the tortoise & the hare

Latest Episodes:

Listener Chat with Xan Holyoak Feb 13, 2019

Show notes

This week we welcome back listener chats, as Brooke sits down to talk with Xan Holyoak. Xan is a listener of the show, a writer, a single parent and a slow living and nature loving woman. She first reached out to us after the nature experiment last year, and the more Brooke learned about her story, the more she wanted to share Xan’s wisdom with our wider community. So here we go!

In today’s chat Xan and Brooke talk about when she first started to slow things down, why she started writing about it on her blog, how her life changed after her husband suddenly passed away in 2015 and how she lives slowly now as a single, working parent. There’s a wonderful thread throughout the conversation of the importance of values, journaling and boundaries, and we hope you enjoy.

Questions featured in this episode:

Where did your journey to slow living/simplifying start?
Why did you start your blog?
Tell us about the way life changed after your husband died in 2015.
How do you make everyday work, as a single parent, working mum and living slowly?
Let’s talk about our shared love of journaling as a self-care practice. When do you journal?

Looking for more Slow?

Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/season2/
Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
Sign up for our love letters
Join the Slow Experiment Club over on Patreon
Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

As always, thank you for listening!

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jacki Carr on redefining balance (and making room for failure) Feb 06, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to season 2 of the Slow Home Podcast! Today Brooke sits down with goals coach, co-founder of Rock Your Bliss and incredible public speaker/human Jacki Carr.

Brooke did some work with Jacki last year before embarking on the Slow book tour and it had the most enormous impact on her time on the road. So she was determined to chat with Jacki this season, and especially at this time of year, as there’s so much buzz about resolutions, goals and general New Year vibes, which is all Jacki’s passion.

Brooke and Jacki cover so much in this conversation, talking all things resolutions, change, defining and committing to goals, values, balance, community and how to use social media as a tool for connection rather than a crutch, by consistently returning to your values.

Questions featured in this episode:

How do you help people define their values?
How do you encourage people to keep re-centering on their values even when life happens?
Have you intentionally developed a crew of people in your corner to support you in living with your values?
What are your thoughts on balance?
Do you look for ease in situations, or always look to expansion?
When did developing in-person communities become important to you?
Do you have any tools you use to help social media be a way to connect rather than a crutch?

Looking for more Slow?

Find show notes, resources and links at slowyourhome.com/season2/
Follow us on Instagram @slowhomepod
Sign up for our love letters
Join the Slow Experiment Club over on Patreon
Or leave a rating or review in iTunes

As always, thank you for listening!

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jocelyn Glei on fast tech and slow work - Summer Series Jan 30, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to the fifth and final episode of the Summer Series (/Winter Warmies!) For all of January, we’ve been bringing back the best of 2018, re-sharing some of our favourite episodes to keep you company on the beach (or the slopes!)

Last but not least, this week is our episode with the awesome Jocelyn Glei, writer and creator of the podcast Hurry Slowly. Now seemed like the perfect time to feature Brooke’s chat with Jocelyn, as they focus on the relationship between technology, work, life, slow and creativity, as we all get back into the swing of work after the holidays.

Jocelyn shares so many great resources with us, and we hope you find something to explore from this episode. Head over to http://slowyourhome.com/234/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post. And we’ll see you in February for the new season of the show!

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

===

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tsh Oxenreider on ignoring what slow 'should' look like Jan 23, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to the fourth episode of the Summer Series (/Winter Warmies)! For all of January, we’ll be bringing back the best of 2018, re-sharing some of our favourite episodes to keep you company on the beach (or the slopes!)

This week we’re heading back on the road, with Brooke’s conversation with friend of the show Tsh Oxenreider on the Slow Book Tour. This was a live recording at an event in Austin, Texas, featuring a lovely audience full of great questions that Brooke and Tsh got to answer.

The two of them also spoke about what slow living looks like for them in real life, their thoughts on balance, what they see minimalism and simplicity morphing into in the age of social media and so much more.

It’s an inspiring chat, so we hope you enjoy! To read more about the episode, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/251/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post.

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

===

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Interview with Ben - Summer Series Jan 16, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to the third episode of the Summer Series (Winter Warmies!) For all of January, we’ll be bringing back the best of 2018, re-sharing some of our favourite episodes to keep you company on the beach (or the slopes!)

Today we’re highlighting one of the most-loved episodes of last year - when Brooke interviewed Ben about his slow living journey. What started out as a chance to turn the tables and switch the spotlight ended up being a deeply personal and raw conversation. Ben talks about how he went from working a stressful, corporate job to being self-employed, and how he continues to make choices to live a slower life.

So many people connected with this episode, which is why we decided to include it in the Summer Series. If it resonates, we’d love for this to start a new conversation about slow with your loved ones. It’s the perfect time of year to check in and examine your priorities for 2019, so we hope this helps!

To read more about the episode, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/242/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post.

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

===

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rob Greenfield on the enormous power of small changes - Summer Series Jan 09, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to the second episode of the Summer Series (/Winter Warmies!) For all of January, we’ll be bringing back the best of 2018, re-sharing some of our favourite episodes to keep you company on the beach (or the slopes!)

Today we’re highlighting one of Brooke’s most inspiring picks of the year - her interview with Rob Greenfield. Rob is a self-described ‘dude making a difference’: an activist, environmentalist and all-around legend. We love that Rob shares his story so honestly and in a very relatable way - he was just an average guy who had a wake up call, and he talks about what his catalyst for change was, how he started to make changes, having the realisation that you can’t make enormous changes overnight and more.

We can’t wait to see how Rob goes with his current project - growing or foraging 100% of his food for a whole year. To read more about the episode and Rob, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/241/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post.

