Mindfulness is a key piece to managing stress and reducing your risk of burnout. It helps to rewire the pathways in your brain (meditation, specifically), reset your stress response, and shift your mindset and outlook. And, while there are practices that you may be using at home before and after work, you might be struggling with using mindfulness while at work. 

Like, how do you put these into practice within your daily routines and your daily work, beyond the start and end of your day?

Your breaks are far and few between, so cramming each moment with a mindful activity doesn’t always help with stress, and can sometimes make it worse (hand raised over here, because that;s what it did for me). It might seem kind of strange to stop in the middle of a session or your day to meditate for a few moments, because, well, it would be strange to do that. And taking a  pause to journal or deep breathe when a parent or caregiver walks in for a meeting may not be practical (although, those deep breaths can be subtle and undetectable if needed). So how can you actually practice mindfulness while in your work day?

The best way is to look at what you are already doing (whether you consider it to be a habit/schedule to keep or work on), and find ways to infuse it with a more mindful approach. Sounds a little abstract, right? Let’s solidify that a bit.

Here is How to Practice Mindfulness at Work:

• Notice your autopilot
  • What moments in your day are you walking through without even thinking about them? Sometimes this can seem like a badge of honor. “I can do this in my sleep” type of a thought. And, you probably could. This can be incredibly mindless (opposite of mindful) though, and can lead to a disconnect between you and your work, and the people it serves, without meaning to. Think about being on autopilot for a meeting, report, or therapy session.
  • It most likely happens though in the in-between moments – walking to the mailroom/breakroom, going to get your next patient/student, getting out new materials, entering and leaving work. All of these moments can sometime breeze passed you without you even realizing, and can be an opportunity for you to be present and more mindful for them.
  • Instead of autopilot, recognize when it happens (that brings awareness), then feel your breath, notice your thoughts, and feel your feet on the ground. 
• Mental Check-In: 
  • This can seem similar to the “auto-pilot”, but it’s not quite the same thing. A Mental Check-In is kind of like a break or pause, where you just stop to see how you’re doing and what you’re feeling. It seems kind of simple and almost silly, but it can be one of the biggest tools and things that you are not doing (because most of us aren;t taught to do it). 
  • A check-in helps you see where you are today, and what you can expect, realistically, so you don’t aim for perfection, feel frustrated, and berate yourself internally when you ”fail”. It gives you awareness of what is going on with you and for you that day, so you can use it to see how you’d show up and how things might affect you during your day.
  • And the bar NEVER has to be at 100% here.
  • You can take a moment during your day and just pause to ask yourself “How am I today?”. 
• Find some quiet: 
  • It is so simple, but not done enough. Especially in the world of being an SLP or Helping Professional. You communicate and process things ALL DAY, which means that quiet rarely happens, either externally or internally. Taking a moment, even a minute, to just sit in silence can do so much to help you reset and recharge.
  • You can simply sit for a little while with some quiet (not even meditating, just sitting in silence), or try a few other things that are quiet – turn off the lights, breathe deeply, stretch, check-in with yourself, sip some water, meditate, etc.

This is not an exhaustive list by any means, and it can be the start to help you build to more as you grow. Make sure to take care of yourself where you can – move around a little so you don’t get stiff or tense (that can add to mental tension, too), hydrate, caffeinate if needed (and maybe rehydrate), eat something so you can think and feel better, and speak kindly to yourself.

Which mindfulness practice are you going to try? Share in the comments or post about it in your IG stories and tag me @jessiandricks , or send an email to jessi@jessiandricks.com to let me know how it is going.

Also, do you want to learn how you can become more resilient as an SLP? The Resilient SLP is now open for enrollment. You can find more details about this monthly workshop series, and snag some FREE resources, by subscribing here (it’s free and I promise not to spam you): The Resilient SLP Info.

With Love and Light, 

Jessi