• As a night owl, Sophie Daquis felt exhausted by a rigid 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule.
• She began to reduce her social obligations and devote more time to her hobbies.
• Daquis saved enough to go part-time while starting a YouTube channel.

This essay as told is based on a conversation with Sophie Daquis, a 33-year-old YouTuber. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

Growing up, I internalized the idea that the busier you are and the faster you get things done, the better. But after five years of working this way, I realized it would never fulfill me.

I made incremental changes until I could live a slower, more intentional life as a YouTuber.

Now I make videos about leading a slow and minimalist life. As a YouTuber, I have much more flexibility in my work and can balance work, self-care, hobbies, and social life. I’m so much happier, but it took a while to get here.

I am American-Koreanand both cultures wear productivity like a badge of honor. I went to college in San Diego and when I graduated in 2013, I had three part-time jobs. I worked as a waitress, I freelanced at Nokia phone companyand taught English to foreign students.

I just felt like I should work as much as I could. It was a completely different state of mind, and looking back on it, maybe I wanted to distract myself from sitting with myself.

Almost every hour of my day was spent working, so I didn’t have much time for myself. This meant I stayed up very late, or almost try to get some time back and I feel exhausted the next morning.

I moved to Maui, Hawaii in 2016 to live with my now husband, who grew up on the island.

I felt pressure from my parents to find a 9-5 job and was hired on Maui as a Family Services Manager at Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that helps low-income families find affordable housing.

I enjoyed the work and I liked my coworkers, but not the schedule.

I’m a night owl who likes to start my day at 2:30 p.m. and work all night. When I worked from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.I felt like I was fitting into that mold.

I tried to make it work, but I never really felt fulfilled and I couldn’t figure out why.

Change started with small habits

I began to wonder, “Where does it stop?” or “How can I solve this problem?” because I was always exhausted.

Maui slowed me down. The pace of life is slower on the island. The mentality and values ​​of the people there are so different from what I was used to, and it really made me re-evaluate everything I had been told about productivity.

My journey to a slower life started with small habits like taking a walk during my lunch break, looking at my phone less, enjoying my cup of coffee without any distractions, and journaling in the morning. At first, that was what slow living was for me: rearranging my days and my life to physically slow down. These little changes made a big difference, and I thought, “Okay, what else can I do?”

During COVID, I decided I was ready to pursue something different career-wise. I had been planning to move from full-time to part-time work for a while, so I made sure to save in advance to give myself some margin.

My husband and I had also just purchased a house and were able to supplement our income by renting out part of it.

My boss allowed me to work remotely and go part-time and I started experimenting with YouTube. Initially, I was just trying different formats, like images of Hawaii or home improvement videos. When I started documenting my slow living journey, it resonated and that’s what my channel became.

The first video that really gained traction with my audience was “My calm evening routine,” where I shared how I relax after a typical day in my life.

My goal became to create a library of content on slow-living and minimalism. I started doing more YouTube and less 9-5 until I was able to become a full-time YouTuber. I’m so lucky to have YouTube because it really allows me to work when I want to work.

In August, my husband and I moved to Lisbon, Portugal. A few years ago we lived in Portugal for eight months and we couldn’t stop thinking about it. Even though we now live in the city, I plan to still live a slow lifestyle.

I prioritized finding time for the things I love

Once I had more flexibility in my work life, I became really intentional about my priorities and how I wanted to spend my time. I’ve been journaling a lot and thinking about what’s important in my life and how I can prioritize those things. I stopped forcing myself to attend every work function. I avoided overloading my weekends and focused on just one or two important activities.

Over time, slow living has become a real state of mind for me. It’s like a lens through which I look at the world today.

I moved away from the need to hustle. I honor what I feel more, I don’t feel the need to rush. I believe things will happen on their own timetable. I work hard when I need to, but I also prioritize balance, so I then give myself time to regenerate and rest.

I’ve always enjoyed the simple moments in life, but slowing down has allowed me to enjoy them more fully and without the nagging feeling that I should be doing more.