Today we are speaking with Colleen Valles, advocate of the slow life: simplifying your lifestyle, minimising your stuff, and making more room for creativity in your life.
Colleen used to have a long commute every day to and from work, and as a single mom she found she didn’t have any time to spend meaningfully with her daughter or making room for her own creativity. She knew something was missing, but she wasn’t sure what, it was only when she made her “ideal schedule” and compared it with her current schedule that she realised a big change was needed!
We discuss how to deal with going against the society’s trend to buy more, do more, achieve more, how to be clear on what you want to prioritise in your life. We discuss the effect that decluttering, downsizing and doing less superfluous shopping had on Colleen’s life.
Minimalism and declutter doesn’t just apply to stuff, it can be used with how you spend your time: learning how and when to say “no” to people, the time you invest into certain thoughts or worries, and how you maximise the use of your time on a daily basis.
This episode is perfect for you if:
You are unbelievably busy and think you may need to shift your lifestyle rather than take another holiday (that feels like it never happened within a day of coming back).
Find it hard to say “No” to people without feeling guilty, or as if you are missing out.
Love the idea of simplifying your life so you can make more time for this things that really matter to you.
Time-Stamped Show Notes
02:45 Colleen’s long commute, long hours & being a single mom made her very stressed - no time for her daughter or her own creativity.
05:08 How to use your schedule in order to decide what is missing from your life [unique value point].
10:23 What to do when you go against society’s rule book in deciding what your idea of success looks.
11:03 Deciding what the centerpiece is of your life: maybe a job is just a job so that you can focus on that which brings you joy.
13:27 Decluttering, downsizing, less shopping and slowing down in order to focus on the things that really matter to you.
18:08 Marie Kondo, decluttering - getting rid of the things that you don’t need so you only keep that which brings you serenity and contently. How to set this process up to succeed [unique value point].
21:22 The effect of downsizing on relationships, and how it helps shift Colleen’s priorities.
25:44 How to say no in a way that won’t make you feel guilty [unique value point].
22:00 How creativity can feature more in your life when you slow down, particularly if you have children (it’s not what you think!).
31:10 The importance of being flexible with you life as it flows so you can keep going with your new slow lifestyle, plus it will take a lot of trial and error for what works for you (each person is different and has different needs).
33:53 How to maximising your time.
35:47 Being aware of the “why don’t you just” trap.
Key Take Homes
You may not know what exactly is missing, just THAT something is missing from your life. A good way to see the contrast is to make your ideal schedule hour by hour on an average day, and compare it to your current schedule hour by hour today. Where do the differences lie?
Slowing your lifestyle involves making time and space for the things that matter most to you. This could be a combination of cutting down on shopping, downsizing the things in your house, cutting out activities bring you joy, and saying “no” to people.
This process does not happen overnight. It is a process of trial and error and seeing what combination of changes work for you, and most importantly, doing something each and every day!
Curious Question
When you think about an important decision you have to make but can’t seem to make up your mind, project yourself into the future you who is looking back on life and ask yourself: “Am I going to regret, or not regret [decision here]?
Resources:
Colleen’s Blog: Slow Simple Life
Colleen’s Kick-Start Guide to Your Authentic Life
Influencial Blogs:
Marie Kondo
Zen Habits
Zero Waste Home
Slow Your Home
Be More With Less
Thanks so much for reading and listening, until the next episode, take care of yourself.
Love,
Jen
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