the tortoise & the hare

Latest Episodes:

Slow Learning - Go informal Aug 27, 2017

Show notes

This is the last one of the slow learning poggies, and this week it’s all about informal learning. If you’re someone who will spend a long time researching online or taking informal courses this is probably something you can identify a lot with.

An informal learner sees learning everywhere. They like to do it anywhere and at anytime and they’re often heavily focused on using technology as a tool in order for that to happen. There usually isn’t any kind of qualification at the end of this kind of learning, and more often than not it leads the learner in to further research, deeper thinking, or a new direction.

For example, when Brooke first started learning about simplifying life, this was her go-to learning mode. She read endless blogs, books and articles on minimalism, simplicity and the myriad ways to adopt it. She took courses, enrolled in membership programs and listened to podcasts. What she didn’t always do though, was act on that information.

And, much like the overwhelm we can often feel when learning collaboratively (as Ben and Brooke chatted about last week) this is the biggest drawback of informal learning - lots of information but very little action.

That’s not to say it’s not valuable, because the opposite is true. More and more of us are working in areas where formal qualifications are no longer relevant (or at least as relevant as they used to be) but passion and ambition and skill take precedence. Similarly, this is one of the most accessible ways to learn about non-work related topics, ideas and skills and processes that we use outside of our work, that impact how we live, what we do with our time, our hobbies, our energies.

Head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/190 for the key takeaways from this four-part series, as well as a heads-up on what’s coming next week.

Enjoy!

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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.

Permaculture (it’s more than just gardening!) with Robyn Rosenfeldt Aug 23, 2017

Show notes

If you enjoy gardening (or perusing gardening photos on social media!!) permaculture is a term you may have heard bandied around. It’s most commonly attached the food production, and is a philosophy that results in better soil, better food production and higher yield.

What is less often mentioned is that permaculture doesn’t stop at food production. In fact, much like slow living, the permaculture philosophy extends to community, connection, family, relationships, business and how we view the world at large. It can impact on where we live and how we live there, as well as the things we own, the money we earn and the way we interact with those around us.

In today’s episode Brooke chats with Robyn Rosenfeldt, the founder and editor of Pip Magazine - a magazine dedicated to spreading the ideas of permaculture far and wide. Pip is released three times a year and is packed full of both inspirational articles that dive deep in to permaculture, as well as the super practical information that will help you turn that inspiration in to action.

Brooke and Robyn chat about the similarities between slow living and permaculture, as well as self-sufficiency, and why permaculture isn’t necessarily going to allow us to be individually self-sufficient, but rather encourages the creation of self-sufficient communities.

The conversation also looks at what community means and why we sometimes may need to look beyond our neighbourhood to find a tribe of like-minded people.

Robyn has some fantastic suggestions for those of us who want to start on the path to permaculture but don’t have a lot of time, and one of those suggestions is to let go of perfection.

Another of her other suggestions is to begin to educate ourselves on our food - where it comes from, what time of year we should be seeing it in supermarkets (and what times of year we shouldn’t - AHEM, nectarines in July!). It’s from this basis of knowledge that we can begin making small, consistent changes and from there springs real and lasting change.

Enjoy!

====

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 be part of our monthly live calls.

And thanks so much for listening!

====

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Slow Learning - Collaborate Aug 20, 2017

Show notes

This week Brooke and Ben continue their look into the different types of learning and how understanding personal learning styles will help us develop ways to adopt even more slow-ness and mindfulness to our lives.

Today’s poggie is all about collaboration - probably the most well-known type of learning. Brooke identifies a lot with this kind of learning (though during today’s episode she does start to wonder whether it’s the most helpful for her!) and a lot of you will likely identify with this mode as well.

Collaborative learning is all about collective intelligence. This podcast is a great example of collaborative learning, or learning from one another in order to benefit the whole. There are so many ways to tap in to collaborative learning when it comes to slow and simple living:

Online forums, chat rooms
Facebook groups
Mentoring groups (like the one Ben is involved in at the moment)
Live calls (like the monthly Patreon catch-ups)

The key here though, is that if you identify with this type of learning it’s important to acknowledge its limitations. Often we find ourselves getting overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information available, as well as the breadth of opinions and advice. It can feel completely defeating when there is literally an opinion for every option, so the key is to also apply a little discernment. Find an entry point that works for you and only go looking for additional information as and when you need it, rather than bathing in the infinite pools of opinions online!

