As you read this article you may be eating a sandwich, checking your phone for notifications, writing a to do list or having a side conversation with a colleague. Stop for just a moment. Mindfulness is about being aware or bringing attention to this moment in time. Let’s have a go at simply being in this moment. Be aware of how you are feeling right now in your body. Ask yourself these questions;

 

• How is my body temperature at this moment?
• How do my clothes feel today?
• Are my shoes comfortable?
• Now think about your breath. Just be aware of each breath that you take; in and out
• Take a moment to look around the room. Look at the walls. Are there any pictures and if so what are they pictures of? Have you even noticed them before? Look at the floor; what is it made of?
• Is there any furniture in the room?
• Now just listen for a moment. What do you hear in the room or outside? Really listen
• Now go back to you; take a look at your hands, your fingers, your nails. Look at them like you’ve not seen them before.

 

Whilst you’re doing this you’re not thinking about records you need to write up later in the day, instruments that need cleaning, emails that you need to send, patients that need contacting. You’re right here in this moment.

 

So, how do we introduce Mindfulness into our everyday lives? Being in the present is very simple when you think about it. We just need to be consciously in the present and this takes a little practice. Let’s take an everyday mundane task that we all do; washing our hands. How often do we quickly run our hands under the tap with the soap glimpsing our hands for mere seconds before we’re quickly rinsing them, introducing them to the hand drier in a tokenistic fashion and then darting to our next task whilst finishing drying them on our trouser leg or top? Sound familiar? Let’s slow down and mindfully wash our hands. Here are some tips on how to do this;

 

• Firstly, set your intent to mindfully be in the moment with washing your hands
• Look at the tap, the sink and the soap. Notice each in turn
• Turn on the tap and focus on the water running out of it. Is it fast or slow? What is the temperature like?
• Let the water run over your whole hands. Notice the patterns of the water as it disperses on your hands
• Pump some soap into your hands and properly wash them. Notice the soap going into the creases in your hands and around your fingernails
• Rinse your hands and watch the soapy water become clear as you come to the end of your hand washing
• Dry your hands under the drier. Turn them and watch how the hot air moves your skin (if it’s a powerful drier). Only remove them when they are completely dry.

 

Whilst you are washing your hands you are single tasking, slowing yourself down, being present with the task in hand and being in the moment.

 

“Slow down, you move to fast, you’ve got to make the morning last” are lyrics from a Simon & Garfunkel song. Let’s replace the word morning with the word moment. In our pursuit of busyness and multitasking, we rush from one task to the next. This can result in our not completing tasks properly, forgetting what we were doing, making ourselves feel a bit stressed and all of this in turn can lead to inefficiency. Mindfulness at work may seem counter-intuitive but if we’re considering that stopping for a moment or slowing down can increase your productivity, your mood and will result in you being more efficient and healthier at work then it has to be a good thing. It’s a win win for the employer, the employee and the patient. Be in the moment and make the moment last.

 

Be in the moment with the task at hand. If you’re writing up patient notes, just do that and nothing else. If you’re cleaning instruments, be aware of only that task. If you’re communicating with a patient, properly connect with them for those few minutes. What about taking breaks? Well, aside from mindful hand washing, we can take little mini breaks at many points throughout the day. This is how;

 

• Close your eyes
• Breathe in to the count of six through your nose and out to the count of six through your mouth, letting your breath flow effortlessly in and out of your body
• Let go of your thoughts
• Let go of things you have to do later in the day
• Every time a thought comes into your mind imagine it as a passing cloud. It appears and then drifts away
• Open your eyes

 

We’re not talking about you finding 30 minutes to do a mindful exercise which would be difficult in a busy workplace but everyone can take one minute, one minute of consciously connecting with one of your senses can be classified as a mindful exercise.

 

Another effective mindfulness exercise is Mindful Observation. It’s simple but incredibly powerful because it helps you to notice and appreciate seemingly simple elements of your environment. Go outside for just one moment and notice something in your environment; a leaf moving on the tree, the formation of the bark on the tree, the pattern of stones in the wall, a tiny plant trying to grow in a crack in the wall. Go and be in the moment with this observation.

 

You can also bring Mindful Observations inside. From a clinically hygienic perspective, it may be difficult to bring your own object into the workplace but you can mindfully observe any of the objects around you. Take a Tepe brush as an example;

 

• Place it in front of you
• Don’t do anything except notice the brush you’re looking at. Simply relax into looking at it for as long as your concentration allows
• Look at this object as though you are seeing it for the first time
• Visually explore every aspect of it’s formation
• Look at the colours of the brush

 

Just allowing yourself 30 seconds or one minute of mindful observation can calm you, re-focus you and give you a sense of well being and gratitude.

 

Being grateful for and appreciating the smaller things in life is hugely overlooked and yet when we take a moment to look at the things we’re grateful for in our lives, we realise that the list is long and it gives us a great sense of wellbeing. So, here is my last recommended task for you. Take a moment right now to consider three things that you are grateful for at work today. If this seems daunting, let me gently nudge you in the right direction;

 

• Your car that helped to get you to work today
• Think about your colleagues
• A nice smile from a patient
• The hot drink that you enjoyed in your break

 

If you want to extend this task, you could keep a gratitude journal. There are a lot of health benefits to recording things that have gone well and that you’re grateful for. It can lead to better sleep, fewer symptoms of illness and enhanced happiness.

 

As you think about the day ahead, consider not just your list of tasks to be completed (hopefully one at a time) but think about how you can enjoy a mindful break, a mindful observation, some breathing exercises and some thoughts of gratitude. Once you get into the habit of mindfully washing your hands for example, it will become second nature and you will find that you are able to carry out a whole range of tasks in a mindful way.

 

Remember, Mindfulness is all about being consciously present. You don’t need to set aside half an hour to go and be in the moment, you can introduce mindfulness into everything you do. Just be aware of what you’re doing, be in the moment with one task at a time, take notice and as a little pause between tasks, take a moment to mindfully breathe. Look after you and you’ll feel better equipped to work with and look out for others.

 

The more you practice mindfulness the easier it will become.

Kay Morgan (Health & Wellbeing Trainer)

 

Resources

Mindful Apps;

Breathe, Headfirst, Calm, Headspace, The Mindfulness App, Mindfulness Daily, 3 Minute Mindfulness, Zenfriend

Books

Mindfulness – a practical guide to by Mark Williams & Danny Penman

Mindfulness for busy people – Dr Michael Sinclair and Josie Seydel

Practical Mindfulness – a step-by-step guide – Ken Verni

The Little Book of Mindfulness – Dr Patricia Collard