For the last few months, I've been more intentional about where my time goes and to doing what. This is not about time blocking my entire life, but rather focusing on what I want my life to look and feel like. As someone who worked in a corporate office, there are a lot of things that were normal - working through lunch, not going outside for walks or clicking away to pretend to be productive until you were "allowed" to leave work - there has been some de-conditioning going on the backend. So, here are a few things I did to help me build more mindful habits into my life.
Journaling:
Building a journaling practice took me time. There are SEVERAL prompts and ways to go about it and when it comes down to it, you have to find a method that works for you. However, one of the simplest ways to get going is to grab your favorite notebook and pen and set some alone time with yourself in the morning. Have 5 minutes? Write down 3 things you are grateful for - here are some examples:
- I'm grateful for the flexibility in my day that allows me to work when I'm most excited and slow down when I need to re-energize
- I'm grateful for my comfy bed where I sleep 7+ hours to feel my best the next day
- I'm grateful for learning how to refocus my time on what matters most to me
Eventually, you can go deeper than this but to get started, this is a great way to begin.
Screen Time:
Ever looked at your screen time and are wondering how it's possible you spent 6+ hours on your PHONE with maybe 1/3 of it being on social media? It honestly *killed* me when I saw how much time I was originally spending on IG. So what did I do? Fortunately, apple actually had released a setting to help you reduce your screen time. Head to
Settings --> Downtime and create your own schedule of when you want to be on / off your phone. Each day you assign downtime, your apps will be disabled and you won't have access to them during this time. Adjust as you need!
You can also head to App Limits to further help you reduce your time on certain apps if you choose. For me, it is Instagram and while I am not 100% perfect at this, I do like the reminder. It's easy to go down a rabbit hole!
Slowing Down:
As a to-do list and check box lover and multitasker, I LOVED being able to do many things at once - but for certain areas, I learned I cannot. Multitasking is great, especially for home things but when it comes to work, I found myself being more productive and in the "flow" once I was focused on one thing. So how do you achieve slowing down at work? Truly, focusing on one task at time.
- Time block this task in your calendar (set it in there)
- Remove your distractions
- Focus work
- Celebrate! That task is done
In a world where being overly busy is seen as successful, slowing down and working on things that actually MATTER is more important and something I now value significantly more.
Finding More Pockets of Joy:
Adding more pockets of joy means adding more moments of happiness into my day. Whether that means working from another spot besides my studio, grabbing an iced chai latte from a local coffee shop or wrapping up my day at 3pm to be home early and do something else! It can be whatever you want that makes you happy. It serves as a gentle reminder to find joy in each day regardless if you work for yourself or a company.
So those are my tips on adapting mindful habits into your life. Try one or all of them! Have questions? Let me know! I'm going to share a Mindful Living Challenge soon - sign up here to be in the know!