Head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/188 for the full blog post and to share your thoughts on today’s poggie.

Enjoy!

====

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 us for our monthly live chats.

And thanks so much for listening!

====

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Katy Bowman talks nutritious movement and couchless living Aug 16, 2017

Show notes

In today’s poggie Brooke speaks with Katy Bowman, a biomechanist, founder of Nutritious Movement and all-round activity advocate, about the curse of convenience in modern life and what it is costing us in terms of movement, the food we eat, our health, our relationships and the larger structure of our society in general.

They also talk about the infiltration of technology into the lives of both adults and kids, as well as some really practical ways of lessening the impact technology has on our days, and how to deal with the inevitable complaints from kids (and maybe some adults) when they’re forced outside. They also talk about the massive benefits of spending more time outdoors and why Katy is lobbying for outdoor exposure to be classified as a nutrient.

Katy shares her family’s journey towards minimalism and why it began with letting go of their couch, and how the root of their simplification lies in a desire for more movement rather than less stuff.

Enjoy!

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And thanks so much for listening!

====

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Slow Learning - The personal learner Aug 13, 2017

Show notes

Brooke and Ben have taken a bit of a departure for these current Monday episodes, as they’re talking about learning - a topic that sits more at the periphery of slow living rather than the centre of it. Last week they began by talking about how we learn and the impact it has on how well we make changes to our lives, and this week they begin looking at the specific modes of learning and why some are more beneficial than others when it comes to making big shifts in life, such as learning to slow down and simplify.

This week is all about the personalised learner. Someone who is the champion of their own destiny. They are highly individualised in the way they like to learn, preferring one-on-one coaching or tailored courses set up to deliver learning expectations that are unique to their own needs and circumstances. They don’t often thrive in communal learning situations or online courses aimed at a broad range of people, instead preferring their learning to be, well, personalised.

For example, Ben has struggled a lot with developing a meditation practice, and he thinks it’s partly to do with the fact that he can’t find a program or app that is specific to his needs. He would be better off working one-on-one with a coach for a few weeks, get the specific information he needs, and then using that to establish his practice.

Brooke and Ben talk about the pros and cons of this mode of learning in today’s episode, and Brooke realises that she probably need to do a little more of this kind of learning, rather than continue to fall in to the well-worn grooves of past behaviour. Ben, on the other hand, can recognise that by only learning in this way, he’s missing out on a huge range of benefits.

Head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/186 for all the details from today’s episode and the full blog post.

Enjoy!

====

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 sharing economy in action with Justin Morrissey of Toolo Aug 09, 2017

Show notes

Today Brooke chats with Justin Morrissey, the founder of Toolo, the Blue Mountains’ first tool library and co-op. As you probably know, a huge part of slow living is based in both community and environmental stewardship, and tool libraries are a big step in the right direction.

In this episode Justin and Brooke get really practical, as he explains how he began the library (and what drove him to do so in the first place) as well as his advice for people who may want to start a library in their own community. They also look at how the organisation is structured and the work that went in to it before launching, as well as the vital role that volunteers play in its ongoing success.

Brooke and Justin also talk about the issue of convenience, and why our mindset needs to shift from one of immediacy to one of preparation (we can’t expect these resources to operate in the same way as the local Bunnings or big box store) and how learning to let go of the ego of ownership is a big part in the change too.

If you listen to today’s episode and want to know more about starting or running a tool library yourself, head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/185 and click the link to get in touch with the team at Toolo, as they’re a wealth of expertise and are happy to work with other communities looking to make the change. And if you live in the Blue Mountains, sign up and support Toolo! They need to make it to 150 members by 2018 in order to keep running and that means it’s on the community to support them.

Enjoy!

====

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.

Slow Learning Aug 06, 2017

Show notes

We’ve got something a little different lined up for the next four weeks, and while at first glance it might not seem to be too closely related to the practicalities of slow living, Brooke and Ben think that anyone currently struggling with certain areas of slow living is going to benefit from it a lot.

The next few weeks they're going to explore slow learning.

Why?

One of the common obstacles people face in learning to slow down and simplify is the one-step-forward, two-steps-back dance that often accompanies it. There is so much information available for us as we try to establish what approach works, and often we simply immerse ourselves in as much of it as possible. The problems arise when either we don’t spend our time in the doing, or when we try to learn in a way that doesn’t work for us personally.

