Life feels like it’s running at 2x speed these days. My phone dings every 5 seconds, emails stalk me like I owe them money, and somehow, I’m supposed to “hustle” and “grind” through it all. Sound familiar? 🙂
But here’s the plot twist—I got tired of sprinting on the productivity hamster wheel, so I slowed down.
Yep, I picked up six slow hobbies that, honestly, felt like the exact opposite of “getting things done.” But the kicker? These hobbies ended up making me way more productive. Weird, right? Let me walk you through them (pun intended).
1. Long Walks
I used to think walking was just… walking. Like, what’s the big deal? You put one foot in front of the other, right? But when I started taking long walks—without music, without a podcast, without doomscrolling—I realized it’s basically free therapy.
Walking slowly clears the mental clutter. Ideas bubble up when you give your brain space (and FYI, no, your boss won’t buy “I was on a creative walk” as an excuse for missing deadlines… but still).
Here’s what I noticed after making long walks a daily thing:
- Better focus. I stopped bouncing between tasks like a goldfish on caffeine.
- Fresh ideas. Problems I wrestled with at my desk suddenly found easy solutions mid-walk.
- Less stress. You can’t stay mad while counting squirrels. It’s just science.
Ever tried walking without a destination? At first, it feels pointless. But then your brain starts connecting dots you didn’t even know were floating around. IMO, long walks are productivity’s best-kept secret.
2. Reading Deeply
Confession: I used to read like the internet ruined my attention span (because, well, it did). Five tabs open, skimming an article, checking a text, forgetting what I just read. Anyone else guilty?
Then I forced myself to slow down with actual books. Not headlines. Not Reddit threads. Books. And wow, it felt like my brain remembered how to think.
Deep reading—like sinking into a novel or chewing through a thoughtful essay—trained my focus. And get this: the more I read, the sharper my writing and problem-solving became.
A few bonuses of deep reading:
- Patience practice. You can’t skim Dostoevsky. (Trust me, I tried.)
- Bigger ideas. Books stretch your mind past tweets and soundbites.
- Calmer evenings. Reading at night beats staring at blue-light doom.
And no, I didn’t suddenly morph into an intellectual sipping espresso while quoting Shakespeare. But I did start finishing tasks faster because my attention span wasn’t crying anymore.
3. Gardening
If you’ve never yelled at a tomato plant for being slow, you’re missing out. Gardening has this magical way of teaching you patience… mostly because you literally can’t rush a seed.
When I started gardening, I thought I’d just grow some herbs and call it a day. Instead, I ended up learning life lessons between the soil and weeds. Tending plants forced me to slow down, observe, and stick with a routine.
What surprised me the most? The crossover into my work life.
- Consistency matters. You can’t water once a month and expect basil to thrive. Same with projects.
- Breaks are productive. Plants don’t grow faster if you stare at them, and neither do ideas.
- Small wins add up. One leaf today, a full harvest tomorrow—same energy as finishing small tasks.
Gardening also keeps me off my screen. Instead of doomscrolling, I spend 20 minutes pulling weeds. Honestly, weeds feel less toxic. 😉
4. Journaling by Hand
I type like a machine, but when I started journaling by hand, it felt like I was meeting my own thoughts for the first time. Writing slowly with pen and paper forces you to process. You can’t delete, backspace, or Google synonyms for “tired.”
At first, my journaling looked like this: “Wow, I’m writing in a notebook, what a throwback.” But soon, it turned into a habit that actually sharpened my productivity.
Why? Because handwriting slows your brain just enough to make sense of the chaos.
Some perks I’ve noticed:
- Mental clarity. I dump all the random “don’t forget to” thoughts onto paper so my brain can breathe.
- Better decision-making. Writing helps me see patterns in what I actually want.
- Creativity boost. Doodling in the margins counts as brainstorming, right?
Ever tried handwriting when you’re stuck on a problem? It’s like tricking your brain into solving it while you complain on paper. Works every time.
5. Cooking Simple Meals
I’m not talking about five-star gourmet stuff. I mean chopping veggies, stirring soup, frying eggs—simple meals that don’t need a YouTube tutorial just to survive.
Cooking became my reset button. I step away from my screen, make something tangible, and—bonus—I get to eat it.
Here’s why cooking boosted my productivity:
- Built-in breaks. You can’t answer emails while sautéing onions unless you like burned onions.
- Creative outlet. Mixing flavors feels like problem-solving in disguise.
- Healthy fuel. Shocking, but my brain works better when I’m not running on chips.
Cooking also forces me into the present. When you’re measuring out spices, you’re not worrying about deadlines. You’re just… there. And that presence carried back into my work.
Plus, nothing feels more victorious than finishing a project and pulling fresh banana bread out of the oven.
6. Practicing Mindfulness
Okay, I know—mindfulness gets marketed like a magic fix. (Spoiler: it won’t turn you into a zen monk who levitates.) But when I started practicing it, even in small doses, I saw real changes.
Mindfulness doesn’t have to mean 30 minutes on a meditation cushion chanting “om.” Sometimes it’s just taking three slow breaths before answering a stressful email. Or noticing how your coffee actually tastes instead of chugging it like survival fuel.
The productivity payoff? Huge.
- Less overwhelm. I stop spiraling about 100 tasks and focus on one.
- Better reactions. Mindfulness teaches me to respond, not just react.
- More energy. Stress drains energy; mindfulness recharges it.
And here’s the secret: mindfulness is less about slowing your life and more about sharpening how you move through it. When you practice presence, you stop wasting energy on autopilot stress.
Conclusion
When I first picked up these hobbies, I thought I was wasting time. Who has hours to walk, read, or doodle in a notebook when there’s so much to do? But here’s the twist: slowing down made me more productive than all the “life hacks” ever did.
Long walks cleared my mind, reading deepened my focus, gardening taught me patience, journaling gave me clarity, cooking reset my energy, and mindfulness calmed the chaos.
So yeah, I started six “slow” hobbies—and somehow, they turned me into a productivity machine (a calm, happy machine, not a stressed-out one). If you’ve been grinding nonstop, maybe the best hack isn’t speeding up… it’s slowing down.
