Can You Be Mindful and Busy? Only if you CHILL
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I’ve been far busier in the last few weeks than I have for months.
(If you’re curious what I’ve been doing, here’s an excuse for me to share some links! I’ve been Teaching my mindfulness teachers, launching a new Advanced Mindfulness train the trainer program, prepping for the Happier World Conference, volunteering more than usual for the Museum of Happiness, launching a new Leadership Masterclass for Zen of Business and finalising a gifted retreat with Service Space.)
When I took a step back this morning to reflect on my state of body and mind, I do need to remind myself to stop and relax a bit - I’m known to get a bit over-excited when lots of positive things are happening...ok a lot overexcited!
So what do you do if you’re very busy and not finding the time or motivation to actually stop and recharge? Maybe things are not so positive for you...or at least, they don’t feel positive.
Try my 5 step CHILL strategy that I knocked up with this morning.
And please let me know how it goes - interconnect with me in the comments so we can get to know each other!
Take the CHILL PillCare for yourself
Care for yourself
Give yourself some luv! Ok, you’re busy and are getting a lot of stuff done, and also not getting a lot of stuff done. You need to realise you need to care for yourself.
Why? - Self-compassion activates your ‘soothe’ system, so you are a little less driven and less likely to make mistakes.
Humor
Sometimes you’re too busy to stop, but you can’t be too busy to smile or laugh. That can happen whilst you’re shopping, opening a door for a stranger or even sitting on the loo (toilet/restroom/throne!). Even busy people need to shit. A great time to let go and smile.
Why? Smiling is found to lift mood...even starting with a fake smile can help. Fake it till you make it. And laughter not only has benefits for lifting mood, but it’s a physical workout too - you burn calories and build bridges.
Interconnect with others
When you’re busy, you’re moving, you’re at least a bit more energised, it’s a great time to connect. Connect with friends. Connect with family. Hell, connect with your enemies too. They need some love as well, you know.
Why? The human brain is a social brain. We are deeply wired to connect with other. The longest study on wellbeing at Harvard found relationships trumped even smoking and alcohol when it comes to lifelong happiness and wellbeing.
Landscape
Busyness often results in a tunnel vision. You just notice what to do next. So find a second, yes, literally one second, to look up from your screen and at the sky. The white clouds. The green-ness of the grass. Open your eyes and mind to the landscape around you.
Why? When you’re focused on a task, you’re only using one part of your attentional systems. By opening your focus to your surroundings, you broadening your attention, and better able to see things from a bigger picture too.
Limit
Give yourself limits on things. The day is always limited to 24 hours, no matter what happens. So limit yourself on the amount of time you spend working, the amount of time you spend checking Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat (is anyone who reads this on Snapchat?!). User a timer to help you. When the alarm goes off, it’s time to stop and move on.
Why? When you’re in flow, you lose sense of time. Although that can be hugely pleasurable, if you go too far, you brain will get tired. And a tired brain is less creative, makes poorer decisions and can’t prioritise, as the prefrontal cortex (the modern human brain) stops working as well.
Summary
If you’re in an overly hyperbusy state, try my CHILL strategy to chill out a bit more! They are:
Care for yourself
Use humor
Interconnect with others
Look at the landscape around you.
Limit the time you spend on various activities
And if that all fails, just accept you’re too busy right now. It’ll pass - everything does.
Do you aspire to teach mindfulness and kindness to the world? If so, take the first step today, and download and read my ebook guide - a journey of a thousand light years begins with downloading a free ebook! Or if you’ve read it, just apply!
