Sloww Stage 1 (Intentional Living): How do I design a lighter life?

This post is part of a series on What is Sloww?:

• Sloww Stage Support (Lifelong Learning & Deeper Development): How do I develop by learning?
• Sloww Stage 1 (Intentional Living): How do I design a lighter life?
• Sloww Stage 2 (Life Purpose): How do I find a higher purpose?
• Sloww Stage 3 (Mental Mastery): How do I build a better mind?
• Sloww Stage 4 (Spiritual Seeing): How do I see beyond mind?

Sloww Stage 1 (Intentional Living): How do I design a lighter life?

Overview of Stage 1

Stage 1 Inquiring Question:

• “How do I design a lighter life?” Asking deep questions and learning (Stage Support above) initially lead to discovery of alternative lifestyle designs and more intentionality in life (Stage 1). For most people, life is heavy in both space and time—a combination of clutteredness (relationship with physical space) and busyness (relationship with psychological time). Sloww supports slowing down and simplifying in a fast, materialistic world because this is the seed/gateway to everything else: subtracting the superficial “stuff” (physical and psychological clutter), shifting inward where we can meet life face-to-face, and creating the inner space for all the transformation that comes next.

Stage 1 Learning Focus:

• Shifters focusing on the ‘more crisis’ by downshifting from external to internal (study subjects include: slow living, unbusyness, simple living, voluntary simplicity, downshifting, decluttering, minimalism, digital minimalism, financial independence, lifestyle design, essentialism, etc).

Stage 1 Developing Self:

• Self-Shifting: Who am I? I thought I was all this ‘stuff outside me’ (my body, resume, job title, salary, net worth, house, car, clothes, etc). Now, I think I am all this ‘stuff inside me’ (my mind, personality, strengths, beliefs, principles, values, morals, etc).

Stage 1 Posts (Full List)

You can see my own personal progression through stage 1 by skimming a summary of posts 1-100 on the site.

Note: Links with a lock icon (🔒) go to a Premium post.

Posts on Busyness, Unbusyness, & Slow Living

Busyness & Unbusyness:

• Busyness 101: Why are we SO BUSY in Modern Life? (7 Hypotheses)
• Busyness 201: A Brief History of Work & BUSY in America
• Busyness 301: The Future of BUSY, Work & Leisure
• Research Says We’re Not Busy—So Why Do We FEEL So Busy?
• Too busy? 10 Tips for Slowing Down & Becoming Unbusy
• 7 Unbusy Tips for the Daily Work Grind (Reader Q&A)
• Good Busyness? A Full Life vs A Busy Life
• Why Busyness is the Current Status Symbol, According to Research
• “Conspicuous Consumption of Time: When Busyness and Lack of Leisure Time Become a Status Symbol” (Research Summary)
• “Four Thousand Weeks” by Oliver Burkeman (Book Summary)

Slow Living & The Slow Movement:

• Slow Living 101: What is Slow Living?
• Slow Living 201: A Deep Dive into Slow Living & The Slow Movement
• Slow Living 301: How to Start a Slow Living Lifestyle
• “In Praise of Slowness” by Carl Honoré (Book Summary) + 🔒 Premium Summary
• 3 Intentional Living Learnings from Cait Flanders: Slow Living, Being a Mindful Consumer & Mindful Creation
• 15 Slow Living Synonyms to Help You Slow Down

More Slow Living Books, Essays, & Letters:

• 13 Life Lessons from the “Slow Down” Letter the Harvard College Dean sent to all New Students
• “Slow” by Brooke McAlary (Book Summary)
• “Chasing Slow” by Erin Loechner (Book Summary)
• “Present Over Perfect” by Shauna Niequist (Book Summary)
• “The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down” by Haemin Sunim (Book Summary)
• “The Slow Fix” by Carl Honoré (Book Summary)
• “In Praise of Idleness” by Bertrand Russell (Essay Summary)

Slow Everything Else:

• Slow Fashion 101: What is Slow Fashion (vs Ethical Fashion & Sustainable Fashion)?
• 10 Slow Travel Tips for Your Next Adventure
• What is Slow Travel? (+ 3 Slow Travel Myths)
• Where Good Ideas Come From: The “Slow Hunch” with Steven Johnson (Short Read)

Posts on Downshifting, Voluntary Simplicity, & Simple Living

Downshifting:

