When you start being more present in your daily life, it’s transformative. You build better habits, are more productive, and learn new things. So, it makes sense that you want to be mindful all the time. But is that possible? Can we stay mindful all day, and how would we do that?
If you practice enough, mindfulness is no longer what you practice - it’s what you are. Build up your capacity for staying in the here and now with these mindfulness techniques.
Make mindfulness less avoidable.
It’s easy to trip over a work email, a social media rabbit hole, or a whole pile of worries that derail any plans you had. Instead of mentally delaying your mindfulness practice, make it so reminders pop up throughout the day.
Set alarms on your phone or place your meditation cushion smack-dab in the middle of the room. Spend money on a yoga or meditation class and tell everyone you’re taking it. Take your singing bowl with you from room to room. Put a sticky note that says “INTENTION” in a place where you’ll see it first thing in the morning.
We live in a world full of notifications, advertisements, products, people, and corporations trying to get through to us. You must reclaim some of that exact space and advocate for mindfulness.
Writing and listening.
Two of the most mindful things humans naturally do are write and listen. Today, we are typing, thinking, and sometimes talking. There are many daily opportunities to write and listen, so this doesn’t require a new skill set or an incredible change in your schedule. You just have to become better at them and do them more often.
If you have trouble keeping a journal, try writing notes. Leave notes for people instead of making everything a text. Take your time writing them. Manually write your to-do lists, shopping lists, schedules.
Listening - when someone is talking, remove yourself from the equation for a moment. Do not wait to hear something you can relate to or build upon. Focus on the tone and inflection of the voice. What is the speaker feeling? Is this important to them?
For more, read our blog on holding space for others.
An evening reflection.
Did you set an intention in the morning? As you wind down, pause and reflect on that. As you build up your mindfulness muscle, you’ll notice how much more you recall from each day.
This would be the time to write down observations, things you’re grateful for, or a general review of the past several hours. Do this nightly for one month, and be aware of how a mindful recap changes once you are present for a larger percentage of the day. The root of your thought distortions and distractions become much more apparent.
Can you stay mindful all day, and how did you start? What’s your secret to slowing down? Be sure to share it in the comments.
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