What would a mindful day be like?

One of the advantages of most mindfulness practices is that you can do them anytime, anywhere. You can decide to do things connected or disconnected. If you choose the connected way, it will benefit your

well-being and break the brain circuits of multitasking and the autopilot.

Therefore, I propose the following steps so that you can lead a mindful day and get all the benefits of being ‘here and now’;

1. Get up connected. When you wake up, take a few minutes to connect with your breath, your sensations, your emotions, your senses, what you see, the light and sounds. Starting the day with awareness allows you to face family, work and social challenges with serenity.
2. Attentive shower. Take advantage of your shower to connect your senses: listen to the water falling, feel your body fresh and clean, and enjoy this gift. Be grateful.
3. Eat breakfast sitting down. Going out with toast in your hand and coffee half-drunk is not a healthy option. Sit down, enjoy the food and, if you can, share this moment with your family and friends.
4. Say goodbye looking in the eye. When you leave home be kind, wish your family a good day, hug them and kiss them with feeling.
5. Slow down. Living on the run confuses our nervous system by releasing chemicals that increase stress. The body sends signals to the brain. Be aware of this, put on the brakes and slow down your body, so you don’t fall into the hamster wheel of thoughts. Breathe in for three steps, breathe out for three steps, and so on.
6. Observe your environment. Look carefully at your surroundings, as if for the first time. Slow down if you are driving and take different roads to activate your attention and stop the autopilot in which the “plain” brain lives.
7. Before you get started, get clear. Organise your day and don’t work on the fly, hijacked by what comes to you. Use your diary to avoid overloading your mind..
8. Listen. In conversations with others, connect.
9. Stop and breath. Before picking up your phone, answering emails, or going into meetings... Take a few conscious breaths to reset and relocate mind and body.
10. Eat mindfully. Whether alone or in company. What you eat and how you eat speak to your care and emotional state.
11. Work-life balance. Respect your scheduled hours. Don’t systematically extend your working day. Surpassing it has to be the exception, not the rule. Set limits and honour your values.
12. Go home connected. Appreciate the day and your work, be grateful, and think about what and how you can improve.
13. Connect before you go in. Arriving home with your mind still in your work environment stops you from connecting with your family or disconnecting. Meditating before getting in the car or going to a room for a body scan are good options.