Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and one of the two of you are either reading emails, looking at your phones or daydreaming about what you have to do next and where you would rather be? If you are the recipient of this, how does it make you feel? If you are doing it to someone else, how do you think they are feeling? There is nothing more important than showing someone that you are interested in what they are.
Why is being present important and really what does that even mean? Being present, means staying here – right here, right now in the moment. Contrary to popular belief, human beings cannot multitask…even though it feels like we are accomplishing so much at the same time, we cannot do anything well when we are focused on getting everything done at the same time. We need to recognize that, even though we believe we can and even convince ourselves that we are different, we really can only do one thing at a time, so we ought to do that thing and do it great. Most of our time is spent in the past or the future, rather than the present moment. What we end up doing is passing through that moment on the way to somewhere else and, in doing so, we miss the moment. That’s how life ends up passing us by – we do it to ourselves. Have you seen the cartoon that’s all-over social media showing the man trying to get into heaven and is told “Actually You had a pretty Great Life But You were Looking Down at your Phone and you Missed It!” Is that what you want to hear and is that how you want your life and business to function?
Let’s figure out a way to stay present and according to articles and studies I’ve read, it all has to do mindfulness. Mindfulness is the act of BEING HERE NOW, or focusing your attention on what you are doing and your surroundings; your mind is not in the past nor is it in the future. It is right here, right now. The key to being mindful is to stay present and there are some easy ways to do that. Here are 10 mindfulness exercises to help you stay present
1. Reverse the order you do things. Allow yourself to enter a beginner’s mindset by reversing the order in which you towel yourself off, get dressed, and put on your socks and shoes in the morning. This will help your mind to stay out of its all-too-common auto settings and instead help it to stay present in the moment of the task.
2. Write with the opposite hand. Use the mouse with the opposite hand or brush your hair with the opposite hand. You’ll laugh at how preschool-ish your handwriting suddenly becomes, and how you really have to focus on making your letters legible.
3. Reorganize your books. Stack them in a spiral, or organize them by color.
4. Pay attention to the full experience of walking. Take a moment to focus on the sensations, the small and large movements you make while walking, how objects seem to move past you, the temperature, the wind, etc.
5. Pay attention to the full experience of breathing. The sounds, sensations, smells, etc.
6. Change-up your routine. Drive a different way to work, reverse the order in which you get ready in the morning, and eat something new for breakfast. Change up your routine anytime you can.
7. Play the A-Z game. As you are out walking, try to spot all the letters of the alphabet, in order, as you walk. This works with numbers too; set an arbitrary number and count them in order (either backwards or forwards).
8. Periodically stop and smile. Become aware of the immediate physiological response in your body. How does it make you feel?
9. Whenever you catch yourself doing something out of habit, STOP. Start over and do it a different way.
10. Take a deep breath. While you hold it, notice and name 5 things you can see, feel, and hear.
The point of all of these exercises is to get you out of your routine and habits and into the present moment. Simple right? Like anything else we do, the hardest part is starting so my challenge to you is to start while you are thinking about it…and if you think about doing things and don’t do them, stop doing that and rewind that tape and do it differently as well.
Now, what about work? Are there any benefits of being present at work? “How many times have you left a meeting, presentation or a training session and said to yourself, “that was a waste of time”. Perhaps the meeting facilitator was not prepared, or the presentation didn’t resonate with you, or maybe the training session offered little in the way of new skills for you. Consider for a second, how focused were you? How many times did you check your phone or how many e-mails did you send? Did you give the session an opportunity to derive some benefit from it? Were you truly present? What are some of the benefits of being present at work, and how can you achieve it?
When you’re present, everything about you – what you’re thinking and what you’re feeling is completely focused, and centered on what it is you are doing at that moment. We are not thinking about what happened earlier, or what we’re going to do next. When you’re present you’re completely connected, concentrating on, and tuned in to what is happening right now. Here are some simple but very impactful benefits. Ready?
Being present in business situations may seem easy, but it’s not. It may seem hard, but it’s not. It takes discipline. However, by making a commitment to be present, you will realize great professional and personal rewards.
As Deepak Chopra said, “Treat every moment as a gift, that’s why it is call the present.”
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