Slowing down - something we all long for and yet a quick look on the internet will tell us it’s just about mindset. Here on The Portal we are delighted to have Leanne Scott leading us in a Summer of Slowing Down - a free offer that anyone can join. Yes, even with kids, yes even with all the responsibilities and different directions we feel pulled in.
Every two weeks, Leanne posts an experiment for people to try out “with the aim being to regain agency, joy and playfulness in our lives, while also experimenting with what it could be like to rely less on technology.”
In Leanne’s words: “Looking at society around me, I sense the frazzle-ness in the air. People lack patience. We snap at each other. We take no time to understand others. There is always something else demanding our attention. We have lost our sense of agency over our own lives. And this is all before we even think about the wider world and all the horror and trauma that is alive there."
"I really believe that if we take the time to intentionally slow down and really think about why we feel this way, and learn different ways of being, things have the potential to be better."
"I don’t think people realise they are over-reliant on their ‘smart’ devices because we have been trained to rely and rely some more on those things. Life is becoming harder to live without using self-service checkouts, one tap buying, smartphones… But I think if we learn to slow down, we begin to see and realise that doing without – maybe even just sometimes – does not mean boring. It can be playful, we don’t have to miss out on life."
"I believe that when we slow down, we are saying yes to so much more.”
Leanne has spent over two years “intentionally slowing down and moving away from social media, smartphone and I wanted others to experience something of that for themselves, to know that life is possible without over-reliance on all of those things.”
Doesn’t that sound wonderful?
But where do we start?
Leanne has three tips to share with us:
Research has shown that having your phone on you as a person, or nearby, will mean that you will be distracted as it is always there to pick up.
Have a dedicated space to put your phone/devices in, ideally another room from the one you are in (in my home that is by our front door).
Having the phone in a dedicated space, away from you, makes you slow down as you stay focused on one task at a time.You can leave your device on loud if you are worried about missing out on a call.
You can ask yourself each time you think about checking your device, do I really need to be doing this right now?
Using cash as much as you are able to enables you to be more mindful of the purchase you are about to make. There is also an exchange that happens between you and the seller, there might even be a few words exchanged that may not have happened over the tap of the card or phone.
Use pen and paper to write thoughts, notes to people, even letters. This is a great way I have found to help me really slow down. I must think about the words I am writing, the spelling, the way the words flow etc… Also, you will be helping someone else to slow down as there is something so precious about receiving a handwritten letter/note, we take the time to read something like that as opposed to a text/email.
Leanne: “Whatever my role has been in life, I have always tried to find a way to bring people together, whether that be by starting an Adult and Toddler Group, Craft Nights or Coffee Mornings…"
"We have so much stuff and things to keep us occupied and yet there is a sense of loneliness surrounding us. Community enables us to be together, it helps us to be vulnerable, and support one another."
"The powers that be may have tried to tell us that we can do life alone – I mean, it’s not called the iPhone for nothing! But the reality is, people need people. I know that when I have been in community, I feel full, I feel alive and that is why I see community as being important.”
Leanne: “Oh my goodness, The Portal is such a beautiful, wholesome space to be a part of. I felt I was ready to be a part of something again and to offer what I can to others but I knew that I did not want to go back to using social media to do so. The amazing Keri Jarvis introduced me to The Portal and Sally’s vision, and I knew that this place would be right for me."
"The Portal is alive and evolving and is built with others in mind and I love that it allows me to be creative in a way that feels alive for me too. The support that Sally and her team give is so helpful to someone like me who has been ‘out’ of creating an offer for such a long time.”
Happy participants from Leanne’s Summer of Slowing Down group:
This summer, I’ve been following Leanne Scott’s “Summer Experiment”, and the first two tasks were beautifully simple: write more, use tech less.
It’s not about doing everything by hand or rejecting every modern convenience entirely, but it has been fun to play around with the ideas.
Instead of using my phone on holiday in Cornwall, I used cash and we had an actual conversation.
At the supermarket, I spoke to someone instead of self checkout and made a conscious effort to chat
At an art gallery, I paid in cash, and the owner was genuinely grateful and happy to have a conversation.
Three different experiences, which could’ve been over in a blink, but instead gave us something else entirely.
There’s something in that slowness of exchange.
Our day didn’t feel rushed or urgent.
We connected with people.
We slowed down.
Leanne is about to launch ‘The Slowing Down Collective’ and with her free offer you get a taste of what’s to come. It has been over 2 and half years since she has offered anything in this way, having taken a step back from paid employment and to recover from burn out. ‘Summer of Slowing Down’ has given her “a fun, slow and manageable way to find out what I could offer going forward.”
Leanne’s background is best described in her own words “a melody of randomness!” After studying Social Policy at university, she had a dream of becoming a civil servant working in housing or family policy which never came to fruition. A career was created through working with various charities, a fast food chain, Co-operative Insurance and project management for Manchester City Council alongside volunteering as a youth worker. She then became a minister of religion for ten years. On leaving the ministry she became a coach for overwhelmed mums until burnout struck from being an overwhelmed mum herself. A story I think many of us can relate to.
Since then she has not been in paid employment. Leanne has 3 children, 2 of whom are neurodiverse and struggle with school, so she has been busy with home learning and flexi-schooling.
If you’re curious about setting up your offer on The Portal, you can find out more here.
