In our hectic daily lives, there’s often little time to pause and unwind. Yet, it’s precisely such a small break in everyday life that can work wonders. They help us clear our minds, reduce stress, and recharge our energy. In this blog post, you can learn how to incorporate simple and effective small breaks into your day – and why they’re so important.
A Small Break in Everyday Life: Recharge in Just a Few Minutes
Why is a Small Break in Everyday Life So Important?
A Small Break in Everyday Life: A few Exercises
Object Meditation
Choose an object for this meditation exercise – it should be easy to handle and hold with one or two hands. Focus your full attention on this object for a few minutes.
- What does the object look like?
- What color, shape, or patterns does it have?
- What details do you notice?
- What is the surface texture like?
- How does the object feel?
- How does it smell, or can it produce a sound?
- If the object is edible (e.g., an apple), you can finish the exercise by mindfully tasting it.
Walking Meditation
Whether you’re heading to the copier or asking a colleague a question, use these short distances for a walking meditation.
Walk mindfully and focus your attention on your feet. Accompany each step consciously – shift your weight to one foot, lift the other, move it forward, and let it rest on the ground. Feel how the weight shifts to the standing foot as the other foot prepares for the next step. With each step, notice the contact of your foot with the ground and roll it consciously.
Relieve Stress Through Mental Activation
A small break in everyday life can also be mentally engaging. When you challenge your mind with a puzzle, you can forget your worries and daily stress – there’s simply no room for them in your awareness.
Classic exercises include Sudoku or crossword puzzles. Here are a few exercises you can do without any materials:
Backwards: Choose a word and spell it backwards, then pick a new word. Don’t overthink it – just take the first word that comes to mind. As a variation, you can write the words down or try the exercise with your eyes open or closed.
Writing Exercise: Sit in a comfortable position. Your index fingers act as pens, and your thighs as your writing surface. Now, simultaneously write the numbers one to nine on your thighs with both hands. As a variation, you can write letters. For an added challenge, have your dominant hand write normally while your non-dominant hand writes in reverse, and vice versa.
Don’t Forget a Digital Break
Constant availability can be very stressful. Give yourself a deliberate digital break: put your phone aside, close your laptop, and enjoy a few minutes of offline time. You might use this opportunity to read a few pages of a book or simply enjoy the silence.