Checking In

I recorded a video this week for our new Lunch & Learn series (it’s FREE to watch, did you check it out yet?!) and one of the things I spoke about for improving attention was doing “check-ins”. This got me to thinking: how often do we do our own check-ins? How often do we take a step back, breathe, and think about how we’re feeling and how we’re really doing?

We’re just over a month into the new year, and I don’t know about you, but woooooo!!!!! January was a mountain! On top of being about three months long, I’m still trying to get a lil breather! February is now my January where I can take some time to plan, set goals, and do some of those January things.

On top of that, our country (and world) is in such an unpredictable state that it’s easy to see how people are walking around stressed and in survival mode. So many places are closing down, people are losing jobs, prices are increasing for everything. It’s a lot! In the midst of the chaos, let’s not neglect the one thing we CAN control: our health and wellness.

So let’s do a little check-in now! Here are some ways that you can do simple check-ins with yourself during the day, or any time you feel you need to pause for a bit:

1. Breathe. Taking a few deep breaths is a simple but effective way to pause and calm the nervous system. If you like, you can do specific breathing exercises: box breathing, pursed lip breathing, belly breathing are a few examples. Apart from calming the nervous system, taking a few deep breaths gives a pause before reacting, which can make a big difference.

2. Grounding exercises. By tuning into the senses, you can bring your mind back to the present and how you are feeling in the current moment. 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch/feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste. This works great if you have bouts of anxiety and feel like your body is in overdrive.

3. Practice gratitude. For moments or days that feel heavy or frustrating, it helps to think of the good things. No, really. I agree, sometimes you just want to wallow in misery and that’s fine up to a point; but when you’re done and ready to come out of it, think of 3-5 things for which you’re grateful. It can be the same things all the time, it does not matter. Sometimes it helps to start your day with this (because trust me, when that alarm wakes you out of a dead sleep on a morning and you have to face the day, gratitude for being awake and alive can go a long way!)

4. Set goals. This can be a tiny goal for right now: “I’m going to send this email I’ve been putting off”, or you can think longer term. Either way, our goals remind us of our “why” and keep us on track when we’re starting to unravel. They give us a little motivation to keep going.

Why not make these check-ins a family thing? Try it for yourself, but pass it along to your family as well!