July Mindfulness Month Tools: Week Two

What you do the evening before matters just as much as what you do each morning. In fact, what you do the night before makes it much more likely that you’ll accomplish what you’re aiming to get done on any given day. I started doing the practice of planning out my day the night before when I was studying at Chiropractic college and found that I was really productive the following day, and began my morning with a more mindful purpose. All it involves is taking 5 minutes the night before, when your feeling fresh and planning out what you will be doing the next day. The intention is to try and be more present in the morning. For this process I use a notebook that I carry with me the whole day, but for some, using your calendar on your computer will be helpful or there may be a helpful app out there as well.

Some things to consider the evening before: 

• Plan out your day with the required work, meetings and other events that you need to get done.
• Fit in time for mindfulness, whether it be 15 mins of mediation, going for a swift walk or doing something that makes you feel great!
• Lay out your clothes for the next day.
• Make your lunch/pack your bag for work the next day.
• Get enough quality sleep each night.

In the morning:

• Wake up (at least a little) earlier - 30 minutes can make all the difference to allow you to have a bit of you time.
• Drinking tea or coffee mindfully.
• Keeping a journal.
• Mediate.
• Mindful exercise.
• Yoga.

The key is to be mindful throughout this whole process. You have this time to yourself in the morning, created by your effects the night before. Whatever your morning ritual is, do it with mindfulness, fully present for the peace and quiet of the morning and find solace in the silence. Silence can be a very nourishing and empowering experience.

Stop Dreaming, Start Prioritising 

“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future; live the actual moment. Only this moment is life.” 

~Thich Nhat Han