This is simply about resetting your mind, getting a few minutes of quiet.
Why?
With a little peace and quiet you can gain more clarity before going on with the rest of your day in a more productive, yet calm manner.
We are all expected to take on more in life than we ever have before. Overwhelm creeps in and before we know it, we're snappy, we're burning out and we're just not as, well, nice or as calm as we'd like to be!
Try this daily reset – then adjust to make it your own.
This won't work if you're already thinking, 'But I can't find a spare five minutes'.
Trust me - you can if you want to. It's all about priorities.
Feel free to stay tired and cranky if you prefer ;-)
Choose a time for this quick reset when nobody will be bothering you - if this is unrealistic, then you may literally need to tell everyone you are taking a five minute break.
If someone told you they needed a five minute break - you'd give it to them right? So don't for a second feel guilty for taking your own much needed time.
This might be early in the morning, late at night, or during a work break. It won’t take long so even if you have to escape to the bathroom and lock the door – then so be it!
Start by Unplugging
Feel free to stay tired and cranky if you prefer ;-)
Choose a time for this quick reset when nobody will be bothering you - if this is unrealistic, then you may literally need to tell everyone you are taking a five minute break.
If someone told you they needed a five minute break - you'd give it to them right? So don't for a second feel guilty for taking your own much needed time.
This might be early in the morning, late at night, or during a work break. It won’t take long so even if you have to escape to the bathroom and lock the door – then so be it!
Start by Unplugging
Turn off your phone or at least turn it to “do not disturb” so you won’t get any notifications.
Take a Few Minutes to be Quiet and Calm
Take a Few Minutes to be Quiet and Calm
Once all distractions are gone, give yourself a few minutes to just sit in the quiet and calm, and let your mind go wherever it wants to. Whether you choose to meditate or simply do some breathing exercises to be in a mindful state, this can help you prepare your mind for the reset.
If you are struggling to get into a calm state, try this quick breathing technique: breathe in for four counts, holding it for four counts, breathing out for four counts and holding it for four counts. It only takes a few cycles to reap the benefits. Box breathing - google it, it's amazing!
Brain Dump
You might like to grab a note book and do a brain dump of anything on your mind. The brain dump has no rules, so you don’t have to use prompts or set a time limit. Just write down whatever is on your mind, and allow the subjects and thoughts to change as often as they need to. Get it out of your head and onto paper.
List of Successes and Struggles
Jot down a quick list of things from the last 24 hours that are working for you or things that are not. What has been good? What has been not so good? What did you accomplish? What have you been struggling with?
This should only take a couple minutes, as it gives you a brief look at how things are going, and what areas you might need to focus on. Don't overthink it, this is an opportunity to tweak and improve.
Write Down Your Current Intentions
Before your reset is over, write down some intentions you have right now. With a quick reset, you don’t need to add a lot of detail. Just a list of what your intentions and goals are at this moment in your life is more than enough.
Here is a bit of inspiration:
• Cleaning and organizing tasks
• Phone call you need to make
• Fun activities you want to do
• Texting a friend to hang out
• Brainstorming your new business
• Trying a new recipe
• Focusing on your self-care
There is nothing like the satisfaction of getting things into some kind of practical order and crossing them off!
Choose Your Top 3 Priorities
Lastly, finish off your reset by writing down 3 priorities. Did you know that if you write something down you'll be 42% more likely to do it? (It's got to be some kind of crazy - I once went swimming at 7am simply because I wrote it down the night before. I don't even like swimming that much but I'd always wanted to try a quick morning swim and never seemed to find the right day or time, so I wrote it down and then got up in the morning and went for a morning swim and ticked it off my list)
Anyway I digress - whether your top priorities are 3 things to get done today, this week, or simply in the near future. This is anything that you have been wanting to get done and haven’t had time for, want to add to your to-do list, or areas of your life you haven’t put a lot of time and effort into.
This helps you to refocus on what is most important to you - and gives you the space and time to make it happen!
Now with a clearer head, you'll be ready to slay.
Have you ever tried doing a reset? How did it help you? I’d love to hear from you.