If you have ever been on a self care, personal development, or therapy journey you have likely heard of the term “mindfulness.” Typically, mindfulness is something either you are ALL IN on or extremely skeptical (or in my case annoyed that I couldn’t “get it right). How can overthinkers and overdoers become more mindful? With practice my friend. Keep reading for our working definitions of mindfulness and how to begin incorporating a practice today.

What mindfulness is and is NOT

For today, we are going to focus on this definition of mindfulness: “the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something.” Mindfulness is both a state of being physically and mentally. It is about being in the moment, taking in what’s happening, one element at a time. Mindfulness can be done in a matter of seconds or in a more formal extended practice.

Mindfulness is not always about being zen or calm. In fact, you could be in a panic and use mindfulness as you work through something. Mindfulness isn’t really the most comfortable place to be because we are taking in what’s actually happening around us. Consider this, surgeons are mindful during high pressure situations, focusing on the task at hand. You will see in the suggested exercises that some of the mindfulness techniques can be done when ruminating or procrastinating.

The goal of practicing mindfulness is to train yourself to be able to refocus when distracted and to stay in the moment when we want to take it all in. If you struggle in your mindfulness practice, but still complete the practice, you will have trained those mindfulness muscles I promise. You would much rather struggle in practice than when the skill needs to be brought in.

Below are some ways you can begin bringing mindfulness into your day.

Mindfulness Exercises Related to Senses and Body

We carry our senses with us all the time, so we are never without one avenue for practicing mindfulness. These exercises are likely the ones you have heard about before!

• Mindfulness of Breath: Redirect your attention to your breath and notice various aspects of it. Take inventory of the sounds, feelings of breath on your nose or lips, the rise and fall of your chest, and the duration of your breath. Mindfulness doesn’t require that you breathe slow, but it is recommended that you try to not speed your breath up.
• Mindfulness of Touch: Take an item and notice how it feels in your hand or wherever the item is placed. Notice the weight (heavy or light), feel (rough or smooth), and how the rest of your body responds to the feeling.
• Mindfulness of Taste: Slow yourself down when sipping a drink or taking a bite of something. Chew a little bit slower and take inventory of the texture, taste, and sensations.
• Mindfulness of Sight: Gaze around and identify what’s around you without explanation. (ex: I notice my computer. I notice my desk. I notice the picture.) If you are able to identify any shifts in your physical body, take note.
• Mindfulness of Sound: Choose a song and pull all of your attention to an aspect of it (drum beat, guitar, piano, lyrics). Take inventory of what you notice.

Mindfulness Exercises Related to Thoughts and Emotions

These exercises can be helpful to clarify what you are thinking or to slow down when the mind is racing. For many of these, keeping them time limited is most reccomended.

• Mindfully Worry: Put on a timer for 30-60 seconds and throw yourself into worrying. Think about all of those worries without challenging them. Get wild and sit in those worst case scenarios.
• Noticing Thoughts: Imagine your thoughts like clouds in the sky or on a conveyor belt, showing up and then breezing by. Another way to do this is to imagine all of the thoughts around you and you pick one up at a time and read it.
• Thought Tagging: Use the term “I’m aware of the thought that…” before going into the thought. Try to refocus from explanations or making meaning.
• Mindful Anger (or any other emotion): Allow the emotion you are avoiding to come up and take over. If angry, stomp your feet, vent, sigh, do whatever needs to be done. Refocus from inner commentary about the emotion.

Mindfulness Exercises Related to Tasks and Actions (a N2K fave)

We at Nine to Kind love mindful action because it can meet the needs of an overdoer while also training those mindfulness muscles!

• Mindful Procrastination (yes it’s a thing): Throw yourself into full on procrastination. Watch that episode of Love is Blind without thinking about your to do list. Clean those baseboards even through you have a work project due. The refocus will be from your negative self talk, anxious anticipation, or ongoing reminders of what needs to be done. Keep it time limited and go into the avoided task after your mindful procrastination.
• Single Tasking: If you are typing, type. If you are folding clothes, notice how the clothes feel in your hands. If you are cooking, use your senses to tap into everything that’s happening right there in front of you.
• Mindfulness of Awesome Moments: When in a moment that feels good, do a quick body and thought scan to see how things are feeling. We need more inventory of positive moments rather than the crappy ones.
• Mindfully Be a Learner: When approaching something new, allow yourself to be a beginner and be curious rather than focused on doing it well.
• Mindful Movement: Any type of movement you are doing, use your senses to notice how it feels in your body. Take inventory of things like your facial muscles, arms, legs, etc.

There are so many more and these can be incorporated into your daily routine! Set a reminder for a mindful moment each day, have one be part of your night or morning routine, make a note to focus on one mindfulness exercise and do it as often as you can.

The Nine to Kind Possibility Planner is full of space to write down your focuses like mindfulness and more. Take a peek inside HERE.