Mindfulness can be a powerful tool to tame anxiety, break negative thought patterns, improve your mood and focus, and bring a little zen to your everyday life. And, as a busy working mom, I rely on simple ways to practice mindfulness each day. Many of my goals revolve around health and fitness, so having a healthy mind goes hand in hand with my goals.
Five Simple Ways to Practice Mindfulness Each Day
When I started practicing mindfulness daily, I really noticed a positive shift in my mindset and stress levels. Now, if I feel stressed or overwhelmed, I lean on any of the mindfulness practices below.
1 // Take note of your five senses
This is one of my all-time favorite simple mindfulness tricks that really anchors you to the moment.
Like most moms, I feel those fleeting moments with my young children passing by ever so fast. Luckily, this simple exercise helps pull a distracted “mom brain” into the moment.
Here’s how it works:
Name something you are experiencing for each of the five senses {smell, sight, sound, taste, and hearing}. For example, as I’m giving my baby a bath, I make these quick mental notes:
- I can smell the clean baby shampoo and steamy air
- I can hear my sweetie splashing in the water and making happy squeals
- I can see his dewy skin and little baby teeth poking out as he grins
- I can’t taste anything {It’s ok if you aren’t experiencing a sense — just make a non-judgmental note of that!}
- I can feel my baby’s slippery soft skin while I wash him {Aren’t squishy, wet babies the cutest?!}
By bringing your awareness to your senses, you are grounding yourself mindfully in that moment. Your mind is not elsewhere thinking about laundry or work or schedules. It’s simply in the moment — caring for your baby {or whatever you may be doing}.
You can practice this calming exercise anytime, anywhere — in a meeting at work, on your drive home, cooking dinner, playing with the kids, working on a project — anything! Give it a try!
2 // Take note of each step
If you follow my blog or my Instagram, you know I am a BIG believer in getting your steps in each day! The research has shown time and time again how important being active throughout the day is for our physical health.
But, our mental health can also improve from a walk! Lots of people, myself included, find that going for a walk is very relaxing and can help you organize your thoughts.
However, it’s important to bring that distracted mind into awareness while we’re walking so we can live in that moment. One simple mindfulness trick I like to practice is to focus on my feet hitting the ground with each stride.
Focus on bringing your awareness to the bottom of your foot touching the ground. Can you hear your heel touch the ground? Does the ground feel soft under your foot? Are your strides quick or slow and thoughtful?
You can even focus on a mantra in your mind, such as ‘one two, one two’ or some other phrase that you feel comfortable with that brings your awareness to the rhythm of your steps.
I usually try to practice this for a minute or so on each walk and it always brings my mind into the present moment of enjoying my walk.
You can practice this exercise any time you are doing anything that has a ‘rhythm’ throughout the day. One of my other favorite times to practice this is when I rock my baby at night. A simple ‘back, forth, back, forth’ mantra works for me and truly brings me into that special moment with my sweetie!
3 // Use the Breathe feature on your Apple Watch
I just recently got the Apple Watch and I’m loving it! I use it most to track workouts, activity levels, and steps, but one of my favorite tools is the Breathe feature!
Many beginners can be intimidated by meditation when first getting started with mindfulness. I’ll even admit that I don’t usually make time for a regular meditation practice. So, the simple Breathe feature on the Apple Watch can be really helpful for beginners who want to practice mindfulness.
You can adjust various options, but I have my watch remind me to stop and breathe for one minute at some point during the day. Sometimes, at the end of the day, I’ll go for an additional Breathe session, too. It’s really amazing how one minute of deep breathing can really bring calm to your day!
4 // Focus on your breathing while falling asleep at night
I know this may be a tip you’ve heard over and over, but if you work to find your flow with this trick, it can be really helpful. For me personally, this has taken me years to perfect. By practicing mindfulness while going to sleep at night, I find that I sleep much better.
I simply bring my attention to the ‘in and out’ rhythm of each breath. When my mind strays, I bring my attention —without judgment — back to my breath. I think ‘in’ as I breathe in and ‘out’ as I breathe out. No pressure to do it in any way, just being aware of the rhythm of my breath.
This has been game-changing for my sleep. I typically only practice this on the nights that I feel wired or have trouble falling asleep. I don’t make this a rule, and I only use this tool when I need it.
I find that by noticing your breath and not putting pressure on how quickly you need to fall asleep helps a lot. By simply bringing your attention back to your breath over and over and over again, it provides a very calming effect to help you relax into sleep.
5 // Plug your phone in for the evening
Ok, moms. I know I’m not the only one guilty of this! I find myself tied to my phone a LOT. Many times, I am buying essentials on Amazon, replying to text messages from family, or focusing on some other to-do.
But all of those things can usually wait.
I’m not trying to punish myself, but if I make it a rule to have that phone plugged in from 6-8pm each night, I am a much better mama to my kiddos. And I don’t have that guilt of distracted parenting.
By not having that phone in arm’s reach, I am much more present to see my baby randomly play peekaboo with me from the curtains and my 4-year-old only has to say “hey, mom watch this!” once before he gets my attention.
They are only little once, so putting the phone away for a short time and being fully immersed and present is always worth it.
Now it’s your turn
These simple ways to practice mindfulness are truly things I do each and every day! I have noticed such a huge shift in my overall mood and mindset since starting to practice mindfulness each day. The best part is that it just takes a few minutes and you can do these things anywhere!
- Take note of your five senses
- Take note of each step
- Use the Breathe feature on your Apple Watch
- Focus on your breathing while falling asleep at night
- Plug your phone in for the evening
In what way do you practice mindfulness each day? Which one of these tips do you think would be beneficial to you?
Hey there! I’m Amber from Live Simply Better. I’m a working mom of two sweet boys. I love intermittent fasting, cooking quick and healthy meals, simplifying our home, and eating a ridiculously oversized bowl of popcorn while watching Netflix each night. On Live Simply Better, we talk about simplifying health, home, and daily routines for busy women. Come say hi or join our newsletter for your free intermittent fasting guide for beginners. You can also find me on Instagram at @livesimplybetter. Thanks for reading!
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