Slow Living Tools

We have found various frameworks and tools very helpful, and in some cases essential, to understanding and pursuing the good life. Here we have listed some of the slow living tools we refer to most often and sorted them into two categories: psychological tools and design tools.

Psychological tools are those we use to understand personality, attitudes, and behavior. They can help increase awareness of both ourselves and other people so that we can interact in more productive and harmonious ways.

Design tools are those that offer a framework and principles for designing various aspects of our life. By increasing our design skills, we can become better at arranging our lives to suit and support us.

Each title links to a page describing the tool and when and how you may want to use it. In addition, we have highlighted the top tools we find most powerful and versatile and use most often.

( = our Top Ten. Tools are listed alphabetically.)

Psychological Tools

• Appreciative Inquiry - a positive way of eliciting information for change

• Behavioral Economics - the study of how we make choices

• Co-Counseling - a peer counseling method

• Enneagram - a system of personality types

• Integral Theory - a holistic approach to self development

• Nonviolent Communication - a conscious way of communicating

• Positive Psychology - the psychology of thriving and happiness

• Spiral Dynamics - a theory of human development

• Systemic Constellation (Family Constellation) - a practice based on embodied experiences of systems

• Time Studies - studies which address our attitudes towards time
• Transformation Cycle - a description of the stages of grief and transformation

Design Tools

• Ecological Footprint - an accounting system for measuring our resource use

• Feng Shui - an approach to designing physical space focusing on energy
• Open Space Technology - an approach to designing meetings and organizations based on
                passion and responsibility

• Permaculture - a holistic design approach

• Simple Living - a way of living more with less

• Your Money or Your Life - an approach to aligning personal finances with life goals

Site Build It! is the tool we used to build our web site. Read how it helped us.