• What is Downshifting? How to Transition into Simple Living
• “The Quest of the Simple Life” by W. J. Dawson (Book Summary)
• A Deep Debate for and against Simple Living from 100 Years Ago (from “The Quest of the Simple Life” by W. J. Dawson)
• What is a Sea Change or Tree Change? (& My First Impressions)

Voluntary Simplicity:

• “Voluntary Simplicity” by Duane Elgin (Book Summary)
• Humanity is a Teenager: We Will Evolve Through Simplicity
• “The Value of Voluntary Simplicity” by Richard Gregg (Essay Summary)
• “Listening to the Quiet Revolution” (Thesis Summary)
• The “Why” Behind Gandhi’s Simple Living Transformation at Age 23

Simple Living:

• 11 Slow & Simple Living Leaders Share Their “Why” Behind Intentional Living
• A List of Slow & Simple Living Forums & Communities Online
• Top 10 Most Common Reasons for Choosing Simple Living
• “Simplify” by Joshua Becker (eBook Summary)
• An Introduction to Simplify Magazine (Issue 001 Summary)
• 3 Simple Things We Can All Learn from the Quaker Testimony of Simplicity
• The Definition & Next Evolution of “Simple Living, High Thinking”
• The Law of Progressive Simplification: Real Progress is Spiritual (Internal) vs Material (External)

Posts on Decluttering, Minimalism, & Digital Minimalism

Decluttering:

• Decluttering 101: How to Declutter Your Home Crash Course
• Marie Kondo’s “KonMari Method” Checklist: 5-Step Decluttering Cheat Sheet
• “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” by Marie Kondo (Book Summary)

Minimalism:

• My Buy Nothing Year: How I Bought NO Clothing for a Year & 5 Things I Learned
• How Minimalism Helped Me Stop Buying Clothes in 12 of the Last 16 Months
• Oops Minimalism: How I Spent $0 on Clothing for 6 Months Without Trying
• I Worked for a Denim Brand & Now I’m a Jeans Minimalist
• Use Minimalism as Momentum into Slow & Simple Living
• Minimalism in Color: Minimalist Aesthetic vs Minimalist Lifestyle
• “Goodbye, Things” by Fumio Sasaki (Book Summary)
• “The Minimalist Home”: 5 Themes & Free Chapter (Book Preview)
• The One Quote Burning in my Brain from the Minimalism Documentary

Digital Minimalism:

• Digital Minimalism Defined & 10 Digital Declutter Tips
• How to Digital Declutter Your Phone Home Screen
• Thoughts on Cal Newport’s Digital Declutter Experiment

Posts on Understanding Money, Financial Independence, & Relationship with Money

Understanding Money:

• Money Mind Manifesto: Master Your Mind from the Mental Disease of More Money
• “The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel (Book Summary)
• “Die With Zero” by Bill Perkins (Book Summary)
• 10 Guiding Principles from the “Investing Principles Checklist” of Charlie Munger
• How Much Income is Enough Money for Well-Being, According to Research?
• The 80/20 Rule for Money: The 3 Ways Americans Spend Most of Their Money (& How You Can Save More)
• Experiences vs Things: A Thought Experiment on Spending Money

Financial Independence:

• FIRE 101: A Beginner’s Guide to FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early)
• What is Geographic Arbitrage & 7 Interesting Ideas to Get Started
• “Early Retirement Extreme” by Jacob Lund Fisker (Book Summary) + 🔒 Premium Synthesis

My Relationship with Money:

• 🔒 Behind the Scenes: My Evolving Relationship toward the “Money Middle Way”
• Money Showdown: Average American Spending vs Sloww’s Household Expenses (& How we Cut our Spending 30% in a Year!)

