Mindfulness is Your Superpower
Hi, y'all,
This week I want to share my reflections on the following:
Finding a moment to clear your mind every day.
Examples of setting your intention at work.
Insights from researching digital apps for mindful journaling.
Sometimes, life and work feel like a great ball pit of chaos, like a kid’s bouncy house of colored balls overwhelming your perspective. How do you know you are paying attention to the right things at the right time? Which ball do you pick to focus on?
Mindfulness is about practicing the art of paying attention and being deliberate about what you notice when so much of life is coming at you like a ball pit of chaos. Mindfulness is your superpower for finding clarity and meaning in the moment.
Let’s dive in!
1 Quote
Do one thing per day that compounds. – James Clear
3 Insights
Where do you go every day to clear your mind?
This was the question for a discussion I had with a writing colleague.
The mindful practice of stillness is a way to clear your mind. Stillness allows you to focus with your eyes fully open and present - the eyes of your mind, heart, and soul or spirit.
The best tip I learned for practicing stillness: schedule it in your day. This advice highlights a productivity principle - if it doesn't get scheduled, it doesn't get done. Plus, mindful practices don’t have to take much time. 5-10 minutes of stillness daily can help you focus to find clarity and calm.
5 examples of setting your intention at work:
On average, we spend 30% of our lives working. How much of that time generates life-giving meaning and connection for you? Here are 5 examples of how you can set your intention in the workplace to make the most of living your purpose.
Example #1: Have the intention of being fully present to colleagues at each meeting. Before starting a meeting, greet everyone by name who joins a virtual meeting or enters a conference room for a face-to-face meeting.
Example #2: Be intentional about showing up at work each day as your best self. Through the lens of a growth mindset, show up with a mindset of curiosity and ask questions to seek clarity.
Example #3: Be intentional about listening to team members with compassionate understanding and kindness. During conversations, listen first and pause briefly before responding to others.
Example #4: Have the intention of choosing to pause or take a break to reset when your stress level at work is intense. Allow yourself to take a 15-minute break to go for a walk outside or sit in stillness at your desk.
Example #5: Be intentional about improving connections with team members rather than highlighting errors in work projects. Provide positive feedback in a conversation first before offering any constructive changes.
2 Reviews of digital apps for mindfulness journaling:
I've been researching several journal app features, and here's what I'm finding.
Diarium is a journal app for Windows, macOS, IOS, Android, and Cloud Sync. It is one of the most integrated apps for your PC and smartphone. Reviews call it the best cross-platform journal app on the market.
The journal app allows you to keep your journal entries in one place across all your devices.
Pros:
Provides reminders to write down your experiences every day.
In addition to adding photos and videos, the app offers accurate speech recognition to dictate your thoughts.
You can export your diary entries as Word files (.docx), a webpage (.html), or plain text (.txt).
Cons:
The distraction factor is a little high.
It pulls in feeds from social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, as well as fitness apps such as Fitbit and Google Fit.
There are inconsistencies with time and date synchronizations.
Happyfeed has 2 journal apps that help you practice mindfulness through positivity and gratitude. It is based on the psychology of practicing 3 good things, a moment of appreciation at the end of your day.
These apps promote a daily journaling habit with a photo or video and a short personal memory:
Happyfeed: Video Diary Journal on the App Store, available on IOS – is a daily photo and video journal focused on positivity.
The Happy Gratitude Journal App, available on Android - is a daily photo diary: 3 good things or 1 pic daily to live a grateful life.
Pros:
Ease of use.
Ability to practice the 1 photo and 1 sentence journaling habit with minimal distraction.
An actual mindfulness journal focused on reducing stress and anxiety while improving happiness and calm.
Cons:
Minimal - almost no bad ratings.
The initial versions seemed to be buggy; however, I am impressed by the responses of the developers to customer reviews as well as fixing the bugs.
So how do you choose the best journal app? Maybe it's not just the app. Perhaps it's a combination of an app and a journal prompt.
1 Journal Prompt
Your journaling can be 1 sentence, a drawing of images, or a recording of your thoughts. Find what works for you and be consistent with your process.
When it comes to reading, I still take notes or highlight pages in a book. The difference is reading with intention and with a journal prompt.
I use the following journal prompt after reading a chapter of a book or an article to help focus my insights and simplify the process of getting information quickly.
When you are reading, keep a journal at hand and journal 1-sentence with this prompt:
Journal Prompt: What is the best idea I learned and will apply after reading this chapter/article:
That’s it!
As always, thanks for reading. I appreciate you being part of the journey.
Hit reply and let me know what you found most helpful this week—I’d love to hear from you!
See you next Sunday.
Denise
Author of A Glowing Ember of Courage – Ponderings, Poetry, and Prayers, the children's book, It's Just a Little Rain, and the song accompanying the text.
I write about mindfulness through consistent journaling. I'm a former nun turned big-tech risk manager. I offer tips, techniques, and tools for success in daily life and work without burnout. Let's connect and thrive together through mindfulness and micro-journaling. Check it out here.