Ten easy habits I rate as 10/10 to become excellent at slow living no matter how busy your are

The days are shorter now, and it is easy to spend the evenings indoors with a screen. These ten habits are a gentle way to spend more time noticing what is happening outside and to feel a little calmer while doing it. None of them need special equipment or much time.

1. Photograph the same view once a month

Choose one view, perhaps from a gate, a window or a favourite bench, and take a photo of it on the same day each month. After twelve months, put the pictures side by side. You will see how much changes in a year, and how much of it you would have missed.

2. Put the phone down in the evening

When you sit down after supper, reach for a book, a jigsaw or something to make with your hands. It feels like more effort than scrolling, but it is far more relaxing than a screen, and you will usually have something to show for the evening.

3. Light a candle at dusk

Before you switch on the lights, light a candle. It marks the end of the day and gives you a moment to sit while the light fades.

4. Plan one meal a week from seasonal ingredients

Plan one meal each week and build it only from what is in season. It is a simple way to eat with the time of year. And healthier too!

5. Go outside at lunchtime

Take a warm coat with you in the morning and spend ten minutes outdoors at lunchtime. Better still, eat your lunch outside and leave your phone in your pocket. Ten minutes of daylight makes a real difference to the afternoon.

6. Walk instead of driving, and bring something home

When the journey is short enough, leave the car at home. As you walk, pick up one small thing from nature, such as a leaf, a feather or a stone, and put it in a basket by your front door. Each item reminds you of a walk you took.

7. Notice three new things

On your commute, your walk or your lunch break, look for three things in nature you have never noticed before. It might be moss on a wall, the shape of a seed head or a bird you have not seen there. You will be surprised how much you have walked past and never noticed.

8. Press a flower or leaf each week

Put one flower or leaf in a heavy book every week. By the end of the season you will have a small collection, and you can use it for cards, framing or simply looking at.

9. Buy yourself a pretty notebook

Choose one that you actually want to pick up. Use it to record what you notice: the first frost, the last of the blackberries, a bird at the feeder. A notebook you like is one you will keep using.

10. Write down one thing before bed

If you do not have time for a proper journal entry, write one line before you go to sleep. It can be something you noticed, enjoyed or laughed at. A single line each night adds up to a record of the whole year.

Where to start

Please do not try all ten at once. Pick one or two that suit your week and begin there. The aim is to notice more, not to add to your to-do list.

A note from the cottage

If you enjoy noticing the seasons, you might like The Cottage Diaries. It is a monthly letter that arrives through your letterbox, with hand-painted watercolour cards and a little countryside living for each time of year. It is made for fellow countryside souls, and it is a small, slow thing to look forward to on the doormat. You can find out more here.