In the fast-paced society that we are living in, it’s very common to experience stress, anxiety or tension in our mind, body and spirit. Multi-tasking, mind-wandering, always focussing on what’s “next”… It makes us become less aware about how we feel in our mind, body and spirit. Taking time to pause and maintaining focus in the present moment has become a challenge for many of us. Mindfulness is a skill, an essential super life skill to build mental resilience, to reduce stress levels and lead happier and healthier lives in the present moment. Cultivating Mindfulness enhances all your other skills, whether you are at home, at work, spending time with family and friends or are travelling. So why not start applying it?

According to the Mindful Nation UK Report, Mindfulness means “Paying attention to what’s happening in the present moment in the mind, body and external environment, with an attitude of curiosity and kindness”.

Research has shown that we spent 47% of average time on Mind-wandering (Resource: Killingsworth, 2010; Mindful Leadership Institute, 2010). How much impact does this have on our self-awareness, performance, leadership and most importantly, our happiness? Mindfulness is about becoming aware of our state of mind, body, emotions and spirit; becoming aware about our mind-wandering and bringing our attention back, while creating calmness and clarity. Cultivating meta-attention: “The attention of attention, the ability to know your attention has wandered” (Resource: Search Inside Yourself Program, 2019).

In my work as Agile Coach, Facilitator and Yoga Teacher, I facilitate Mindfulness Practices at PALO IT and clients. Often, I work with Tech teams and individuals who face high pressure to deliver digital products on time, spending days after days behind their screens, focussing finishing their work as fast as they can with high quality. And in addition to that, time is spent on other “side” projects or learning and development too which implies multi-tasking. Doesn’t our every racing, busy mind deserve a peaceful moment of calmness and clarity, like a mini holiday throughout our days?

The beauty of Mindfulness is that it can be cultivated and applied anytime, anywhere. It does not matter if you are behind your desk at work in an office, walking outside to grab lunch, or waiting for a new meeting to start. Mindfulness practices don’t have to take much time or effort, but are highly effective and bring many benefits to our state of mind. Therefore, I would like to share a few Micro Mindfulness Practices which I facilitate for my clients and colleagues, which you could practice too, even behind your desk or computer screen. Mindfulness Practices are accessible for anybody, no matter age, background, gender or level of experience. I would like to invite you to practice these Micro Practices and experience the benefits yourself.

1. A Minute to Arrive or Depart: How many of us have back-to-back meetings, or rush from one meeting to another where context switching is important? Many of us multi-task throughout the day, looking forward to what’s coming next instead of focusing on the present moment. To be able to “slow down”, pause, take a breath and re-focus before a next activity starts, the practice “A Minute to Arrive or Depart” can be applied. In workshops and trainings that I facilitate, I often start and end with a guided “Minute to Arrive” (at the start of a session) or “A Minute to Depart” (at the end of a session) for participants. I facilitate it as a Guided Mindfulness Practice, but you can also do it individually, without any “voice-over” guidance. These are the steps:

• Sit tall on your chair, feet grounded next to each other on the floor.
• Make sure you have a bit of free space around you (e.g. push yourself slightly away from your table or move your chair to an open space).
• Lengthen your spine, place your palms on your knees facing up towards the ceiling.
• Relax your shoulders, relax your neck, soften your facial muscles and slowly close your eyes to take this moment as a “Minute to Arrive”.
• Become aware of your breath — how does your breath feel in this present moment? Take a deep breath into your nostril (chest expands) and take a deep breath out through your nostril (chest falls).
• Continue your breath in your own pace, breathing through your nostrils, while making your inhalations and exhalations deeper and deeper.
• Bring your attention to your body and observe your body; how does your body feel in this present moment? If you feel any tension points or stress in your body, shift the focus of your breath to those tension points and continue to breathe deeply. Feel how your body starts to relax through your breath.
• Bring your attention to your mind and observe your mind; how does your mind feel in this present moment? Maybe you have some personal thoughts or work related thoughts. Happy thoughts, frustrated thoughts, angry thoughts. Whatever thoughts are wondering through your mind, just acknowledge them — they are ok. Just let them float by like clouds in the sky. Continue to breathe deeply.
• Bring your attention to your heart centre; what is your intention for today? For the next activity you are about the start? For the meeting you are entering? For the deadline you are facing? Set your intention for yourself. Reset your focus and continue to breathe deeply.
• Slowly bring the palms of your hands together and start rubbing your palms together, creating energy and warmth in between your palms. Once you feel the warmth, slowly open your palms with the option to cover your face for a moment with your palms (keeping your eyes closed), bringing back the positive, warm energy back to your body. You can massage your face gently with your fingertips.
• Slowly open your eyes, roll your shoulders back, rotate your neck and head.
• Maintain your deep breath throughout the day. Take a pause and focus again on your breath at any time you experience stress, anxiety or pressure.
• You are ready to kick-start your day, meeting or work!

2. Gratitude Journaling: Being grateful towards people, things and events in your life is a very fulfilling and effective way to strengthen your emotional resilience, reduce stress, and experience happiness and positive emotions. Maintaining a Gratitude Journal helps you focus on the positive things in your life, while also reaping the benefits of journaling, writing your thoughts and “clearing the clouds” in your mind. These are the steps:

• Choose a notebook/journal and a pen you love or feel personally attached to and nominate these as your Gratitude Journal and Pen.
• Select a timing during the day which is convenient for you to write in your
• Gratitude Journal (e.g. before starting your working day, during your lunch break or at the end of your day).
• Write a minimum of three items each day of which you are grateful for that particular day. You can be as creative as you want; gratitude can be found in many ways! :-) E.g. the help you received from your colleague, a problem you solved at work; the mindful walk you took during your break.
• Repeat this exercise daily for a minimum of 7 days. On day 8, take a moment to pause, take a few deep breaths, and look back at your Gratitude Journal and read what you wrote down during the past 7 days. Reflect on your appreciations and gratitude’s: Which emotions do you feel? Do you see any patterns in the items that you wrote? Become aware how this practice makes you feel.

3. Appreciation Sharing: Remember that whatever you are grateful for or appreciate in your life, at work or at home does not need to be saved for the Gratitude Journal. Share openly with your team mates, boss, friends and family how much you appreciate them, what you are grateful for and experience how that makes you feel! Everyone likes to know that they are appreciated, and their positive reactions can give you a positive energy boost too. It’s great for teambuilding and spirit too, and especially to become aware and be mindful of the power of teamwork! An easy and quick way to apply this at work is to start a team meeting (e.g. Retrospective) with a 5–10 minutes Appreciation Sharing circle where teammates can share their appreciation with each other in a fun and lively way, verbally or through Kudo cards.

In order to reap the benefits of these Micro Practices, I would like to invite you to continue cultivating these beautiful Mindfulness Practices in the cadence and pace that works for you. It’s not about the duration of each Practice; the power is in repeating it often (frequency) and making it a habit, even if it’s just for a few minutes daily. And last but not least, share your experiences on your Mindfulness Practices with others so that others can reap the benefits too. Mindfulness is a gift to yourself and others, like a mini-holiday each day!

Facilitating a Guided Mindfulness Practice “A Minute to Arrive” during PALO IT’s B Corp Celebration Event in June 2019 in Singapore.

Facilitating a Guided Mindfulness Practice “A Minute to Depart” during a Regional Conference in July 2019 in Bangkok for one of Asia’s leading general insurers.