When marketing your Executive Education program, you have creative demands, budget limits, and...
Mindfulness is a HOT topic!
How mindfulness can make you feel calmer and help you enjoy every part of your life, even your workday!
We've all been hearing about mindfulness at conferences, social posts, magazines, and in the news. But what is mindfulness? Mindfulness is being in the present. For years when running a business and raising my children, I had difficulty being mindful of the present moment. When I went for a walk, I would start to think about work. When I was at work, I would be thinking about the children. It felt as though my mind was going 100 miles per hour and I was not focused or enjoying the present moment.
Mindfulness Tips You Can Incorporate Today
The first one is breathing. Now, of course, we are all breathing because you are alive and reading this blog. I mean deep breathing. You might have heard people talk about the 4-4-4. It's where you inhale for the count of four, hold for four, and then exhale for four. That exercise will help you to stay calm and focused on what you are doing. Do this exercise if you are becoming stressed, anxious or nervous. The breathing will help you bring your body back in alignment to think clearly and get into a calm state. For instance, if you are getting on a phone call with a new prospect or giving a presentation, do the 4-4-4, which will calm your nerves, and relax your body. Incorporate deep breathing several times during your day and see if it makes you feel more confident and relaxed.
#2 Incorporate Your Passion Into Everyday
The second tip is to incorporate your passion into your day. For me, I love being outside, health and fitness so every morning I get some type of workout in. Adding your passion to your day will help you keep a positive and happy attitude throughout the day. You won't be sitting at work saying, "Gosh, I really wish I was ______ " because you have already done it or you are going to do it after work. Knowing you will be working on your passion each day will keep you calmer and happier during the day while doing the job at hand. What passion will you schedule into your day?
#3 Take a 10 to 20-minute walk
The next thing is a 10 to 20-minute walk. Step away from your desk and go outside for a walk. At the same time do a few stretches that will release the tension in your shoulders; a) Reach for the sky, really stretch out your back from all the sitting b) Put your hands to your ears with your elbows out to the side, then try to touch your elbows together in front of your face. These stretches are a great way to relax your shoulders. Repeat this at least ten times. So get out for a walk, open up your chest, open up your back, raise your arms, and stretch. When you go back inside you're going to be able to think a lot clearer and be more productive for the rest of your day. *** Walk alone and with no devices for the best results.
#4 Omit Foods That Alter Your State
The next tip is to watch your food intake. Now you might say, "Donna, what do you mean? Is this a diet?" No, it's not a diet but watch foods that might alter your state. For me, if I drink too much caffeine, oh, forget it, I'm like the Tasmanian devil. I have to limit my black tea drinking to one a day. If I eat a sandwich or pasta at lunch, I notice I am more tired in the afternoon. Sticking to fruits and vegetables helps me keep an even energy level throughout the day. By monitoring your food and beverage intake, you want to eliminate foods that raise your heart rate, make you feel tired, or create brain fog. Doing this will help you stay more focused and keep your concentration on what you are doing in the present moment. So be more mindful of what you are eating and how it makes you feel!
Health/Healing Foods from Medical Medium (Read More)
Healing Food Recipes (Read More)
#5 Solotasking
We all multi-task! With so much to do, we all try to get as much done in the shortest amount of time. But are we getting things done to the best of our ability? Are we enjoying the process?
We've got to stop multi-tasking, stop walking and listening to a book, stop listening to a virtual conference and doing our work. Last month, I was listening to two virtual meetings as I was doing my work. I noticed as I was doing my tasks, I'd be like, "Oh, that sounds interesting," but I missed the whole content that was being explained before that. I wasn't able to replay it, I missed hearing most of the content, and the work that I was trying to accomplish took me a lot longer than it should have.
Stop multitasking and do one thing at a time. When you give your full attention to that one thing, like the virtual conference, you will have a better understanding of what is being discussed so you can incorporate it properly into your job. You will produce better quality work, faster.
Mindfulness Can Literally Change Your Brain (Read More)
Does your mind wander like this? Well, you are normal. Harvard Business Review reports that 50% of the time, our minds wander.
Podcast - Find Focus In A Chaotic World from HBR (Listen Here)
This is how I've started to incorporate mindfulness in my life that helps my workday be more productive and enjoyable.
Being Mindful will help improve your long-term health (Read More)
To recap, here are five tips for putting mindfulness in your workday:
- Breathing, the 4-4-4 method
- Incorporate your passion into your day
- Step away from the desk for a 10 to 20-minute walk outside
- Limit foods that make your heart race, make you feel fatigued, or have brain fog
- Stop multi-tasking
Let's all try to work on this together. I would love to hear from people if these five tips helped you? Have you noticed that you've become more productive and are enjoying your day more?
