Informal Mindfulness Practice: Mindfully + Compassionately Checking Work Email

 I work in an office + just like everyone else, struggle with being patient while reading my work email.

Sometimes I find myself getting caught up in the next thing I have to do + treating each email as though it is a "life or death" emergency which 99% of the time it isn't. At least not for me + the type of office work that I do.

When I find myself hurrying, I tend to do a few things to get myself more grounded so that I don't jump from one thing to the next mindlessly.

Whether I'm standing or sitting, I notice my feet making contact with the ground. Automatically that allows me to just slow down a fraction of the internal speed I'm usually engaging in.

I also pause + if I'm holding the mouse in my right hand, I feel it, truly experience the sensation of how I might be holding the mouse. 

Then I check my breath. Is it shallow + can I just experience my breath as it is? What does it feel like?

So that's the kind of stuff I do when I do get caught up with work unnecessarily. 

OK so let me guide you now if you feel you need more direction. This guidance might come in handy if you print it out + put it in a notebook or even your screensaver if you think you just need a mindful moment to yourself.

Here goes...

Before checking your email, notice if you are standing or sitting. Pause here + notice the sensations of your feet making contact with the floor. How do your feet feel? Sore? Tired? Or maybe you don't feel any sensations at all which is perfectly normal. 

Are your fingertips touching the keyboard or mouse? Just pause here + notice how the keyboard or mouse feels underneath your fingertips + hands. 

And now experience your breath. Where do you feel the breath most strongly? Do you feel it in your abdomen or your nostrils? Is it shallow or deep? Without judging your breathing, just experience it.

Continue to do this for as long as you like or need. 

And to close this informal practice, take a deep breath in + a slow exhale out through the mouth. If you need to do that again, do so! Do what feels good!!!!

And now go ahead + check your email. Do you find you are less hurried + more attentive to what's happening within you + around you?

This is a great practice that you can do anytime whether you are checking your work email from your computer or from your phone. 

Give yourself moments of pause + rest to remind yourself that each moment doesn't have to be hurried. 

I hope you enjoyed this practice. Till next time!