10 Prompts to Help You Embrace a Slower Life

There is something about the arrival of fall that makes me want to slow down and savor life a little more than usual. I want to embrace long nights and quiet days, but with how busy life can get, it sometimes feels impossible. When I feel that way, I find it helpful to turn to this list of prompts to help get into a slower mindset.

1. Think of a sound that instantly makes you pause (wind through leaves, the kettle’s whistle, your dog’s sigh). How can you invite that sound into your day more often?

2. Write about a time you were so absorbed in something gentle — folding laundry, stirring a pot, watching the sky — that you forgot the clock entirely.

3. What is one change you could make to your daily routine to make life feel calmer?

4. If you could press “pause” on one tiny moment today — a sip of tea, sunlight on the wall, the hush before sleep — which would you choose?

5. What is something you love to do by hand rather than getting help from technology or an appliance?

6. What is a smell that never fails to make you close your eyes and inhale deeply? How can you add more of this to your home?

7. Go on a long walk, and rather than listen to music or an audiobook, let your mind wander. Where does it land?

8. What is a task you tend to rush through that you could take more time and do it intentionally?

9.How would you most like to spend a day with no obligations and the only goal being to slow time down as much as possible?

10. How has embracing a slower pace changed your life for the better?

Find more soul-stirring prompts in Field Guide to Everyday Magic Issue 16.