A daily mindful practice can help reduce stress and anxiety, help you to remain calm, help you sleep, increase your ability to focus, improve your relationships with others and generally be happier in your life.
Don’t forget my 3 Ps in relation to your practice: Patience, Perseverance and Persistence!
Remember you can practice your Mindfulness Meditation daily but also be mindful with how you go about your daily life.
Here are my 5 tips for you to be more Mindful at Work:
1. Do NOT Multitask
People sometimes think that they get more done if they do more than one thing at a time. The human brain finds it very difficult to do more than one task at a time and slows down when you are doing multiple things at a time.
- Concentrate on one task at a time
- Plan your day so you can have your mobile phone when you need to focus.
- Try and reduce the number of distractions around you.
- Read your emails when you have time to respond mindfully. This means reading what you have written and pausing before clicking send.
2. Try and eat your lunch mindfully
Make time to have a short break to eat your lunch. It is not only good for your physical health but your mental health as well. Eating when you are concentrating on something else means that your brain is not engaged in the process of eating which can lead to over eating and poor digestion. The body does not digest food well when you are in the “stress response zone”.
Remember to become aware of how your foods looks, smells and tastes. You will enjoy it a lot more. Notice the texture of your food and the sensations in your body when you chew and swallow your food. This short and simple practice will help you relieve stress and digest your food properly. It can also leave you feeling refreshed and focused for the remainder of your day.
3. Feel your breath
Remember just stopping for a few moments and focussing on your breath can be so powerful. The breath is your anchor.
Belly breathing is one of my favourites:
You can do belly breathing at your desk. Place one hand on your chest and one on your stomach. As inhale expand your stomach out and as you exhale relax your stomach. Try and extend the outbreath. Your chest should remain relatively still through this exercise.
This exercise should be at least 5 breaths long. Belly breathing can calm down your nervous system, it is great for your circulatory system and your digestive system. It is great “calming” technique.
4. Mindful Listening
Remember, listening mindfully can be a beautiful gift to give to someone.
Pay Attention! Give the speaker your undivided attention and acknowledge the message. …
Breathe and respond appropriately.
5. Reflect at the end of your day
At the end of your day try spending 5 or 10 minutes reflecting on what you have achieved, recognising what you have achieved and making note of what you need to do the next day.
This can help you switch off from your workday and go home and relax.
Our brains are sometimes wired to remember the one negative thing that happened in a day when there are usually many positives. If you can acknowledge the positives and practice some gratitude this can help us escape our tendency to be negative. This is a simple positive psychology tip!