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

===

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Florence Williams on the importance of getting our nature fix - Summer Series Jan 02, 2019

Show notes

Happy New Year, and welcome to the first episode of the Summer Series (Winter Warmies!) For all of January, we’ll be bringing back the best of 2018, re-sharing some of our favourite episodes to keep you company on the beach (or the slopes!)

We’re kicking off by harking back to Brooke and Ben’s favourite experiment of 2018, and an episode that came just after it: Brooke’s chat with Florence Williams, author of The Nature Fix. In this episode Florence shares why time in nature is so important, tips for how to make it happen and some of the benefits she’s found in her research.

This conversation only further convinced Brooke of the importance of spending time in nature - let us know if it made you feel the same way! Head over to Instagram and share your thoughts. To read more, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/232/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post.

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

===

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

40 Ways to Slow Your Holidays Dec 05, 2018

Show notes

Cue the jazzy Christmas tunes - it’s our final episode of the year! Welcome to the crowd-sourced holiday special, where we share your tips for staying slow in the silly season (and throw in some of our own). Thank you so much to everyone who got in touch - we loved reading through your responses, and hearing all the different ways you not only cope with, but enjoy what can be a stressful time of year.

Brooke and Ben share more than 40 tips from listeners, all about how to bring a little more slow to your holiday traditions, gifts, finances, food, time with family and friends, decorations and environmental impact.

There’s so much goodness in here, and definitely something for everyone to consider for either this year or next. Whether it’s sipping a candy cane martini every Friday night like Steve or getting organised with gifts, we hope you’ll find a nugget that resonates with you! When in doubt, if you come back to ask what your priorities for the season are, how you want it to feel and what you want to remember, that’s a pretty great place to act from.

Annnnnd that’s a wrap (pun intended)! Thank you so much for your support for all of this year, it means so much and is why we do what we do every day. We wish you a safe and happy holiday season, and all the best for 2019. Looking forward to more slow times ahead!

To read more about the episode, or to sign up for the 365 Days of Slow experiment, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/262/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post.

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

===

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The delicate art of dropping balls Nov 07, 2018

Show notes

We’re back! Thanks for hanging tight with us over the final few weeks of the book tour. In today’s episode, Brooke and Ben check in and catch us up on how they’re feeling and what’s happening next, as well as sharing a reminder about A Simple Year and the special offer available until 14 Nov (more info at slowyourhome.com/simpleyear).

The guys kick off by looking back at the tour (briefly - more on the tour in ep 260 if you missed it), and then sharing how they’re feeling now that it’s all over. It’s a mix of exhaustion and creative energy at Brooke’s end (an interesting combination!) and the joy of being able to finally relax for Ben. Which means a lot less doing for the whole family, and a lot more being and tilting into filling up their cups, including some dedicated creative time - both Brooke and Ben are doing NaNoWriMo!

They’ve also had time to think about what’s next. Wary of her tendency to announce things too soon, Brooke is shy on the details for some projects she’s currently working on (including the proposal for her next book!) but share that in the spirit of tilting into rest and working on 2019 things, there will be no more episodes for 2018, except for a Christmas Special (more info below). Then there will be the Summer Series as usual in January, and then we’ll be back in Feb, shifting to seasons of the podcast rather than weekly episodes. Brooke explains the reasons for this shift, and what she’s excited about with the new format. She also shares some other ideas in the works, like a revamp of our Patreon community, the return of the Slow Post and Live Life Simply online retreat and the demise of our Facebook page. Planning times abound!

Speaking of that Christmas Special, it’s going to be a wrap up of listener contributions for ways to stay slow during the silly season. So share your hot tips with us! Please send us an email at hello@slowyourhome.com with your ideas so we can include them in a whizz-bang final episode for the year. Be sure to hang out with us on Instagram, and use the #slowhomepod so we can see what you’re sharing. To read more about the episode, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/261/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post.

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially and join in on our live monthly video calls.

And thanks so much for listening!

===

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So how does a Slow book tour actually work? Oct 17, 2018

Show notes

Welcome to this week’s episode - a catch up on all things travel with Brooke and Ben after their US Slow book tour. They received so many questions about the logistics of their trip, so today they dive into them all, talking the how, where and why of their time away so far.

First up they talk about how they managed to do the tour - the decisions they made and steps they took in order to pack up their lives in Australia and hit the road. Then they go into the nitty gritty of accommodation and planning, including a sweet hack for longer stays in Airbnbs or VRBOs and the benefits of spending more time in a home-like environment when travelling with kids. They talk about the difference between the first half of their trip and the book tour, and also why they decided (after a test run of the #vanlife in the Yukon) not to go down the campervan/caravan route.

Then it’s onto how they came up with their itinerary, the decisions they made around food (i.e. not to stress about it) to make their lives easier and how they structured their days. They admire the resilience of their kids, and talk about the power of expectations and how they managed them throughout the trip: the highs, the lows, and the things they’d do differently next time.

Ben finishes up by sharing some touching words about how proud he is of Brooke, and Brooke shares her advice for people wanting to travel with their families: just do it. We’d love to hear your thoughts, especially if you’ve travelled with kids or plan to in the future. Be sure to get involved in the conversation on Instagram, and use the #slowhomepod so we can see what you’re sharing.

To read more about the episode, head over to http://slowyourhome.com/260/ for all the links and resources mentioned, as well as the full blog post.

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If you're enjoying the show and want to know how to best support it, leave a rating or a review in iTunes or head over to the Patreon page to help support the show financially.

And thanks so much for listening!

===

Join The Tortoise Community: https://brookemcalary.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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