When it comes to physical training, we know there is a limit to how much we can train before our body needs to rest. For top athletes, planning for effective recovery is as important as their training regime to reach good results. But, when it comes to mental activities, we tend to forget that our brain also needs breaks to perform well over time. Many of us work full days without taking any real breaks, grinding through to get as much done as possible, even using our lunch break for answering emails.
To be sustainable over time, we need to find a way to build micro recoveries into our workdays. Giving our body and mind short breaks during our day has been shown[1] to improve resilience and endurance. These breaks can be in the form of physical activity, but also a mental pause at our desk.
There are many studies[2] indicating that our cognitive function, including focus and creativity improves after short periods of physical activity. The main reason is that the blood flow to our brain increases. On top of that, there are many other positive effects of moving our body during the workday, such as fewer back problems.
We are not talking about a full workout here. Just going outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air or, if possible, a short walk in nature, which has been shown to have many positive effects. Other examples can be to take the stairs when possible or stand up to do some stretching between your virtual meetings. Allow yourself to be creative here. The point to remember is that our bodies are not made to be still for hours on end. Short but regular physical activity is both supportive for our wellbeing, but it also helps us to be a more focused, creative, and open-minded.
If you are having a lot of back-to-back activities, you might find it difficult to let go of what you have discussed in one meeting before you enter the next. We might be carrying a lot of ‘mental luggage’ from one meeting and activity to the next one, not being able to concentrate fully on what we are doing right now. In these situations, it is helpful to be able to ‘reset to calm’.
Let’s use an analogy here. Imagine you have a problem with your computer, and you call the IT helpdesk at your organisation. What is the first question they are going to ask you? Most likely something like: ‘Have you tried restarting?’ The way we can restart our mind is to let it settle for a short moment before starting our next activity. To use terms from neurology, we can help activate our parasympathetic nervous system, which is our recovery mode.
In a previous article, we explored mindfulness and attention training as proven techniques for activating the parasympathetic nervous system, and reset to calm. However, in a busy workday it can be difficult to find time to do a formal mindfulness practice. We are therefore going to look at ways to integrate the principles of mindfulness into things we are doing anyway and get some of the same benefits.
There are three distinct things that can help us to activate our parasympathetic nervous system and so contribute to a sense of calm.
When we allow ourselves to be fully focused on one activity, it lessens the stress on our brain, and we can be relaxed although we are active. This can be any kind of activity, like playing an instrument, knitting, or even doing the dishes. The point is that we do the opposite of multitasking. Instead of thinking about something else than we are doing, we are just fully present with what we are doing.
This kind of integrated mindfulness can be applied to any daily activity you do, like walking from the car park, eating your lunch or drinking your coffee. Imagine your next coffee break. Instead of pouring this caffeine liquid into your body while checking your messages, how about you just focused on your coffee? Smelling the aroma, feeling the warmth, tasting the nuances in this cup of coffee. Allowing your mind to rest on just one thing helps it to relax.
We have known this since we were kids; slow deep breathing calms us down. What happens on a neurological level is that we stimulate the vagus nerve, which, among other things, regulates our heart rhythm.
There are many different techniques you can use to work with your breath, but a first basic tip is to breath deep down in your belly. Allow your belly to be soft so the air can flow down into your body. The second tip is to make your out breath longer than your in breath. You can try counting to 2 on the inbreath, and 4 on the out breath.
This simple breathing technique can be applied at any moment you want to reset to calm; in a meeting or waiting for the lift, for example. You can also do it totally stealthily – no one will notice while you are re-centering yourself.
With these three areas explained, you can experiment with building small mindfulness moments into your everyday work routine. What are things you are doing anyway, which you could do with full presence, maybe a bit more slowly than normal, or while breathing deeply?
By building these micro recoveries into your day, you can more easily maintain your energy and focus and be more sustainable over time.