Today Ben explains the three different types of learner and how we can harness the strengths and limitations of them, and why it matters. The full blog post is over at http://www.slowyourhome.com/184

Enjoy!

====

And thanks so much for listening!

====

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On boundaries, compromise and communication Aug 02, 2017

Show notes

This will probably come as a surprise to exactly no-one, but Brooke used to really over-complicate things (and sometimes still does). She would over-engineer solutions and spend huge amounts of time trying to get right down deep in to the specific thoughts, behaviours or actions that were causing problems. And while she believes we sometimes need to ruminate on things for a while before clarity comes knocking, other times we just need to simplify.

In today’s poggie Brooke finds herself coming back to the same handful of answers time and time again. They’re ideas she refers to in her own quest to slow down and simplify life, and they apply to all of the questions in today’s hostful episode. As always, the questions are insightful and challenging, and Ben and Brooke try their best to answer them:

How do you manage different personality types within a family (introvert v extrovert, the needs of solitude v constant companionship, etc)?
How do you adjust to things being out of control / out of what you had planned? And how do you regain calm / slow when life takes over?
What to do when one of your kids is a hoarder and leaves their many belongings all over the house?
What do you grow in your garden and what are your best tips for a serial plant killer?
What sorts of mindful exercise do you enjoy (aside from yoga and hiking?)
What are you reading/listening to? And what do you enjoy reading aloud to your children?

The full blog post is over at http://www.slowyourhome.com/183 as well as links to pre-order Brooke’s books and to learn more about next month’s Patreon live call.

Enjoy!

====

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.

Do men and women do simplicity differently? Jul 23, 2017

Show notes

This is a bit of a departure from the usual themes of the Monday shows, but Brooke was involved in a fascinating Twitter conversation a few weeks ago that got her thinking about simplicity writers, their gender and why the most popular ones are overwhelmingly male.

Brooke and Ben talk through the genesis of the conversation, as well as the fact that Brooke has noticed this trend for quite some time and believes it’s in part due to the fact that men and women (broadly speaking, of course) deal with problems differently.

Neither approach is right or wrong, and neither can effectively solve every problem without dipping in to the other approach occasionally, but it does beg the question of why one approach seems to be more popular than the other (at least in terms of Amazon best-selling lists, anyway).

Brooke thinks at least part of it has to do with confidence and fear of being judged (that’s definitely been a personal obstacle for her) and the impact this has on the directness of her writing. But there’s also the different ways of teaching and learning, and the different ways men and women approach problems.

It’s a really interesting conversation, and the full blog post is over at http://www.slowyourhome.com/182. Head over there and let Brooke and Ben know your thoughts on this one.

Enjoy!

====

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.

Tim Silverwood on circularity, connection and saying no to plastic Jul 22, 2017

Show notes

Tim Silverwood is one of Brooke’s environmental role models. He maintains that he’s just an ordinary guy who somehow found himself at the forefront of environmental activism in Australia, but his passion and knowledge means that while he may be an ordinary guy, the impact he’s having on the growing environmental movement in Australia is anything but ordinary. As one of the founders of Take 3 for the Sea and a powerful voice in the movement away from single-use plastics, Tim is having a massive impact both in Australia and around the world.

In today’s episode Tim and Brooke talk about the Plastic-Free July campaign and why it’s so important, but they also go back to the catalyst for Tim’s shift to environmentalism. Perhaps not surprisingly, Tim’s passion for protecting the ocean started in his passion for the waves and like so many people now heavily invested in protecting our wild spaces, Tim was a surfer who used his love of the ocean to drive changes in his own life.

They also talk about the importance of small steps, and why Tim believes it’s the only way to convert the apathetic in to the passionate, but also why these small steps are only the first part of creating global change.

One of the beautiful themes that keeps emerging in Brooke and Tim’s conversation is the idea of connection - both to each other and the environment we all live in - and Tim specifically talks about the ways in which we’re all connected to the health of the oceans. It’s far too easy to think the issue of plastic pollution isn’t one we’re part of, and Tim gets very passionate as he talks about the different ways our actions can have an impact - both positive and negative.

They also talk about the problematic issue of recycling and why so much of what we think of as ‘good recycling’ is actually exacerbating the problem, and why the circular economy and circular design is the way of the future.

Head over to http://www.slowyourhome.com/181 for links to Tim’s online store, website and other links we discussed in today’s episode.

Enjoy!

====

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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