Making slow sexy in 2024
Last year was a bowl of cherries and I am better off from it.
Digitally Exhausted came to be because I wanted a place to share my thoughts on tech’s societal impact. My writing covers social media’s spaghetti-like complexities, the curiosities of BIG tech, and why digital self-care is just as important as eating your vegtables.Reading (or listening) to Digitally Exhausted, I hope you remember to stop and smell the roses.
And just like that, the 2023 season is over. Last year was a bowl full of cherries, some days were sweet and some days were as hard as a pit.
There were months when life was smooth sailing but, of course, it was temporary. 2023 had periods of pure chaos like when you accidentally bite into a cherry only to forget there is a pit you need to maneuver around. Last year was surreal with sweet moments and hard pits but in so many ways I am stronger because of it.
Frank Sinatra said it best, “That’s life!”
Forest Gump is a runner-up comparing life to “a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.”
To somewhat prepare for 2024’s bowl of cherries, I am waving goodbye to a few things from 2023 and greeting the year with a lot of new hellos.
I am waving goodbye to:
Drinking coffee like water
24/7 stimulation
Women who do not support women
Wasting food
Nighttime scrolling
Hateful people
Self-sabotage
People pleasing
Eating while watching YouTube videos
Excessively checking email
Social media for entertainment
Fearing failure
I am saying hello to:
Belly laughs
Expressing boundaries
Lipstick
Trusting my gut
Buying flowers
Reading before bed
Turning off notifications
Stretching
Self check-ins
Silence
Self-compassion
Nature walks (even in the rain)
Placing attention where it matters
Spontaneous travel
The final months of 2023 marked the start of my journey with Consciously Digital. I am taking their coaching course to learn more about digital wellness (a topic I stumbled across during my time as a burnt-out social media manager) and to develop skills to support people in creating the life they want to live.
We are learning so much that at times my brain feels like the bubbles you get when you pour a soda too quickly and it suds over. The topics we are covering are so fascinating but I will admit sometimes I have to read articles multiple times to digest what I am consuming—which did you know deep reading is slowly dying?
A few topics we have covered so far include parts of the brain and how they operate, addictive design, coaching frameworks, and many other topics relating to how technology is changing society.
We started Module 2 to kick off the new year and the topics we are covering I find intriguing: slow thinking and body awareness (i.e. interoception, the body’s sense of what is happening internally).
A few other topics I am learning about include:
Last year I learned a lot about myself and how I want to live, meaning I need to change a few things. One of those changes is to make slow sexy.
Slow living in a fast world
Time is precious. What a mantra, right?! We are told to live life to the fullest because tomorrow might not happen. Marketers are smart, but cruelly, use this to their advantage:
50% Off If You Buy Now!
1 Left in Stock! Hurry!
3 Minutes Left To Purchase!
Fast is fun. Our blood boogies and heart races as we satisfy the need for excitement. We make impulse purchases, go on amusement park rides (which makes my stomach feel like it is going to fall out of my ass), and speed demons race down I-95 at 100 mph. Some people quickly swipe on short-form video feeds or dating apps for cheap (yet expensive) thrills.
Fast feels good. We crave speed. But what would happen if we chose to slow down?
My mantra this year is “Slow is sexy.”
I am using my time to be present and in the moment. Whether it is reading or cooking, I am doing it slowly. I do not want to speed read (1. my brain cannot digest information like that and 2. I want to immerse myself in the words and the story and enjoy what I am reading). I do not want to speed cook either. Of course, I will still throw in a frozen pizza when I am running on fumes and do not want to use my last bit of energy to cook dinner—Y’all, I am still human, not a robot yet. When I cook I want to chef it up. Peeling garlic, chopping vegetables, and stirring a spoon in the skillet to hear the bubbles and sizzles of food warming is how I want (and am now) living.
Realistically, this will not happen every day. It might not happen for weeks on end depending on the cherry I am thrown and how I decide to manage the pit.
I do not want to speed through the day or the task I am doing. I want to slow down and think deeply about what I am doing.
We have become so impatient that nowadays even “instant gratification takes too long” - Carrie Fisher.
Instead of rushing, scurrying, and hurrying through life, I am challenging myself to embrace the Southern soul inside me and slow down.
Whenever you are, be there ✨
To enter the new year, I shook my tail feathers to jazz at a dance festival in Sweden, Snowball. My body clock is still readjusting to normal life because we would dance from 9 pm to 5 am, sleep, wake up at 9:30 am to make it to the complimentary breakfast, and then proceed to nap or adventure through Stockholm.
The first few days when I had the energy, I ventured into Stockholm using public transit—sounding out Swedish metro stops is an entertaining activity running on 5 hours of sleep. Stockholm is a city with old, very European architecture but one thing that left an impression was Fika, meaning a coffee and cake break. It’s a huge part of Swedish culture and a lovely reminder to slow down, take a break, and reward yourself for the day’s work.
Until next time,
Wherever you are, be there.
P.S. You might enjoy my last post, Who are you uninterrupted?