Starting Your Day with Meditation
Before you reach for your phone and start seeing what the latest work email or Slack message brings you, take a moment for yourself by taking as little as 3 minutes to center your mind through meditation. There are plenty of great apps to help you get started or simply quiet your mind and focus on your breathing for a few minutes, breathe in, breathe out with your eyes closed.
Setting Your Intention for the Day
After you have completed your meditation, set your intention for the day. It can be a single word, or it can be a visualization of how your day is going to play out. For example, your word could be “harmonious” and everything in your day will flow together and have little resistance. Or you could visualize your day and say “I am going to start my day with my favorite cup of tea and savor it. Then I will quickly get my email inbox down to zero. My presentation in the afternoon will be well received and the team will be engaged. I will end my workday at 5 pm and enjoy a relaxing evening with my family.” Whichever lane you chose, make sure you feel into what it will be like.
Getting Your Day Organized
Take 20-30 minutes before you dive into meetings and have your cup of coffee (or tea) and review what you will be working on for the day. Create or review your to-do list, see what meetings you have, and if any prep is required and field any emails or Slack messages. Now you can jump into work and meetings without feeling like you have left something undone.
Winding Down Your Day
With many people working from home now, for well over 6 months or has it been more? I’ve lost track. It can sometimes feel like you are “living at work” instead. To ensure you wrap up your day at a decent time so you can have time to relax and spend with family and friends, place a “wind-down” reminder on your work calendar. I like to have this 30 minutes before I want my day to end. This can be beneficial since we no longer have social queues in the office, like others leaving to go home or a bus or train to catch, that signal the day is ending. Use these final 30 minutes to send any important emails, set your to-do list for tomorrow, and field any final Slack messages. This way you can end work on time and feel prepared for what tomorrow holds!
Make sure to run through these practices every single day so that you can firmly set boundaries with work and still have time for you.