Do you think that you’d need to sit in a pretzel position for hours to become more mindful and less stressed? Especially at your workplace you might find it more difficult to calm your mind but it’s easier than you think to practice mindfulness at work.
Don’t worry, I’ve got some easy tips for you! Over the next few minutes, I’ll be showing you how you can be mindful at work without twisting your joints.
My workday usually includes an inbox filled with emails, a calendar with way too many meetings, tasks piling up, countless distractions.
Overwhelmed
Would be the best word to describe it.
If you’re having similar days, you’re probably thinking that there’s really no way you could add any extra things to your daily agenda, especially mindfulness.
You’re probably not really sure what does this hyped word mean. Mindfulness.
Let’s take a step back and revisit the idea of mindfulness.
I get it, mindfulness might sound a bit too woo woo for you and out of your topics of interest. But it can be a powerful tool that helps you be more focused, be less affected by distractions, and in the end, contribute to your overall happiness both at work and personal life.
So let’s see how to get there.
The following tips you can apply to the daily activities you are already doing.
You just need one touch of mindfulness to help you stay balanced.
6 simple tips to apply mindfulness at work
1. Deep breathing
Hit the pause button on your daily tasks and practice any breathing technique even if it’s just for a short time. Your goal would be to have no other thoughts and the only thing to focus on is your breath.There are many breathing techniques, which will slowly bring you to the present moment and clear your mind. They’re powerful and quite easy to apply. I’ll show you how to practice one of them. This technique is very easy to follow. All you have to do is to look at the gif below and synchronize your breathing with it. It’s that easy!
Let’s try it now for a couple of seconds:
2. Do a short body scan
Another simple mindful tool is “body scan”.For this, you’d need to be in a comfortable position, ideally in a quiet place but you can practice it right at your desk as well.
Pop on your headphones with some calming music, to fade away the office chatter.
Tune into your body, lower your gaze, and start scanning. Think about every single part from head to toes. Direct your breath towards that part and try to relax the muscles. Don’t rush and notice any physical sensations you might feel.
3. Mindful tea/coffee minute
Tea meditations are my favorite way of introducing calm to a busy day.It’s easy, you don’t need any previous meditation knowledge and you don’t need to look for extra time for practicing it.
Drinking tea can represent any of the everyday tasks and activities we do but by its nature, tea introduces calm, tea introduces the idea of a ritual.
It’s an invitation to meditation.
We each enjoy a hot or cold drink during the day. It can be a cup of tea, coffee or even simply water.
Whenever you’re going to prepare your drink, be fully present in the moment.
Feel the smell, enjoy the preparation and feel the taste. These simple things can show you how to be present in the moment in just a few seconds.
My movement and my passion are all about introducing more people to the practice of tea meditations – it’s a perfect way to blend a love for tea with mindfulness during the day.
To get you started with this practice, try my free guided tea meditation below.
Read more about tea meditations and their benefits.
4. Have a mindful conversation
While having conversations with your colleagues, instead of thinking about what your answer will be or checking your phone, choose to truly listen.Be present, be there for the person in front of you.
Workplace mindfulness
Bring mindfulness at work
to help reduce daily stress at the office
(even if your office is at home)
5. Mindful eating
We tend to be eating in a rush to be on time for yet another meeting.Eating so fast that you are not even sure what food you had on your plate.
Or being so caught up in conversations or thoughts that eating becomes just an automatic act.
Most of us don’t take the time to even glance at our plate before digging in. Buddhist spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh tells us why it is important to eat mindfully: “When we can slow down and really enjoy our food, our life takes on a much deeper quality. When I eat in this way, not only am I physically nourished, I am also spiritually nourished.”
Rather than rushing to the next task after eating, Hanh says we should spend some time thinking about what we’ve eaten and everything that came together to create this moment of satisfaction — from the seeds that were planted in the ground in a country far away, to the vegetables that our body turns into energy.
During your next lunch, take a moment to be aware of the food on your plate, the food that will nourish your body before starting to eat.
Tune into your body, lower your gaze, and start scanning. Think about every single part from head to toes. Direct your breath towards that part and try to relax the muscles.
Don’t rush and notice any physical sensations you might feel.
6. Release tension with a mindful stretch
Sitting all day at the computer brings a lot of tension especially to the neck and shoulder area.Remember to roll down your shoulders, straighten your posture, roll your neck, release your jaw.
Mindfulness triggers
Ok, sounds good but how do you apply them?How can you remember that you learned about some mindful tips when your mind is full of everything else.
For sure when I’m deep in my daily tasks, the last thing on my mind is to be mindful.
So, to remind myself to get back to the mindfulness practices I’m using triggers.
I associate small things that happen throughout a normal day with mindfulness. They remind me to take a moment to breathe or to practice any of the previous tips.
Here are some examples of triggers from your daily activities which you can use to remind you about your one-minute mindful action:
- Every time you pick up your phone
- When you take a sip of water/tea/coffee
- When you get up from your desk
- When you check the time
- Get a new email
- New message
- Before going to a meeting
- You can also install an app to remind you to take a deep breath
If you’re looking for more inspiration, check these 17 easy ways to reduce stress and some extra tips to reduce workplace stress. Pick the ones that work best for you!
Love, 
7-Day Mindfulness Challenge
Declutter your mind and become more mindful in just 7 days
Workplace mindfulness
Bring mindfulness at work
to help reduce daily stress at the office
(even if your office is at home)
Mindful Life Planner
Make yourself a priority.
Achieve a calm and less stressful life.
Start your mindful life today!
2 Comments
Olivier Devroede
Work is difficult for mindfulness. My approach is to tackle one area at the time. Much like you suggest.
But in my experience, eating is the most difficult part. Although I practice mindfulness since many years, I still do not manage to eat mindfully.
Oh well, it will be one of the next challenges.
Great article btw!
June 2, 2020 at 7:28 pmGabriela Green
Thank you, Olivier! I am happy to hear that!
Yes, eating mindfully can be a challenge especially now that we are always in a hurry. I have a friend who says that we live in a microwave era where we want everything done very fast and we don’t have time to wait for anything.
We just need to remember to practice and to be consistent to get the benefits.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
June 2, 2020 at 6:30 pm