How we slow down...

Denise de Gois: From the hamster wheel to the eco-village (main picture)

Three years ago, I moved to the Sennrüti eco-village in Degersheim SG with my two daughters Léa and Jael. My life as a single mum had often been stressful. I hoped that a communal lifestyle would give me more time for the essentials. This wish has been fulfilled. 27 adults and 20 children and young people currently live in the former Kurhaus, which we are remodelling step by step according to our needs. We are a multi-generational community, we want to learn from each other and grow together. We come from over 30 different professional groups, and everyone contributes according to their strengths and interests - in the remodelling, in the communal kitchen, in the garden, in events for visitors and topics that affect the community.
My girls and I have our own four walls. Nevertheless, we are part of a community that we can rely on. For example, there is always someone there for the children if we parents have to leave. We cook every day in the communal kitchen, and anyone who is hungry eats with us. Everyone can help themselves in the library, as well as in the boutique, where we bring clothes that we want to swap or lend to each other. Because we share a lot, the financial pressure on the individual is reduced. I live a more relaxed life today because things no longer depend on me alone.

Many children from the ecovillage, including mine, attend the private Monterana school in the village. There, each child learns at their own pace and decides for themselves what they want to focus on. Since then, my older daughter has really blossomed. Before, at the state school, she often couldn't keep up. I think it's great that the parents in our community don't worry about their children's future. We trust that our children will do well and we encourage each other in this belief. When I see what great young people have grown up here, I don't worry. In the ecovillage, I have not only found more peace, but also love. Florian and I met two years ago and our daughter Mala was born in 2014. Florian lives just round the corner, also in the community.

Not constantly trying new things, just being there together

I'm pleased with how well we manage to divide our work and childcare between us. I work half a day a week here in the secretariat, then in a Demeter garden centre and as a yoga teacher. I would prefer to only give yoga classes, but that's not enough to pay for the public school. I think that's a bit of a contradiction to my philosophy of freeing myself from economic constraints. But at the moment I can't think of a better solution. Wishes don't always come true straight away - we also experience this in the ecovillage. Sometimes we are simply too eager. And so it sometimes happens that those who wanted to escape the hamster wheel create a new one here: Meetings here, working groups there, project meetings there. We have so many ideas! At a group meeting last year, it became clear that many people wanted to slow down: not constantly trying new things, but simply being there together. Since then, we have been prioritising more - and taking things more calmly.
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This article is from the online dossier Mindfulness

Céline Fluri and Simone Bretscher: Switching off on the alp

Over the past three years, we have spent every summer away from civilisation. In a small hut, with a few goats around the house and 80 cattle and suckler cows that we looked after. This year we won't be going back to the alp. It's now time to put the insights we gained up there into practice in our daily lives.

We are both graphic designers and self-employed. Simon hasn't been working much recently, he was busy completing his master's degree in visual communication and was also working as a stand-in at the theatre.

Céline tries to organise her jobs so that she can do them while the girls are at nursery. This doesn't always work, requests come when they want. And it's difficult to turn down something interesting just because it comes in on the wrong day. You still have to do it more often. When Simon was still at the theatre, we only knew a few days in advance what his work schedule would look like the following week. The stress was pre-programmed, our weekly planning was a tour de force. It often didn't work out. Then we would postpone work until late in the evening when the children were asleep. That drains you.

Time stands still on the alp. You arrive and you can almost physically feel the stress falling away. Every day, one person stays at home, looks after the children and milks the goats while the other heads off to the cattle. You count the animals, look after their welfare, check fences and water points. If they have eaten up a pasture, you fence in a new piece further up. This has to be done in good time, otherwise the hungry animals might push through the fence and run the risk of falling off. The higher up the cattle graze, the longer the walk from the alpine hut takes; sometimes it takes almost the whole day.

On the alp you have real problems, if you like: Do the animals still have food, are the fences intact? If not, you know what you're in for. It's very different to working life, where we are burdened with so much virtual stuff that we sometimes lose track: an optimisation measure here, a mailing there, a phone call there - and it may still not be enough. In the mountains, we have learnt to appreciate what we had previously frowned upon a little: a regular daily routine. If you know exactly what needs to be done and when, you can tick things off at some point. Then you know: Work is over for today and nobody is going to shake it. That's incredibly relaxing!

What did we take away from the Alp? The realisation that we have to change something. We can't just switch off every summer and then, as soon as we get home, the stress starts all over again. We have already taken the first steps towards slowing down: We've moved from the city to the countryside and Simon has quit his job at the theatre. He is now looking for a regular part-time job - presumably in his original profession as a carpenter. We have stopped chasing after the lofty ideal of professional self-realisation. The price for this is too high. The most valuable thing we have is the time we can spend together.

The Bonato family: less money, more serenity

«You have a chocolate life!» Our way of life often provokes comments from friends and acquaintances, but so far they've never been malicious, they're usually meant to tease us a little. Sometimes there is also admiration; many people think it's great that we have the opportunity to spend more time with our family. We are also grateful for this - at the same time, we don't want to give the impression that things just fall into our laps. We have decided to work less - out of conviction.

When our daughter Ilona was born seven years ago, Rahel reduced her workload as a management assistant at the Swiss National Bank to forty per cent. Walter had just completed an extensive training programme, so he wanted to step on the gas in his job. But it wasn't long before another wish took over: to have more time for the family. With the first child came the amazement at his development and the almost wistful experience of how quickly it happens. You don't want to miss anything. We were all the more pleased that this wish also found an open ear at Walter's employer, a health insurance company: the corporate development department where he works approved the 80 per cent workload without any problems.

Rafael and Marius joined him in 2010 and 2012, and with them came the challenge of finding a new balance between work and family life. We tried a few things, it took time and, yes, nerves of steel to find the solution we feel comfortable with today. Rahel initially reduced her workload to 20 per cent, but wasn't happy for long because she felt more like a visitor in the office than a team member. She increased her workload to two days again, while Walter applied for a 70 per cent workload. He would take the 10 per cent he gained as additional holiday days. This time too, his line manager gave him the green light - along with the warning that his chances of promotion might now be limited.

Walter accepts this. Will he one day regret not having furthered his career? Quite possibly. We leave the question open, but don't dwell on it. We feel the same way about the fact that we can put less aside at the moment. We'll certainly have the opportunity to do so again at some point. The most important thing is that we don't want for anything in our everyday lives. The things we enjoy don't cost the earth anyway: we often spend our holidays nearby and our free time in nature. We are happy to finally have more time at our disposal and the extra serenity we gain. We still don't get much time to do nothing, but we are much less stressed now that we are less reliant on outside help with childcare and can cover any shortfalls ourselves.

Read more:

• Enschleunigung - now is now: Analysis with many more pictures of the families
• Mr Hodgkinson, why are lazy parents better parents?
• 10 tips for slowing down everyday family life