Embracing Slow And Creative Days At Home
We probably all had plans for this spring that were thrown to the side by the coronavirus. All over the world, people are staying home, some voluntarily to help slow down the spread of the virus, others because they’re not allowed to go outside.
In the midst of all the anxiety of our societies struggling to cope, there’s an invitation here to make the best of this short period in history.
To slow down, settle in and embrace slow and creative days at home.
Being the homebody that I am, I have over the past few years built a slow creative life on my weekends, spending most of my time at home or in nature. I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned during that time about building beautiful, slow and creative days.
Look inwards and journal
This is a great time for introspection. Usually, I begin my weekends by journaling. I check in with myself - my needs, my inspiration and my energy. After I’ve done so, I write down what I want to do during the weekend.
To start shaping your days spent at home, I suggest using these questions for journaling.
What are my needs right now? How can I give myself that?
How do I want to spend my days?
What is my creative inspiration pointing towards?
What acts of slow living do I want to incorporate in my days?
I also encourage you to take this time as an opportunity to explore how you like to spend your days. When you slow down, what happens to you? What do you miss the most? What you actually feel relieved to not be able to do? How does a lovely, slow and creative day at home look to you?
If you feel anxious and stressed about what’s happening in the world, journaling can also be a way to release those emotions. Getting things down on paper can be both illuminating and liberating.
Find a gentle routine
With little obvious structure to your day, and usual habits thrown out the window, it’s easy to feel a little lost. It’s when we start shaping a routine that we get a sense of normality and familiarity again. Gentle habits can help us spend our days in a way we actually enjoy.
The days when I’m not working, I start my days slow, often reading a bit in bed before getting up. Some days I do a short session of morning yoga, then have breakfast and read some more. When I feel ready for creative work, I make a cup of green tea and get started.
During the day, I take plenty of breaks, perhaps to bake or make lunch or just sit in the sun stroking a cat. Some time during the day, I make sure to get out for a walk and some fresh air.
I don’t believe in planning your days down to the minute - at least I feel trapped by that. But build in some activities you enjoy to give your days a shape and familiarity.
Blend slow living and creative work
Some years ago, I used to divide up my time. I would either create or I would do something slow, like baking or going for a long walk. Now my days are much more a blend of the two. For example, I’ll write half a blog post, then make a cup of tea and go out on the terrace for a bit. I’ll bake bread, but take the opportunity to take photos of them when they’re done.
Since I started blending the two, I enjoy my days even more. It helps me to not overwork when I get too wrapped up in my creations, and it also helps me prioritise my acts of slow living. I’ve written a whole blog post about how I blend the two if you want some more inspiration.
Giving your home some love might be an especially worthwhile activity right now, that can be both slow and creative. Since we’re going to be spending many hours inside, we might as well consider how we could make our homes even lovelier to live in.
Cherish the small moments
Many of the adventures we’re used to are out of our reach at the moment. Travel, restaurants, meeting friends, theaters and museums. What we are left with are the smaller, every day moments we might usually rush past.
Let this time be a reminder to cherish those small moments too. To really live in and enjoy our quiet every day lives, whatever they may look like.
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