- Mindful Breathing
Pay attention to your breathing. It’s so automatic that we rarely do this! Take 1 deep breath in through your nose, making sure you can feel your abdomen rise as you inhale. Then exhale slowly through your mouth. Mindful breathing can make a huge difference when we’re feeling stressed!
- Mindful Observation
People watching is so fun! Sit outside at a park or coffee shop, and just observe the people around you.
- Just Be
When was the last time you just sat and stared off into space? I bet you don’t remember! Any down time we have the first thing we do is turn on the tv or reach for our phones. Try to do absolutely nothing for 5 minutes and see how you feel afterwards. No tv, phone, or other media.
- Just Say No
Can you help with this project? Can you go on the field trip? Can you make cupcakes for this work holiday? We’re wired to say yes! After all, we all want to make other people happy. But doing too much leads to overload, and there are no awards for taking on too much. Practice saying no thanks, more!
- Stop Multitasking
Along with #4 above, stop doing more than one thing at a time! Cognitive processing research studies have shown that our working memory, where we store small amounts of information for short-term use (think phone numbers!) can only process enough information for two tasks at a time. TWO. Any more than that and accuracy and performance suffers. Try to do only one thing at a time; finish it, then move on to the next one on your list (maybe take a 5 minute breathing break first!
Want more mindfulness tips, or guidance to help you achieve more peace and calm in your life? Connect anonymously with Jessica for therapy today