When at work, you may often find yourself to be a fixture at your desk, working from am until to pm, without time to pause or breathe- sound familiar? The following mindfulness activity will encourage you to take more mindful breaks throughout your working day. The great thing about this activity is that your eyes will be wide open! No one will even notice that you are not working 😉
In your seated position at your desk, take a break from work. Take a moment and become still and aware of your breathing. You can place your hands on the desk in front of you or rest them on your lap or knees.
- With your eyes are open, rest your eyes on an item currently on your desk. This could be your pen, laptop or even a cell phone- allow this to become your central focus.
- If you have focused in on your phone for example, take a moment to think about what your phone means to you. How much time do you spend on your phone? How does your phone serve you/help you? Do you feel it enhances your life? Try not to get emotionally involved, simply thank the item that you use daily. This can help you to realize how much you rely on this item; perhaps you need to cut back, or it may have shown you how much technology has helped you in your day-to-day life. Take a moment to appreciate that item and feel the gratitude.
- If at any point, you feel distracted or hear colleagues chatting, allow this to become part of the exercise and try not to let it bother you- your breathing is the anchor that keeps you centered and in the present moment.
- Next, remove your focus from the first item to another object that catches your eye. This will keep the exercise interesting as you can draw your attention to as many items as you choose: allow yourself to ask the same questions you did with the first.
Sounds simple, right? It is! You can repeat this as often as you like. Personally, I use this practice at home when I am about to start cleaning. If an item doesn’t spark joy, it’s going in the trunk and off to being donated! It also has helped me to pay attention to the things I keep around me and reflect on how it’s helping me or weighing me down. Needless to say- I donate a sh*t tonne every month!
