Take notice

Mindfulness is having a moment right now. It seems like every man and his dog is getting in on it. But did you know that mindfulness isn’t just about chanting and sitting in the Lotus Position? It’s the practice of being aware of the present moment and focusing your attention on that and nothing else. When we're faced with looming deadlines, endless inboxes and mountains of work, taking the time to refocus and centre our attention can help us to regain a sense of calm and control. Pausing gives your body and mind the chance to take stock of the situation and enables you to respond more skillfully.

Practising mindfulness also has a tonne of long-term benefits, including improvements in your overall mood, and an increased ability to make decisions and to regulate emotions. Now, who doesn’t have time for that?!

Did you know?

It’s also been found that participating in eight weeks of mindfulness training can reduce work-related stress, boost job satisfaction and raise job performance. Is there anything mindfulness can’t do?

How to build mindfulness:

• Just breathe. Stop for a moment and focus on your breath. Feel every part of the inhale and every part of the exhale. Then resume whatever you’re doing with a greater sense of calm.
• Take a walk on the slow side. Deliberately walk slower than feels natural and focus your attention on whatever thoughts pop into your head, without engaging with them.
• Learn to meditate. Mindfulness meditation can be a great tool for attention training, and for building a sense of resilience and calm. For a start, try ReachOut’s ‘WTF is mindfulness?’ guided meditation.
• Find out how to practise mindfulness and check out the ways the Roulettes practice mindfulness.