have a tendency to wake up and feel like I have to have everything figured out and finalised by 11am and it usually just results in an anxious load of nothing!
I’ve been trying to remind myself that I don’t have to have everything in my day ahead (or life in general) figured out all at once. It’s perfectly fine to take my foot off the gas every now and then and just be. I guess I’ve been trying to trust the process and generally just be more present…
It’s easier said than done when you have a job that’s constantly focused on ‘what’s next?’…
Whether it’s content creation or starting to think more about where I see myself in this ever-changing social media world, the noise that overthinking brings can often get overwhelming and even unbearable at times. The antidote to the kind of lifestyle a job in social media brings is always (for me) focusing more on slowness.
Whether it’s taking time to walk and get breakfast and create a nice set up outside somewhere with a book, or allowing myself some extra time on my skincare routine with a podcast playing in the background – these are rituals that I’m trying to soak up and enjoy rather than letting my mind wander to the tasks I need to complete afterwards. It’s not easy, but as humans, I think we are conditioned to believe that we have to constantly be working hard and driving towards something in order to be rewarded with moments of happiness and contentment. As a recovering perfectionist, I’ve often even struggled to enjoy these moments because I’m so consumed with how I would have done things differently. Whilst I think it’s healthy to be self critical, it can also totally get in the way of moving forward in life because I’m too afraid of the pathway being messy…
Slowness is not something that comes naturally in the modern world. We saw this firsthand with the lockdowns – many of us almost being driven to insanity by how slow everything had become. Of course this is an extreme example and one that was under super stressful and scary circumstances, but there’s definitely something that’s shifted in me mentally since the first lockdown began.
I think it’s a sense of wanting to have as many experiences as I can in life, whilst also practicing the art of slowness when it counts. I don’t want to skim over the slowness of the past few years as though it was all just a massive inconvenience – I want to find the balance that’s been missing. I want to travel and throw myself into social situations but I also don’t want to feel like I need to be in a million places at once. I don’t want to come hurling back down to earth afterwards – deflated and sad because the slowness is about to start. I want to feel like slowness is a positive part of my routine and feel less consumed by the need to constantly be on the hamster wheel. I want to portray this in my content more going forward too – I want my little corners of the internet to be focused around community rather than quantity. I want to really hone in on quality and worry less about how fast paced and disposable social media creation is becoming. I want to slow down more at the weekends especially and fret less about switching off completely. There’s so much value to be found in taking a slower approach and setting boundaries – especially when it comes to creativity.
This is your sign to take yourself for that lunchtime walk whenever you can & pop your phone down somewhere in another room whenever possible. You don’t always need to be on call and you’re entitled to create healthier habits for yourself. You don’t always need to have a plan and you don’t always need to be certain about ‘what’s next?’ in life. It all continues regardless, and there will eventually be a day where it feels like things are finally starting to click into place…
Alice x
Photographs taken on a Contax T2 with Portra 400 film
Striped Pyjamas c/o – Aiayu, Shoes c/o – Dear Frances
Location: shot during a recent stay at Kampus, Manchester!
SHOP THE LOOK
Slow mornings are WONDERFUL! I have discovered the importance of not having to be in a hurry in the morning now that I’ve taken some time off from work (actually, one whole year, to study independently). I take my tray and set up my coffee, juice, sandwich and muesli, head off to the garden and oh my… Now that is what I call enjoying breakfast. Birds are singing, the sun is shining and I I can enjoy everything I see and hear and maybe even say hello to a few neighbours.
I am trying to figure out how I could have something similar once I start working again. I know that on a chilly winter morning I can’t and won’t go and have my breakfast outdoors but it’s the element of concentration I want to stick with. Usually I end up getting one thing for my breakfast at a time (first a cup of coffee, then after a while some yoghurt and so on ) and there are always phones and iPads and a TV involved, so it’s actually pretty restless. I think this will change! One maybe thinks that an “efficient” breakfast equals an efficient day but it might be just the opposite. A relaxing morning gets you focused and you get more things done afterwards.