Slowmaxxing Is the Latest Wellness Trend—Here's How to Try It

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by a seemingly unending to-do list, it might be time to slow down—or better yet, "slowmaxx." At its core, the trending concept is really about easing on the brakes of our busy days so we can be more present. “Time feels more abundant when we’re not rushing around,” says author Laura Vanderkam. She explains that rushing too much can create a perception that time is scarce. “Moving a little slower is a good way to remind ourselves that we do have time for what matters to us.”

In a culture that often celebrates multitasking, slowmaxxing is a much-needed antidote that can help reset your nervous system. Here's how to incorporate the concept into your daily life.

Plan Ahead

For many of us with demanding schedules, the idea of slowing down can feel unrealistic, if not downright impossible. But Vanderkam says that it’s more achievable than we may think. The key, she says, is to look for easy ways to optimize, adjust, and expand time within our daily routine.

Set aside time each week to map out priorities, responsibilities, deadlines, and goals. “It’s more possible to relax if you have a good sense of what is going on,” explains Vanderkam. Once you have that framework in place, you can start to make adjustments to allow for some serious slowmaxxing. 

This approach can also help you see if you realistically have enough time to handle everything that’s on your plate. While it can seem tedious at first, writing it all down can give you a better sense of control over your schedule—and ultimately make everything feel more manageable.

Create Space for Breathing Room

Instead of packing your calendar so full that there’s no room to breathe, it’s important to create buffers around activities so you can be more fully relaxed and present. A little bit of wiggle room in the schedule can make a huge difference, especially for anyone who feels like they’re constantly running behind. Allowing a little extra time for each task will (slowly but surely) make life feel a little less chaotic.

This technique can also be used to help create more dedicated rest-and-relaxation moments throughout the week. Vanderkam recommends proactively building “open space” into your calendar by penciling in leisure time. It may seem like an oxymoron, but officially scheduling chunks of downtime can help you prioritize it better—and it’s more likely to actually happen. 

Start Your Morning Slowly

How you start your day can lay the groundwork for the hours to come. Instead of reaching for your phone first thing in the morning, start with some mindful breathing or sitting quietly with your coffee without any distractions—just 10 minutes can do wonders.

The most important thing is to give yourself extra time in the morning so you don’t feel rushed. That might mean waking up a little earlier, taking a short walk before diving into work, or having a few minutes of alone time before the rest of the household gets up. Writing in a journal or reading are also ways to start slowly before the flood of Slack messages and emails comes in. 

Scale Back on Screen Time

While social media and the internet can be valuable tools, they can also hijack our attention spans and our mental and emotional energy, whether or not we realize it. Reducing screen time, even just by a small amount, can make a huge difference if you’re struggling to find more time to do what you enjoy. “Everyone has some downtime, even if it’s not as much as we want,” says Vanderkam. “The question is whether we use it for true relaxation and rejuvenation, or for things like doomscrolling that tend not to make us feel better.“

If staying away from your phone feels difficult, try charging it in another room. This is especially helpful at night if you’re adjusting to a screen-free bedtime or morning routine. Apps and tools designed to limit phone usage can also help reclaim time that might be lost to scrolling. 

Prioritize Tactical Activities

“Optimizing routines for calm and enjoyment means choosing leisure that is truly rejuvenating,” says Vanderkam. Think: cooking a meal from scratch, gardening, puzzling, reading, stargazing, or working on a creative project—just something you ultimately find enjoyable, soothing, and encourages taking your time.

She recommends creating intentions for short, 30-minute segments (which can always be expanded if you get into the flow). “If we don’t choose what we want to do with our leisure time, we tend to just scroll through our phones or Netflix,” Vanderkam adds.

Phone-free, intentional gatherings are another way to approach slowmaxxing, en masse. Invite a few friends over to make dinner together, rolling fresh pasta, dumplings, or another hands-on recipe. You may find that when the phones get tucked away, and the energy slows down, the conversations start to feel richer, deeper, and more expansive. A dinner party then feels more like an occasion to be present and foster real connections.