3 Simple Ways to Increase Mindfulness
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Many years ago at the exit interview for a job that I loved dearly, my former boss asked me why I was stepping away from that position and I told her: it was the multitasking. The job, being a Youth Librarian in the public library, required an immense amount of multitasking. Being able to help people at the reference desk, and answer phones, sometimes step in to check books in and out, create programs and plan and perform outreach visits, respond to emails and even at times be the person in charge of the whole library branch. It was both a job that filled my soul and absolutely exhausted and depleted me. And I told her: I was quitting because the multitasking was exhausting me. I was a great multitasker, but one of the things I realized, luckily early in my career, was that multitasking depletes me. By the end of the day, I only had the energy to microwave a meal, wash it down with a beer, and watch TV.
Eventually, I found that, for me, the antidote to multitasking is mindfulness. Being absolutely present, in the moment that I’m in, doing the work that is in front of me to do. In that moment. Even with a job that requires multitasking, it’s possible for me to focus on one task at a time. I guess it might be like a fire fighter who works on one section of the fire, not the entire fire at once.
So today, I want to share my top 3 tips for increasing mindfulness by decreasing multitasking.
#1 Limit alerts and notifications on your phone. This is a big one. When you download a new app, it always defaults to automatically showing notifications. It does this on purpose because it wants you to engage with the app as much as possible. I encourage you to think about what notifications are popping up on your phone and if they are necessary. Some show up on the lock screen, some make noises to get your attention, and some are badges that just show up if your phone is unlocked and you’re looking at it.
For me, I only get lock screen notifications for calls and texts and my phone is always on mute, so there are no sounds or vibrations associated with those alerts. When I lived in Canada, it was too expensive to call and text the US, and so I got used to just carrying a phone for maps and emergency calls. It was an eye opening lesson for me that I don’t need to be constantly connected and reachable by everyone all the time. It may be different for you…but I encourage you to take some time to think about what notifications you are getting and what ones you can disable. You can do that from your Settings on your phone.
#2 Make some room for quiet. When was the last time you drove somewhere, rode the bus, or took a walk in silence? I know some people even listen to podcasts and music while they shower! We carry our phones with us everywhere and often have earbuds with us as well. I used to think I was “wasting time” if I didn’t listen to a podcast while I did the dishes. The constant stream of sound and information keeps our brains occupied without time to rest. That means there is no time for our brains to process the information its received or to daydream. Then we get to the end of the day, go to bed, and are frustrated that we can’t turn our brains “off”. If we aren’t practicing turning our brains off during the day, why do we think we can just lay down and switch them off at night? I encourage you to spend some amount of time in quiet during the day, whether that is walking the dog without earbuds, cooking dinner without the news, or driving without the radio on.
#3 Take a pause for 3 mindful breaths. There’s nothing special about a mindful breath, it is just being aware that you are breathing, though your breath may naturally deepen and lengthen when you are paying attention to it. You can focus your attention on your nostrils and notice the air moving through them, or focus on the movement of your chest with your breath, or listen to the sound of your breath. You can do it in the morning before you get up or even open your eyes, before you eat a meal, or when you’re feeling overwhelmed. The times when you think you can’t possibly pause for a breath: that’s when you need it most. If 3 seems like too many, start with one.
In addition to the possibility of feeling less depleted at the end of your day, other side effects of more mindfulness and less multitasking may include: better sleep, a feeling of having MORE time in the day, less anxiety, less urgency and increased feelings of well being. A big part of this is because multitasking engages the sympathetic branch of our nervous systems, sometimes known as the flight/flight/freeze branch while mindfulness brings us into the parasympathetic branch, also known as rest and digest or the relaxation response. Both branches are super important, and our ability to toggle between the two increases our resiliency.