Thinking Out Loud

Staying mindful at your desk can be quite a struggle at times. Particularly when you have post-it after post-it stuck to your screen, calendar notification alerts goin off, colleagues and other distractions that crowed up your typical workday. I tend to have post-it's stuck on every damn surface at my work station. I'm just super old school apparently.

In order to refocus, calm the mind and remain unfrazzled amongst the noisiness and chaos, here are a few helpful tips on how to remain mindful at your desk:

1) Being mindful means being aware of what you're doing and how you're feeling in that exact moment. We're constantly being loaded with demands and expected to multitask to the nth degree. Try avoid multitasking. Figure out what tasks you can scratch off your list the fastest and knock those out of the way first.

2) Get up. Make it a priority to get out of your seat and move around and stretch at least once an hour. Seriously, at least one time per hour.

3) Take a REAL break. When you take your lunch, coffee break or whatever, take it. Avoid doing work while you're eating. Sit in a different, relaxed area and enjoy your meal. This will also greatly aid in your digestion. Which will inevitably help you feel better throughout the rest of your work day.

4) If you feel overly anxious, take a quick five minute break and go to a quiet place. Try breathing slowly while counting to four. Hold for about two to three seconds and slowly release. Repeat ten times. Usually this will really help to slow your heart rate and blood pressure helping you refocus.

Work can be a stressful place. Sometimes it just takes a few self love practices to refocus and remember what's important.