I’m willing to bet that a large majority of you opened up this post out of sheer curiosity…

“What’s a slow mom?”

It’s me. I’m a slow Mom. I’m a slow person actually. I walk slow, I cook slow, I shop slow, and I clean slow. It’s just part of my nature. My body is prone to lollygag and my mind is prone to daydream. There are lots of things I do fast such as speaking, typing, eating, and playing sports (well, sports is a working progress). But most of my everyday chores are done at a turtle’s pace.

Does this sound like you too? I hope I’m not the only one.

Here are some tips I’ve adopted into my life to help remedy my sluggishness in the fast-paced world that is family life.

#1 Pack the basics and leave it in your vehicle.
Why? Let’s not forget that we’re dealing with babies and toddlers. Add in my slow, and it’s nightfall by the time we’re ready to get out that door. Diapers and wipes are my focus. If there is snacks and extra clothes, that’s a bonus. Leaving your bag in the vehicle gives you the timesaving perk of only having to focus on putting clothes on you and those tiny bodies.

#2 Find a few simple recipes and rotate.
Ignore this tip if you have an absolute love of cooking. If you don’t though, and you are a slow person, cooking requires simplifying and lots of it. Time taken in finding ingredients you’ve never heard of, recipe scrolling, and reading ahead a lengthy list of instructions becomes way too long. Once you find your recipes and get rotating them, the stress of cooking truly starts to dissipate. Note, the slow cooker and dump-it recipes are your friends!

#3 Stay in a room until you’re done cleaning it.
This has worked miracles for me, the dilly-dallier. I make a pile of things that go in other rooms and pack them to their proper spot only when the room I’m in is finished. This hack has literally cut my cleaning time in half. Also, clean when your kiddos are asleep if possible!

#4 De-clutter often.
Want to stay time-consumingly busy? Have a cluttered home. The amount of time it takes to check every pen’s ink consistency before finding the right one, or sorting through countertop papers until finding that important bill, or that darn spatula, is so long for a slow person. It triples if not quadruples those precious minutes. Time which can be better spent elsewhere. Chuck, sell, or donate anything duplicate, unneeded, or unloved.

#5 Don’t overschedule.
You will not hit those appointment times if you book them for the same day. I know sometimes you look at others and think, “Wow. One day swoop? How nice!” But let’s not forget who you are. It will not be nice. It will be long and you will be late. Late for everything. Instead, have a theme for the day where you can just spend it focusing on the one thing. Today is grocery day. Tomorrow is dentist. Thursday is Grandma’s. Next Friday is a play date. Spread those errands out as much as you can.

#6 Embrace your slowness where you should.
Being slow is actually a positive trait when it comes to those things that count the most. We may fumble and stumble through errands and projects, but we immerse ourselves in parenthood enough to get our fingers all pruny-looking. Show that patience when your children are slowing you down, because slow is what you’re made of too. Be in the moment and get cozy in the moment with your children. They grow-up too fast, so having that slow-minded attitude may just keep them little a bit longer.

Hopefully these tips can benefit you as much as they have me!