8 Mindfulness Tips to Slow Down During the Christmas Holidays

1. Write down daily intentions

I don’t care if you use your notes in your phone, a journal, a post-it or and old receipt from your last grocery shopping.

The whole point of writing down your intentions is to commit with yourself. That’s it.

So first, take a moment to make the decision that you’re going to be more mindful.

Related post:

How To Write Meaningful (And Useful) Intentions

2. Add mindfulness practise to a daily habit you already have

An easy way to incorporate a new habit is to associate it with one you’re already doing without even thinking. (Brushing your teeth, for example).

Like you could start by practising mindfulness when you brush your teeth.

What it means is that you’ll pay attention to how you’re brushing your teeth.

How much toothpaste do you apply on your toothbrush? Which teeth do you brush first? How long before you spit?

Pay attention to how you actually brush your teeth.

Do this several times a day with different habits that you have.

Here’s the book that has guided me into creating (and sticking to) good habits, as well as breaking bad ones:

3. Plan mindfulness moments in your daily schedule

Unfortunately, you can’t expect to suddenly start being more mindful simply because you wish so.

(If it were that easy, you wouldn’t be here reading this.)

One of the KEY element of incorporating a new habit is to plan exactly when you’re going to do it.

Plan it in your schedule and you’ll dramatically improve your chances of success. Science says it.*

You don’t have to put an exact time to your mindfulness habit.

Just start by thinking about your typical day. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? And after that? And after that?

Picture your day, then decide 3 different moments when you will force yourself to practise mindfulness. For example: every time you open the fridge.

Write them down.

*From the book Atomic Habits, by James Clear

4. Set reminders on your phone

The hardest part in practising mindfulness is actually breaking the habit of not being mindful and rushing in everything you do.

Setting a reminder will help you to stop and take a moment to be more conscious and aware of your surroundings.

So, what should you do when your alarm goes off?

Well, nothing.

You should stop what you’re doing. Look around. Where are you? How does your body feel? What were you doing?

By focusing on these aspects, you’ll be living in the present moment.

For example, if you’re wrapping Christmas presents, and your mind is spinning (or, like mine, wandering), your reminder will help you to refocus on how you’re actually wrapping the presents.

5. Start (or use) a journal

Journaling is one of my favourite me-time moments. It allows me to put my thoughts on paper so I can empty my brain (a little).

Journaling for mindfulness can be as simple as writing down how you feel.

You can also use journaling to document your experience practising mindfulness.

Or, you can just write without a specific goal in mind.

Because the purpose of journaling is to help you slow down and sit with your thoughts. It’s less about what you write than the action of writing itself.

Related posts:

Easy Journaling Prompts For Beginners
Challenging Journal Prompts For Self-Discovery

6. Go for a walk with an intention

Going for a walk by itself won’t cut it, because it’s not said that if you go for a walk you’ll be mindful.

The secret is to go for a walk with an intention. Not a goal. An intention. Let me explain.

If your goal is to go to the park and back, you’ll only be focused on getting from point A to point B.

But the whole point of mindfulness is to focus your attention on what’s happening between point A and point B.

To help you do that, you’ll set an intention that looks like: I’m going to count how many steps I make, or I’ll try and guess how many meters separate me from point A and B, or I won’t step on any sidewalk line (childish I know, but that’s exactly the point, no?).

The point is to focus on the walk, NOT on the destination.

Related post:

How To Write Meaningful (And Useful) Intentions

7. Every time you’re about to leave the house, stop and take 3 deep breaths

If you’re having trouble finding the time to apply these mindfulness tips, taking 3 deep breaths is and old trick that will always cut it.

It doesn’t take a lot of time, and it has many physiological benefits.

You can use a daily action, such as leaving or entering the house, to remind yourself to do it. It will act as a trigger for you to remember to stop and take a breath (or 3).

To improve your chances of success, decide exactly when you’ll do it and write it down. For example, you could write down: I will take 3 deep breath every time I’m leaving the house and every time I sit in my car.

8. Talk to yourself out loud

I know, I know. It sounds crazy.

But it’s actually pretty sane. It means that you’re letting your thoughts out!

Here’s how you can apply this mindfulness tip during the Christmas holidays:

1. 1. When you’re overthinking, feel overwhelmed or feel rushed.
      Say what you think out loud. It’ll feel better. And to be honest, you might hear yourself and realize you’re not making sense. Or that it’s really not as bad as your mind wants you to believe.
   2. When you’re doing chores around the house like cooking, wrapping Christmas presents, cleaning, making lists, etc.
      Another way you can use this mindfulness tip is to talk to yourself about the action you’re doing. For example, if you’re cooking, tell yourself what you need to do every step of the way: “Now I’m going to get the butter. Now let’s see… I need to add 1 cup of milk and half a cup of sugar…”. You get the point.
      Plus… who never does that anyway?!