Best Post-Thanksgiving Hack to Get You Back on Track
If you’re like me, your routine is blown! You’ve eaten too much, been over-scheduled, and are behind on maintenance tasks like cleaning and exercise. While it may have been a great time, you really just need a post-Thankgiving hack to get you back on track.
Voila!
That’s exactly the situation I found myself in this morning. I had a mental list of all the things I wanted to do. My wants were competing with my must dos, and instead of doing any of it, I was playing a video game.
At ten a.m., I was still in my pajamas, and the only thing I had accomplished was eating breakfast.
What got me going was a five minute meditation.
Five Minute Meditation
I found some meditation music on Youtube. Anything without words will do. It doesn’t have to be anything in particular.
I set my phone timer for five minutes. Then I close my eyes and empty my mind. That’s it!
Within those magical five minutes, all the scattered thoughts settled. Within the blink of an eye, the timer went off and I was mentally clear and back in a groove.
Here’s what science says may happen for you if you give yourself a few minutes to let go.
Stress melts away.Less anxiety. I wasn’t doing anything because my mind was a jumble of thoughts. Once my thoughts settled, I was able to be more productive.Improves emotional health. If I am thinking about all the things I have to do, I’m focused on negatives and stressful things. Once my mind is clear, my outlook is more positive and I see my to do list as opportunities.Increases self-awareness. Silence just does that.Increases attention span. Once my thoughts weren’t competing for my attention, I could focus better.
Keep It Up!
While I may seen counterintuitive to relax when the pressure is on, it’s actually a way to bring things back into balance.
And five minutes of meditation will typically get me hours of productivity, so the return on investment is unquestionable. Not to mention, meditation just feels nice.
So, if your holiday season is typically filled with stress, perhaps this is a way to work in downtime to keep things more reasonable and joy filled this holiday season.
Try it, and let me know in the comments how it’s going.