Add Mindfulness to Your Day

No matter how busy you are, there’s always time to add a little mindfulness to your day. This is especially important as we all spend more and more of our time looking at screens of one variety or another.

Here are a few simple ways to unplug and reclaim your thoughts throughout the day!

Be Present During Breaks

Whenever you have a minute of downtime, what do you do? Pull out your phone and check your email or scroll through social media? This passive scrolling is the opposite of mindfulness and has long-term impacts on focus and attention span.

The next time you find yourself in that situation, put down your phone and focus on being present in the moment. What are you feeling? What are you thinking about? Let your mind wander from your daily to-do list to your larger emotions — you might be surprised at what you find.

Appreciate What You Have

As we go through the hustle and bustle of daily life, we are often so focused on the next task at hand that we forget to take a moment and appreciate everything that we have around us.

Make a point to notice five things each day that you are thankful for and take a moment to reflect on what your life would be like without them. For example, your car moves you around from place to place each day. How would your life be different without it? Would it be better or worse?

Questions like this allow you to mindfully consider your place in the world in relationship to everyone and everything else that’s in it.

Listen to Others

We all talk to lots of other people throughout the day, but how often do you really listen to what they’re saying? If you are constantly distracted by other things, words might go in one ear and out the other.

Whenever you are interacting with others, do your best to eliminate all other distractions so you can fully focus on what’s being said. You might be surprised at how this simple activity can improve the quality of your relationships with those around you!