The idea of mindfulness can bring up a lot of different feelings, emotions, expectations, and ideas.
On one hand, you might imagine lulling waves on a quiet beach. You might also picture a peaceful morning with a hot cup of coffee or tea.
For others, the act of building a mindfulness practice might actually feel daunting. You might already be thinking about your busy day or busy week and wonder where you might be able to squeeze in a moment of quiet let alone a mindfulness practice.
The good news is this: mindfulness is for everyone, even if it doesn’t feel achievable in every moment yet. Once you learn how to find your inner mindfulness, you can practice it anytime, anywhere.
We’ll walk through some ideas for building mindfulness routines in new and unexpected ways—and talk about why it’s important to build a habit of mindfulness, no matter how busy or hectic your life may be.
3 ways to build mindfulness routines into your day-to-day
1. Examine what you’re already doing. This sounds counterintuitive. Why would I look at my hectic schedule in search of mindfulness if I know I don’t have a practice?
Well, it’s important to bring a level of self-awareness to your current habits and behaviors. Without knowledge of how you’re already showing up in your day-to-day, you might not recognize areas of opportunity.
For example, do you make a cup of coffee every day and sit at your breakfast table? Do you sit and scroll on your phone to catch up on news every morning? Or do you read a book or think about your goals for the day?
If your biggest argument as to why you can’t build mindfulness routines is time, then your first point of examination should be how you spend your time currently.
2. Identify the opportunities. Once you’ve brought an awareness to how you’re currently spending your time, figure out where you can make changes.
This does not have to be monumental or huge. For example, let’s say you commute to work every day on the bus or the train. You could potentially walk or get off a few stops earlier to walk to work. You identify that 20 minutes of your commute could be spent walking while listening to an audiobook or a podcast instead of scrolling social media on the bus.
3. Commit to one small thing. You might’ve audited your schedule and your time and found four or five different opportunities to better change your habits. Don’t try to change all of them at once.
Yes, this might sound counterintuitive again. But It’s best to start small then build from there. Pick the most achievable block of time and achievable habit change and commit to it—even if it’s just five minutes. There’s always room to build mindfulness routines. You don’t want to discourage yourself and bite off more than you can chew.
You can try writing down your commitments in a journal or a notebook, which can help you stay accountable to your goals.
15 mindfulness routine ideas to get you started
If you’re not sure how to get started, we’ve compiled 15 ideas to get you started.
- Stretch for two minutes every morning before getting dressed.
- Write down three things you’re grateful for at the end of every day.
- Journal in the morning instead of scrolling social media.
- On your daily walk with your dog, unplug from all distractions.
- Commit to exercising or moving your body in a way that feels good twice a week.
- Practice deep breathing in moments of stress or overwhelm.
- Listen to a meditation at night instead of watching a TV show.
- Read for 10 minutes every day.
- Scan your body every morning before you get dressed.
- Sign up for a yoga class.
- Write down three things you see every morning outside your window.
- When you listen to music, take note of how it makes you feel.
- Do a puzzle.
- Color or doodle, even if it’s just on scratch paper.
- Use mindfulness cards.
The benefits of mindfulness
No matter who you are, you can benefit from the practice of mindfulness. The science behind mindfulness is vast and well-studied, with studies showing physical and mental health benefits.
To name a few benefits of mindfulness, we looked to scientists for their research and outcomes:
- Better sleep
- Reduced stress
- Improved psychological state
- Lower blood pressure and better cardiac health
- Decreased depression and anxiety
So, what are you waiting for? The benefits of mindfulness are yours for the taking—it just takes a few minutes to get started.
Written by Madeline Miles
