Why Slowing Down Helps Women Achieve More Success
If you’re a woman in today’s fast-paced world, chances are your to-do list resembles a novel more than a daily guide. From juggling work deadlines and home responsibilities to making sure everyone around you is taken care of, the pressure can feel relentless. By the end of the day, many ambitious women collapse into bed not with a sense of accomplishment, but with exhaustion and the nagging thought: “I still didn’t get enough done.”
The truth is, we’ve been sold the idea that moving faster and doing more is the only way to succeed. Social media glorifies hustle culture. Corporate life often rewards those who stay late or answer Slack messages instantly. Even our food reflects this obsession with speed—the popularity of meal kits, ready-made meals, and fast food mirrors our need for quick fixes in every corner of life.
But what if the best path forward isn’t to speed up, but to slow down?
Research from the World Health Organisation and Harvard Business Review shows that chronic stress is more than just an inconvenience—it’s an occupational phenomenon deeply impacting mental health, productivity, and even physical well-being. And for women, that impact runs especially deep.
That's why in this blog, we're talking all about the why and how of women slowing down to feel successful.
Stress and the Female Nervous System
Stress doesn’t affect everyone the same way. Women are biologically more vulnerable to stress-related illnesses. Hormonal shifts mean the female nervous system is more sensitive to cortisol spikes, which can create cycles of anxiety, insomnia, migraines, and fatigue. Add to that the cultural expectation that women should excel at work, care for their families, maintain a social life, and look “effortlessly” put together—and you’ve got a recipe for burnout.
For a lot of people, especially women in senior roles, the stress isn’t just professional. It’s the “double shift” of corporate expectations layered with personal life responsibilities. No wonder so many experience brain fog, poor focus, and a constant feeling of being behind.
The irony? This endless push actually makes it harder to achieve better results. When you’re always “on,” you lose access to your inner wisdom—that intuitive voice that helps you make better decisions, nurture deeper connections, and see the bigger picture. I know from experience this was the case for me. When I was in the height of my burnout journey, I was constantly in shark mode. I couldn't stop, slow down, or rest. I just wanted to keep moving and keep doing, and sometimes I'd be up so late that I would notice I was making mistakes and feel the need to gain validation from others doing similar work constantly. I couldn't make decisions on my own or be creative, which was detrimental to my job as a marketing leader. Being creative is the point!
Why Slowing Down Is the Best Thing for Better Results
It may feel counterintuitive, but slowing down is often the best thing you can do for success. Taking regular breaks, pausing for deep breaths, or giving yourself a five-minute break between meetings isn’t wasted time—it’s your brain’s reset button.
Here’s why it works:
Reduced Brain Fog: A calmer nervous system creates clarity. You can actually process new information better and think about how to use that information.
Better Decision-Making: With more mental space, you can weigh options instead of reacting on autopilot. You're also less likely to seek out examples or validation that any and every decision you make is the right one. You'll know what you need to do and trust the choice you're making.
The Bigger Picture: Slowing down helps you zoom out, aligning with long-term goals instead of chasing a never-ending list of tasks. You can start to see what's on your list holistically and be strategic on what really needs your energy at the moment, vs what is just busy work.
In my own experience, I’ve seen how doing fewer things with more focus leads to bigger progress in the long run. The “busy work” that feels productive in the moment often just keeps us spinning. The slow movement reminds us that rushing doesn’t actually get us where we want to go—it just drains us. The worst part about feeling drained is that you can't even acknowledge or celebrate the results you do achieve, so you're perpetuating that feeling of not doing and being enough.
Slow Productivity: A New Way Forward
Author and researcher Cal Newport coined the phrase slow productivity, and I think it’s exactly the new way ambitious women need to embrace. Instead of measuring success by how much we accomplish in a day, slow productivity asks us to measure success by the right direction we’re moving in.
It’s not about ignoring deadlines or responsibilities—it’s about reclaiming your own time and protecting energy so you can sustain success for a long time. Think of it as choosing a slower pace of life that matches your natural rhythm.
Some ways ambitious women can practice slow productivity:
Protect Free Time: Don’t sacrifice every hour to someone else’s demands. Build white space into your calendar. Treat your free time as an appointment that can not be missed or rescheduled.
Fewer Things, Greater Impact: Cut down the noise. Ask: Is this busy work, or is this moving me toward my long-term goals?
Deep Work: Block time for focused projects instead of drowning in distractions. I love this approach to creating your list and time-blocking your days, as shared by Grace Beverley, the creator of the Working Hard Podcast.
Personal Development: Invest in growth beyond work—whether that’s learning, therapy, or simply spending time in nature. You are your greatest investment, so the more you can pour into yourself, the more valuable you'll feel.
Even small shifts—like a mid-day walk, journaling in the present moment, or taking one task off your plate—can create a big impact in the long run.
Hustle Culture and Women: A Gendered Reality
The truth is, hustle culture doesn’t weigh equally. Social media constantly bombards women with images of flawless balance: thriving careers, picture-perfect homes, and curated family moments. Behind the scenes, many are running on fumes.
This expectation—that women should do it all—keeps many in a constant state of overdrive. And in recent years, we’ve seen the fallout. Quiet quitting became a movement not because people were lazy, but because they had a reality check and were reprioritizing their well-being. Burnout was robbing them of health, happiness, and purpose.
This cultural narrative is especially heavy for women. Whether you’re a senior manager leading a team or an ambitious person optimizing your life constantly to reach goals, the pressure to achieve at all costs is unsustainable. Slowing down isn’t just a personal choice—it’s a collective pushback against a culture that asks too much and gives too little. Refrain from hustling for the sake of keeping up with others; instead, if you're going to hustle at all, make sure it's for your well-being and things that matter most to you! Work will always be there, but you only have one life and a chance to enjoy it, so make the most of it by filling your days with things you care about, love, and fill your cup.
What We Gain When We Slow Down
Slowing down doesn’t mean giving up. It means trading constant motion for intentional progress. And the benefits are undeniable:
Mental Health: Lower stress improves resilience, especially in difficult times.
Emotional Intelligence: More space means you can respond thoughtfully, not reactively.
Stronger Bonds: A slower pace of life allows time for deeper connections and stronger bonds in both work and personal life.
Clarity on Goals: Instead of racing toward someone else’s definition of success, you can pursue your own goals and personal ambitions that lead to a genuinely fulfilling life.
When women slow down, they’re able to align with their natural world rhythms, connect with their own way of working, and access their full potential.
Redefining Success on Your Own Terms
The culture around us tells us speed equals success. But for ambitious women, the real path to thriving is slowing down. Choosing slow living and slow productivity doesn’t mean you’re unmotivated—it means you’re wise enough to know that doing less, with intention, achieves more in the long run.
If you’ve been feeling the pull to find the right balance, here’s your permission: start small. Take one five-minute break today. Remove one thing from your to-do list that doesn’t truly matter. Look for one place to choose fewer things so you can move in the right direction.
Because at the end of the day, the best thing you can do for your career, health, and happiness isn’t crossing another task off the list—it’s learning to breathe, slow down, and let your success unfold at your own time and own way. If you enjoyed this blog, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get similar content delivered straight to your inbox. You got this! I'm on your side always!
