14 Tiny Habits to Practice Mindfulness
The world is busy. Between family, school, work, kids, and friends, taking care of yourself can easily be put on the back burner. Scheduling simple and quick mindfulness exercises into your day can make a world of difference.
We live in a world with almost constant stimulation — where we are almost never left alone with our own thoughts. It has become increasingly easy to lose touch with yourself and what really matters in your life. Whether you find yourself eating a whole bag of chips while watching a movie without realizing you aren’t even hungry or getting so wrapped up in your own feelings that you don’t notice those around you feeling sad, we all struggle with maintaining mindfulness which can lead us to develop bad habits.
What is mindfulness?
Everyone has heard the phrase, “Enjoy every moment. Life is short.” While at the moment you may have written that off or rolled your eyes, there is truth behind it. The idea behind this saying is called mindfulness: an ancient practice about being completely aware of what is going on in and around you.
The definition of mindfulness, according to mindful.org is “the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” Mindfulness is a practice that involves being fully present and engaged with the current moment, without judgment or distraction. It's a way of paying attention to your thoughts, feelings, and sensations in a non-judgmental way, which can help you to cultivate a greater sense of awareness and self-understanding.
Everyone has the quality of mindfulness within them, you just have to learn how to access it. The good news is that you can use numerous mindfulness activities to tap into it. There are many different ways to practice mindfulness, from formal meditation to informal practices like breathing or eating. The key is to develop a regular practice that works for you and to approach it with an open and curious mindset. If you are having trouble implementing mindfulness or just have no clue where to start, mindfulness apps can help guide you in your mindfulness therapy and encourage you to stick to your mindfulness habits.
But downloading an app doesn’t build a habit for you. It may give you some content or inspiration but you’ll need to do a bit more planning ahead to help ensure you make it happen. We have a specific approach we recommend to incorporate a mindfulness habit seamlessly into your day. (Keep reading for those habit tips!) Also, the real-human buddies at Shelpful help members all the time by sending helpful nudges reminding their members of their mindfulness habits throughout the day.
Benefits of mindfulness
Whether you are looking to practice mindfulness for anxiety or stress, or just looking for easy ways to slow down throughout the day, the benefits of implementing regular mindfulness practice in your life are extensive and can spread into all areas of your life.
Here are our favorite perks of becoming more mindful:
Reducing stress and anxiety: By focusing your attention on the present moment, you can let go of worries about the future or regrets about the past, which can help to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety.
Improving mental clarity and cognitive performance:. By training your mind to focus on the present moment, you can improve your ability to concentrate, solve problems, and make decisions.
Enhancing emotional regulation: By developing greater self-awareness and a non-judgmental attitude, you can learn to observe your thoughts and feelings without getting caught up in them, which can help you to respond to difficult situations with greater calm and clarity.
Promoting overall well-being: Mindfulness has been shown to have a range of benefits for overall well-being, including improved sleep, increased happiness, and greater overall life satisfaction.
Developing greater self-awareness and empathy: By paying attention to your thoughts, feelings, and sensations in the present moment, you can develop a deeper understanding of yourself and others, which can lead to greater compassion and connection.
What are tiny habits?
At Shelpful, we like to follow Dr. Bj Fogg’s habit-building method discussed in his book Tiny Habits. My co-founder and I are habit coaches, trained by Dr. Fogg. In his book, Fogg describes a method for making small, incremental changes in your behavior that can lead to significant improvements over time. The idea behind the method is that by starting with very small habits, you can build momentum and gradually work your way up to more significant changes.
Fogg's method is based on the idea that habits are formed through repetition and reinforcement. By starting with small, manageable habits and gradually building on them over time, you can create lasting changes in your behavior.
When forming new habits, we like to use this simple tiny habit equation:
Anchor (existing habit) + Tiny Habit (a miniature version of your new habit)
14 Tiny Habits to Practice Mindfulness
After I turn off my alarm, I will set a timer for one minute and lay in bed listening and feeling.
After I take a bite of dinner, I will note the texture and flavors in my mouth (slowing your eating will ensure the food is properly enjoyed and will allow your body to tell you when you are full).
After I turn the water on to wash my hands, I will smile at myself in the mirror (a new study shows that even faking a smile generates positive emotions).
After I step out the door for a walk, I will note the sights and sounds around me.
After I hit send on an email, I will take 2 deep breaths.
After hitting start on the coffee machine, I will stretch my arms up to the sky and then fold down to touch my toes.
After I pull up to a stop light, I will count to 5 as I inhale.
After I set my plate down on the table for dinner, I will speak about one thing I am grateful for out loud.
After I close my bedroom door for the night, I will sit on the floor for 5 minutes and meditate, or at least try to (practicing meditation and mindfulness before bed can increase melatonin, bettering your quality of sleep and the length of time it takes to fall asleep).
After I log on to a meeting, I will turn my phone and computer on do not disturb (it's easy to get distracted and miss important pieces of the present moment).
After starting the dishwasher for the night, I will plug my phone in and not pick it up for the rest of the night.
After I step into the shower, I stand under the water and think about how it feels hitting my skin.
When I close my computer for the day, I will put down my yoga mat to practice mindfulness yoga.
After I hit accept on a phone call, I will close my eyes to block out distractions and focus on the conversation.
There's really no right or wrong method to use for becoming more mindful, the key is to just practice slowing down in whatever way works for you, and letting your mind feel bored sometimes. Just find what habits make YOU feel good.
Building and keeping habits is HARD, trust us we know (ahem! This is why we created a company to help people with their own habits)! Habits can be easier once you understand them and how to properly implement them in your own life. We recommend reading Tiny Habits or exploring our habit-coaching options. Having someone to help encourage forming healthy habits can make the transition much smoother — like an accountability buddy for waking up earlier. The real-human buddies at Shelpful help their members with sticking to their daily goals with reminders and celebrating even the smallest wins!
Let us know how you incorporate these habits into your routine! Message or tag us on Instagram / Tik Tok.
