40 Ways to Bring Mindfulness to Your Days

By Sarah Ruddell-Beach

While mindfulness may make us think of long sessions of seated meditation, it is also something that can be practiced at any moment of our day.

And just what does it mean to practice mindfulness? I love Jon Kabat-Zinn’s definition:

“paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally”

At any time of the day, we can bring our awareness to our body, our thoughts, our emotions, and our surroundings. Doing this nonjudgmentally means we’re not paying attention in order to determine if we like what’s going on or not — we’re simply accepting what is.

While I think a formal meditation practice is extremely beneficial for bringing mindfulness into our lives, we can also practice moments of “micro-mindfulness,” bringing our attention back to the present moment. It helps us train our awareness to be in tune with our mental and physical states and our habitual ways of interacting with the world.

I’ve compiled this list of 40 ways you can bring mindful awareness to your daily activities. I am certainly not suggesting that you do all of them every day! Read through the list and see which ideas resonate with you and try a few of them out.

Mindful Awareness of Routine Activities

We can practice bringing our mindful attention to daily activities that are often performed mindlessly. We can pay attention to the movement of the body, and the sights and sounds around us. Perhaps pick one of these activities to serve as your “call to mindfulness” during the day:

1.  Brushing teeth
2. Taking a shower
3. Drinking coffee
4. Eating a meal
5. Getting out of bed
6. Getting dressed
7. Writing a to-do list
8. Taking your first step outdoors
9. Waiting in line
10. Turning on a light switch
11. Turning on your computer
12. Exercising/yoga
13. Opening a book to read
14. Sitting at a red light {I read somewhere that our children must think that red lights were installed as “email checking stations.” Can you instead use that pause to connect to the breath and notice your surroundings?}
15. Getting into bed {take three deep calming breaths, while seated, before lying down}

Mindful Awareness and Technology

Our devices often take us very far from the present moment. Here are some suggestions for using technology as a mindfulness tool:

1. Take a deep breath before checking email.
2. Set an alarm on your phone to go off at certain time of the day {perhaps at lunchtime} to remind you to check in with your breath.
3. Set your wake screen on your phone to an image that will remind you to take a mindful pause before using it.
4. Set your email notification sound to a bell and let it be a reminder to bring you back to the present moment each time you hear it. Think of the possibilities!
5. Once in a while, leave the phone/iPod at home when you go for a walk or run, and just pay attention to the natural world.

Mindful Awareness for Parents

1. I’m sure the Buddha would have also said, “When playing with the kids, one knows ‘I am playing with the kids.’” This one is a challenge for me, but our children need our mindful attention when we play!
2. Check on your sleeping littles before you go to bed. Take three deep breaths while watching their deep-sleep breathing.
3. Let the call of “Mommmmmmmmm!” be a reminder for mindfulness!
4. Make bedtime sacred. I strive to focus my full awareness on the backrubs, the lullabies, and the stories without worrying about all I need to do after they’re in bed.
5. When picking up the kids after school or work or activities, take a minute to breathe mindfully before shifting back to parent mode.

Mindful Awareness of Cleaning

Cleaning is a way of honoring our physical surroundings and nurturing those who live with us. As you clean, focus on the movements of the body, and the sounds and smells around you. Bring mindful awareness to the acts of:

1. Dusting
2. Washing dishes
3. Folding laundry
4. Vacuuming {I find this one especially effective because the noise drowns out other distractions!
5. Cooking
6. Ironing {Just kidding! I don’t even know where my iron is!

Mindful Awareness of the Body

You can “check in” with the sensations of your physical body throughout the day. I find this especially helpful for finding the parts of my body that are tense, and then I imagine breathing in to those parts of my body to relax. Check in with:

1. Your face — so much stress resides here! Check in with the jaw, the eyes, the forehead…
2. Your neck and shoulders — a common place where a lot of us carry stress.
3. Your posture — just straightening up a bit and letting the head rest comfortably on the spine can do wonders for our attention, and our mood!
4. Your hands, especially if you’ve been working at a computer all day!
5. Your whole body — the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center has a free,3-minute body scan guided meditation here.

Mindful Awareness with Others

Practice bringing your mindful attention to your interactions with others.

1. Focus on making eye contact with others, on really seeing them.
2. Practice mindful listening — are you truly listening, or are you looking for your chance to jump in?
3. Practice gratitude with others — have everyone in the family share one thing they are thankful for each day.

Mindful Breathing

1. When you feel stressed, sit up straight and take three deep breaths. I usually do this each afternoon at my desk!
2. Take one minute of the day to focus on the sensations of the breath. Where do you feel the breath — in the abdomen, the lungs, the nose?

Sarah is a writer, teacher, and mother. At Left Brain Buddha, she writes about her journey to live and parent mindfully, joyfully, and thought-fully in her left-brain analytical life. When not working, she enjoys dancing, reading, and hanging out with her little Buddhas.

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