Posts on the Work-Spend Cycle, Workweek, Knowledge Work, & Transcending Work

Waking up from the Work-Spend Cycle:

• Is the American Dream Waking Up? The Truth about Social Mobility in the US
• 5 Origin Stories of “Keeping up with the Joneses”
• Lifestyle Inflation: The Danger of “I Deserve This”

Questing the Workweek:

• “Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren” by John Maynard Keynes (Essay Summary)
• Thought Experiment: What if You Only Had a 15-Hour Workweek?
• Elon Musk’s (Unbalanced) Workweek to Change the World

Modern Knowledge Work:

• The Busy Spectrum (High Busyness): What You Need to Know about Workism & Hustle Porn
• The Busy Spectrum (Low Busyness): What You Need to Know about Bullshit Jobs & Performative Busyness

“Total Work” & Transcending Work:

• Total Work: When Humans are Transformed into Workers and Nothing Else (Were we Born only to Work?)
• Post-Workism & Total Work: 5 Future Scenarios when the Religion of Work Loses Followers

Posts on Lifestyle Design, Life Roles, & MEDS

Introduction to Lifestyle Design:

• Lifestyle Design 101: What is Lifestyle Design? (& 35+ Questions to Ask Yourself)
• 🔒 Behind the Scenes: A Look at My Personal Lifestyle Design
• “Areté” by Brian Johnson (Book Summary) + 🔒 Premium Synthesis
• Optimize with Brian Johnson: An Intro to his Life’s Work on Virtues, Habits, & the Fundamentals of Optimal Living + 🔒 Premium Synthesis
• Slow Living Lifestyle Design: One Day (Pixel) at a Time
• “The Pathless Path” by Paul Millerd (Book Summary)
• 🔒 Behind the Scenes: How my Personal Journey compares to “The Pathless Path” by Paul Millerd
• 🔒 Behind the Scenes: What I Learned from the Visualize Value Courses by Jack Butcher

Considering your Life Roles:

• The Five Balls of Life: A Very Short Story about Balance
• The Four Burners Theory: Defining Your Life Roles & Priorities
• “Then what?” The Story of the Tourist and the Fisherman

MEDS (Meditation, Exercise, Diet, Sleep):

• A Simple Wellness Strategy: MEDS (Meditation, Exercise, Diet, Sleep)
• What is Forest Bathing (also known as Nature Therapy or Shinrin-Yoku)?
• Why You Should Take Naps for Better Health & Creativity
• Mindful at Mealtime: The Zen Buddhism Five Reflections
• Blue Zones: The Longevity Lifestyle of Earth’s Oldest People (Purpose, Diet, Activity, Community, & More)
• Blue Zones: How Ikarians Live Simply for 100+ Years
• All 150+ Longevity Ingredients from The Blue Zones Kitchen Cookbook (+ Spreadsheet Summary)
• Alcohol & Health: What Drinking does to the Brain & Body (Andrew Huberman Podcast Summary)
• 🔒 Behind the Scenes: Why I’m Quitting Alcohol (1 Year Later)
• 🔒 Stream of Consciousness: Does a Timeless Diet Exist?
• 🔒 Behind the Scenes: What I Learned from the Nervous System Mastery Course by Jonny Miller

Posts on Habits, Picking a Path, Making Progress, & Time Management

Habit Building (& Breaking):

• “Atomic Habits” by James Clear (Book Summary) + 🔒 Premium Summary
• The Ultimate Life Hack is Understanding you can’t do ALL the Life Hacks—and that’s Perfectly OK

Picking a Path:

• “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown (Book Summary)
• The Paradox of Choice: Even Not Choosing is a Choice
• The Secret of Productivity is a VERY BIG Waste Paper Basket
• Say “NO” Often to Say “YES” to What Matters

Making Progress on Your Path:

• 🔒 “Essentialism” + “Atomic Habits” Synthesis: How to Pick a Path & Make Progress (+ Infographic)
• 🔒 “Golden Circle” + “Three Layers of Behavior Change” Synthesis: How to Better Understand Your Brain with Simon Sinek & James Clear (+ Infographic)

Time Management:

• Mental Bandwidth Management is the New Time Management
• Time Equality: How Do You Use Your 24 Hours Per Day?
• Timeboxing: The #1 Productivity Hack for Actually Doing Your To-Do List (+ 10 Timeboxing Tips)
• Create a Daily Routine with Calendar Time Blocking (+ 7 Pro Tips)
• “When” by Daniel Pink (Book Summary)

You May Also Enjoy:

• What is Sloww?

• Sloww Stage Support (Lifelong Learning & Deeper Development): How do I develop by learning?

• Sloww Stage 2 (Life Purpose): How do I find a higher purpose?

• Sloww Stage 3 (Mental Mastery): How do I build a better mind?

• Sloww Stage 4 (Spiritual Seeing): How do I see beyond mind?