I quit my 9-to-5 to lead a slow, minimalist life as a YouTuber. I’m happier, calmer, and more fulfilled.

• As a night owl, Sophie Daquis felt exhausted by working a rigid 9-to-5 schedule.
• She started cutting down on social obligations and carving out more time for hobbies.
• Daquis saved up enough to transition to part-time while starting a YouTube channel.

This as-told-to essay 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 gradual changes until I was able to live a slower, more intentional life as a YouTuber.

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

I’m American-Korean, and both cultures wear productivity as 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, did freelance work at the phone company Nokia, and taught English to foreign students.

I just felt like I should be working as much as I could. It was a completely different mindset, and thinking back, maybe I wanted to distract myself from sitting with myself.

Almost all hours of my day were taken up by working so I didn’t have much time to myself. This meant I would stay up really late to almost try to get some of the time back and feel exhausted the following morning.

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

I felt pressure from my parents to get a 9-to-5 job, and got hired in Maui as a family services manager at Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit that helps low-income families find affordable housing.

I enjoyed the work, and I loved my colleagues, but not the schedule.

I’m a night owl who loves to start my day at 2:30 p.m. and work through the night. When I worked 9 to 5, it felt like I was forcing myself into that mold.

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

Change started with small habits

I started thinking to myself, “Where does this stop?” or ” How can I fix this?” because I was just always exhausted.

Maui slowed me down. There’s a slower pace of life on the island. People’s mindsets and values there are so different from what I was used to, and it made me really reevaluate everything I’d been told about productivity.

My journey into slower living started with small habits like taking a walk on 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. Just those little changes made a world of a difference, and I was like, OK, “What else can I do?”

During COVID, I decided I was ready to embark on something different career-wise. I had been planning to transition from full-time to part-time work for quite some time, so I made sure to save up in advance to give myself some cushion.

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

My boss allowed me to work remotely and switch to part time and I started experimenting with YouTube. Initially, I was just trying out different formats, like footage of Hawaii or home-renovation 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 unwind after a typical day in my life.

My goal became to create a library of content on slow-living and minimalism. I started doing YouTube more and my 9-to-5 less until I was able to become a full-time YouTuber. I am so blessed 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. We lived in Portugal for eight months a few years ago, and weren’t able to stop thinking about it. Even though we are now living in the city, I plan to always live a slow living lifestyle.

I prioritized finding time for the things I enjoy

Once I had more flexibility in my work life, I became really intentional about what I wanted to prioritize and how I wanted to spend my time. I did a lot of journaling and reflected on 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 transitioned into a whole mindset for me. It’s like a lens through which I look at the world now.

I’ve moved away from the need to hustle. I honor how I feel more, I don’t feel the need to rush. I believe that things will happen on their own timeline. I do work hard when I need to, but I also prioritize balance, so I’ll 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.