Five Mindful Breaks that Take Five Minutes

In honor of May being Mental Health Awareness Month, I’m posting blogs and tips all month to help nonprofit professionals manage stress, along with some information on burnout and what we need to do individually and as a sector to stop making burnout a way of life. 

First, let’s start with mindfulness and meditation. I don’t need to quote the mountain of evidence that shows that mindfulness and meditation are good for your stress levels, mental health, yada yada… You know it, you understand it…but maybe you struggle to DO it.

I totally hear you. I’m the type of person that sits down to meditate, then gets fidgety and frustrated that I’m not tackling my to do list instead. On top of that, I have a disability/disorder that makes sitting still really uncomfortable, in a way that becomes more excruciating over time. So I’m one of those that wants to do it, but really struggles.

If you’re a busy nonprofit professional, I know your to-do list is overflowing, there aren’t enough hours in the day, and—in a lot of cases—where would you go to actually do a minute of meditation alone? Given open/shared office space, cramped quarters, and busy offices so many of us have (or for those of us working from home with kids), it’s hard to find either the time OR the space.

None of that means you can’t make time in your day for mindfulness. Here I present my top five unexpected mindfulness practices for busy nonprofit professionals.

1. Stop and Check Your Breathing

Throughout the day, stop and check your breathing. I have an object in my office (a picture drawn by my daughter) that reminds me to breathe. It doesn’t say to breathe (it’s a family portrait), but I have made a commitment that every time I look at it, no matter what I’m doing, I’ll take a deep breath. It’s amazing how much it helps. Can you assign that rule to something in your work space?

2. Take a Few Deep Breaths, then Start

In stressful situations (you just realized you have a grant report due tomorrow and haven’t started), clue first into your breath. Don’t tackle the thing causing the stress, get ahead of your body’s stress response first.

When we’re faced with a stressful situation, our body goes into fight or flight mode. It’s not a helpful reaction, but it’s what our body does naturally. Instead of scrambling to get started, just take a second to check in with your breath. Sit with it for a few minutes to keep it steady, and it starts to reverse the ramping up of that fight or flight response. You’ll get the stressful thing done better if you can calm down first.

3. Leave a 5 minute gap

My therapist taught me this one, and I love it.

Before beginning or ending something, take five minutes to pause.

I set notifications for meetings for 5 minutes before the meeting. And I don’t ignore them. I take the five minutes to wrap up what I was doing, write down any stray thoughts that I will definitely forget when returning to the task (you know, when you’re on a roll and know the next five steps, but then you have to break…and you come back to the task having no idea what you’re doing next), and then I check my water bottle to see if it needs refilling. If I get all that done and still have a minute before the meeting, I just breathe for a minute.

It’s really cut down on the feeling of mindlessly rushing from one thing to the next.

4. Get Moving

Take a five minute walk (this is a great way to use your 5 minute break if you don’t need the water or bathroom). Even if it’s to the water cooler and back...just get up and move. 

But don’t just walk around and kill time. Pay attention to the feeling of the floor against your feet. Can you feel the air moving around you on your skin? Think about the movements of your legs and arms (trust me, it’s funny and somewhat entertaining to think that hard about just walking). Most importantly, it clears out your mind. This is also a great technique to employ when you’re dealing with an acutely stressful situation.

5. Take a real Coffee Break

Grab some water, coffee, or tea. Set a timer for 5 minutes and spend that time focused on that drink. What does it look like? What does it smell like? How does it feel in your hand? How does it feel in your mouth? What is the taste? 

What I’m really saying is set a timer and just enjoy your dang coffee! Don’t sip on the run. Don’t sip and scroll. Just enjoy it by being mindful as you consume your morning coffee or afternoon tea…or even that glass of hydrating water.

A Break Isn’t Going to Fix Burnout

These mindful breaks can help manage your day-to-day stress, but if you’re experiencing deeper mental health issues or feel like you’re close to (or even past) the point of burnout, these aren’t going to bring you back from the brink. 

If you are experiencing mental health issues and need support, please check out the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and their HelpLine resources.

If you’re experiencing burnout, please check out my favorite book BURNOUT: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. If you don’t have time to read, check out their Feminist Survival Podcast, which covers a lot of what is in the book, but in an audio format. And if you want a really quick, flyover of the content, check out their interview with Brené Brown. This is THE best resource I’ve ever found to understand, address, and resolve burnout. I honestly feel this should be required reading for anyone working in the nonprofit/social sector.

And remember, you’re not alone. This has been a tough year in ways we could never have imagined, and it’s not clear when it’s going to feel better. Be kind to yourself, and remember that caring for yourself is the only way you can keep serving others.