I tend to be always switching gears throughout my day – I can shift from mom to wife to worker to mom to daughter to wife to mom again and more a ba-jillion times a day (yup, totally just made up a number, you’re welcome). It’s exhausting sometimes and it can leave my brain fried in a matter of minutes. You gotta do what you gotta do, but it can leave you missing out on important moments of your day as well as make it feel like days are whizzing by without you experiencing anything for real. That’s where mindfulness can help slow you down and enjoy the present moment. Of course, most of us won’t achieve this 24/7 (I know I won’t anyways!), but even capturing moments throughout the day will do so much for your mental and emotional health.
Being Mindful When you Wake Up The alarm goes off and you’re already thinking about your to-do list! Slow it down right from the start by waking up and taking note of where you are – you are in your bed, under the covers, comfortable and warm. What does your room feel like? What noises do you hear? How are you feeling? By doing this check in with yourself instead of rushing into the day, you are giving yourself a mindful moment and a peaceful way to start the day.
Being Mindful in the Shower This one helped me a lot. The shower is the perfect time to relax and be in the moment but yet I would use it to think about the day before or the project I had to get done. Now, I get into the shower and feel the temperature of the water, focus on how the water feels and listen to the sound of the water. For most of us, the shower is one of the few places where you get some time alone – don’t rush through it, enjoy it!
Being Mindful Before Sleep Same as in the mornings, you might tend to lay down at night and go over all the what-if’s of the day or tomorrow’s to-do list. Instead, bring yourself in the moment by focusing on getting under the covers, the feeling of letting your body relax and the comfort of your room.
This post isn’t about perfecting the art of mindfulness, but about letting a bit of it into your daily life to help slow down and help you enjoy moments you might otherwise let speed by.