Have you ever had the beginning of a meeting look something like this? People are trickling in late looking distracted and frazzled. You wonder to yourself, “is this meeting even worth having if no one is engaged?”
Our workshops require everyone to be fully present, open, and creative. So walking into a group like this used to be frustrating and intimidating. Over the years, we’ve learned a tool to use to bring people back and start our meetings and workshops off right: the Mindful Minute.
What is a Mindful Minute?
A Mindful Minute is a moment of pause, honoring the transition from where you just were to where you are going. Sometimes this looks like some slow, intentional breaths, other times it’s a guided visualization by one of our team members.
We were a little nervous at first because we didn’t want to come off as “woo-woo” but we’ve learned that being mindful has nothing to do with being spiritual. It’s about being present with yourself and honoring the time it takes you to transition from one thing to the next.
This video explains it pretty well.
How to lead a Mindful Minute at your next meeting
If you find yourself in a situation like described above, this video walks you through how to lead a Mindful Minute at your next meeting. This Mindful Minute uses an exercise called box breathing. This is where you breathe in for 4 counts, hold your breath for 4 counts, breathe out for 4 counts, and hold your breath for 4 counts: in, hold, out, hold, repeat. By counting, we really focus in on the breathe to become present. It’s an easy and great way to start your next brand strategy workshop, marketing meeting, or collaborative call, especially if it is online.
Using a Mindful Minute to switch between tasks
A Mindful Minute can also be used personally to help you transition from one task to another. As marketers, you’re required to use many different parts of your brain and switch between various activities. You have to use one part of your brain for analyzing metrics, another part of the brain for writing content, and another for big strategic thinking. Many times you are doing all of these types of tasks all in one day, that is a lot of context switching. A Mindful Minute is a great way to ease your way into another task.
This guided video can be used when you need new energy to move you from one task to another.
A Mindful Minute for creativity
Of all the different types of context switching, we’ve found that one of the most difficult headspaces to get into when we are in a 9-5 workday is creativity.
We all need help getting into our creative process (even artists need a push). So instead of spinning your wheels staring at the computer, do a guided meditation to shake away the distractions and loosen up. This can be used when you’re trying to get inspired for a new creative campaign or need to develop a brand story.
This guided video will help to give you a boost of creativity in order to prep for your creative process.
Tip: Our favorite way to use this video is when you’re working on developing your company’s new brand story with our Brand Story Messaging Framework.
Marketing and mindfulness are like peanut butter and chocolate, they are delicious when combined and bring out a whole new world once mixed together. If you have time for longer a longer Mindful Minute, then consider apps like Headspace or Calm that have more lengthy meditations.
If you’d like to connect about how you use mindfulness in your workday or have other ways to increase creativity, DM us via Instagram!