You're swamped with high-priority tasks. Which mindfulness techniques can ease your stress?
When you're swamped with high-priority tasks, mindfulness techniques can provide relief and enhance your focus. Here are some strategies to help you manage stress:
What mindfulness techniques work best for you in stressful times?
You're swamped with high-priority tasks. Which mindfulness techniques can ease your stress?
When you're swamped with high-priority tasks, mindfulness techniques can provide relief and enhance your focus. Here are some strategies to help you manage stress:
What mindfulness techniques work best for you in stressful times?
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One thing I have found helpful for managing stressful times when I am swamped is to unplug and go for a walk outside away from your phone and computer. The time away allows my mind to wander and then I come back refreshed with clarity on how to prioritize the tasks that I have. It seems counter intuitive, that to get more done, you should stop working for a spell, but it allows your mind to process in the background and gives you the clarity to focus.
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Practise detaching from the impacting moment. As a patient with severe heart disease, detaching from a stressful activity or moment has literally saved my life. It could be disengaging from a difficult conversation, or stepping down from a work related role. I've done both and in the later case it was about giving up a CEO role as a multi-national industry sector leader. A very difficult choice because it also meant giving up a board seat on the peak body for the sector, but If I hadn't, the stress would have killed me, literally. Detaching can be really tough but the potential it offers in destressing a situation or life in general is critical not only to your well-being but your physical health as well.
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1. Deep Breathing Exercises 🌬️ Box Breathing: Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, and hold again for 4 seconds. Repeat for a few minutes. 2. Mindful Meditation 🧘♀️ 3. Body Scan Technique 🧘♂️ Progressive Relaxation: Lie down or sit comfortably. Slowly focus on relaxing each part of your body, starting from your toes and moving up to your head. Notice any tension and release it. 4. Mindful Walking 🚶♂️ 5. Mindfulness Journaling 📓 6. Mindful Eating 🍎 7. Visualization Techniques 🌅 8. Short Mindfulness Breaks 🌸 9. Practice Gratitude and Compassion 💖 10. Limit Distractions 🚫
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My 3 favorite techniques for those moments: 1. It's Box Breathing: Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4, exhale for 4, and hold for 4. This quickly calms your nervous system and sharpens focus. 2. The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique: List 5 things you see, 4 you feel, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, and 1 you taste. It pulls your attention back to the present moment. 3. Last one but it's actually my top favorite, Pomodoro with Mindful Breaks: Work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute mindful break, focus on breathing or stretching. This not just manages my stress but also makes me more productive.
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Deep breathing: Slow, deep breaths that calm the mind and bring your attention to the moment. Take short intentional breaks in the middle of the day to refocus your mind. Gratitude Journaling Visualization Progressive Relaxation – Slowly tighten and then relax each group of muscles, releasing physical tension.
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There are days in my work life when I suddenly get loaded with high priority items. Below is what works for me. 1. Walking with light music: Our mind subconsciously keeps working on the problems in the back. We need to give it some time. 2. Running through the items and give them stars based on most critical high impact items. 3. Know that you will not be able to close all of them. So based on priority, delegate the least priority item. Everyone has 24hrs, and in that there's only so much one can do. Know your personal limit.
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In my experience it helps to first find a comfortable place away from screens. There are a number of proven breathing techniques you can try: Psychological sigh: Deeply inhale via your nose, then inhale a second time before exhaling via your mouth. Repeat 2 or more times until you feel calmer. Diaphragmatic Breathing: Take a slow deep breath via your nose before exhaling for a longer period of time via your mouth. Lying down for these exercises will enhance their effect. If you still struggle with these exercises you could try a guided app like Calm. Scheduling appointments with yourself to do these exercises helps you to practice them. This could be before an important meeting or during focus time.
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One thing that I do when I am swamped with work and stressed, I read something unrelated to what is going on. I might even reread some classic again. Since, I can get lost in it, I put an alarm alert to remind me in 30 minutes or 45 minutes. Then, when I get back, I much more focused and able to clear crucial tasks. I try to focus on what is important and value adding and do those first.
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Three great strategies for making the chaos a little more manageable: Breath work is always a go to! Box breathing. Belly breathing. 6-7-8. It’s easy. It’s effective. And it’s ALWAYS available to you. Walk away from it - not completely. But take a walk outside to get some fresh air and get away from the work for a few minutes. You’ll come back with a clearer mind and perspective - maybe even some solutions about how to tackle the work. Music. Whether it’s just something you find calming, nature sounds, a guided meditation or Solfeggio frequencies (try 396 or 432hz)… music has an amazing power to calm and destress.
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When you're drowning in work, mindfulness can be a lifeboat. Start with box breathing (inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4), calming your mind instantly. Take 5-minute micro-breaks — step away, stretch, or gaze at something green (nature’s therapy!). Practice mindful tasking: focus on one task at a time instead of multitasking. Use gratitude journaling — list three positives to shift your mindset. Finally, try a body scan meditation, checking in with each part of your body to release tension. As Buddha said, “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”
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