Amanhã Culture: slowing down the Portuguese way

One of the first things that I struggled with when I moved to Portugal was… time. Or more specifically: the way time is treated here.

Where I come from, “10:00” means open at 10:00 sharp. The door is unlocked, lights are on, employees ready to work. Here? When the sign says open at 10, it means the employees arrive at 10. You wait while they slowly put on the lights, set up the counter, maybe grab their own coffee first.

A market that says it starts at noon? That means at noon the vendors start setting up their stalls. You’ll still be standing there at half-empty tables, boxes being unpacked, products being arranged.

Any appointment I ever made, whether searching for an apartment, meeting friends, going to the doctor, or attending a meeting….the person always arrived at least 10 minutes late. Minimum. Trying to get paperwork done? Documents approved? Amanhã, amanhã, amanhã.

At first, it was frustrating. I felt like everyone was late, or that they didn’t really care about my time at all.

But after a while, something shifted.

I started to realize: they’re not late. I was early. Or rather, I was clinging onto an idea of time that simply doesn’t exist here. In Portugal, schedules are more like suggestions. Life unfolds when it unfolds. And somehow, everything still works. The shop opens, the market fills, people come together, meals are served. Just not at the second you expect.

I started giving myself permission to say later. To not finish every task today. To let things be “good enough” for now. And slowly, that starts to effect how you treat yourself too. You stop being so hard on yourself.

From frustration to flow

The more I lived here, the more I saw that my frustration was just me clinging to control. And Portugal was gently teaching me to let go. To wait. To accept that life moves at a different rhythm.

Now, instead of being annoyed, I come later. I don’t expect things to start at the very first second. I let myself flow with the pace around me. And the strangest thing? My life feels softer. My heart feels calmer.

Having fewer choices and less pressure to be perfect in everything also helped me prioritize my own time. I meet people when I want to, not because I think I have to. I am as social or unsocial as I want to be. I’m perfectly fine doing nothing: having no plans, finishing a workweek without any wild plans coming up, or spending a free day just with myself.

That is what slowing down meant for me.

What you can take with you

Ok, I hear you. Easy said, but how do you actually slow down when life is already overflowing? With kids, work, hobbies, friends…?

If you live in a place where time is strict and schedules are tight, you can still borrow a little “amanhã” mindset:

• Stop filling the gaps: Instead of trying to do something else while you’re waiting for something, just… wait. Don’t even scroll your phone.
• Don’t fill every hour: keep some evenings free, let a Sunday morning unfold itself.
• Let something wait. Not everything needs to be finished today. See how it feels to postpone one thing without guilt.
• Say no to one more option.  Less choice = more calm.
• Practice softness. Notice when you’re pushing yourself. Could you ease up, be just a little tiny bit less hard on yourself?

Portugal taught me that slowing down isn’t about trying harder. It’s about living with less: less urgency, less choice, less control. And in that space, life becomes softer. More human.

Maybe, just maybe, tomorrow is good enough. Amanhã.

Follow along if you want to see more glimpses of these slow moments and tiny joys. ❤️