Mindfulness Activities: Fun Ways to Be Mindful (No Matter How Much Time You Have!)
After more than 10 years of experimenting with mindfulness practices, I can safely say I’ve picked up a few fun and interesting ways to be more mindful.
I’ve found mindfulness activities that are great to incorporate into a busy week to feel more grounded, calm, productive, and focused.
During the weekends when I have a bit more time, I love using mindfulness activities that are both meaningful and beneficial for my overall wellbeing.
And on those tough days when I need a little more self-care? I’ve found relaxing and self-soothing mindfulness activities to support myself better.
If you’re ready to discover a range of fun and effective ways to be mindful (no matter how much time you have!), you’re in the right place!
Before you dive in, you might like to make yourself a cup of tea or coffee. I’ve filled this article to the brim with mindfulness activities and helpful hints, but it’s a long one! Take your time to soak up the ideas and take notes on anything that stands out to you. These are the actions that will help you transition from learning about mindfulness to actually implementing it!
Oh, and speaking of implementing mindfulness - I’ve created a beautiful checklist containing the mindfulness activities from this article. If you’re ready to step up and create long-lasting mindfulness habits, download the checklist below and I’ll guide you to incorporate mindfulness into your everyday life.
Mindfulness Activities You Can Do During a Busy Week
These mindfulness activities are short and easy to implement. Why? It’s simple - I know you probably don’t want long and complicated things to do during a busy week!
These mindfulness activities are also designed to help you effectively slow down, become present and switch off from stressful thoughts. So, if you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed by your to-do list, these mindfulness activities can be really useful. Let’s dive in!
Mindfulness Activity: Start Each Day with a Mindful Breathing Technique
If you have an alarm clock, set it up so the alarm wakes you 5 or 10 minutes before you need to actually get out of bed. When the first alarm goes off, you can either hit snooze or set a new alarm so you’ll still get out of bed on time.
For those extra 5 or 10 minutes, sit up in bed in a comfortable position and use that time to do a mindful breathing technique.
This can be a great strategy for a few different reasons.
One - you still get out of bed on time and you don’t have to sacrifice anything else from your morning routine.
Two - practising mindfulness first thing in the morning is a great way to start the day. Hopefully, you’ll feel calm, refreshed, and clear-minded.
Three - it gives you time to wake up gently, rather than jumping out of bed and already feeling rushed.
You might be wondering, what is a mindful breathing technique?
A mindful breathing technique involves paying attention to your breath without changing it. Even though this might sound easy, focusing your attention on a simple thing like your breath can actually take some discipline and practice. Your mind will probably wander off. Many times.
Mindful breathing is simple in theory, but it can be a challenge to implement, especially at first. However, the more you practise and get used to bringing your mind back when it wanders, the more you’ll be able to experience the calmness and connection to the present moment that mindful breathing techniques can offer.
If you’d like to learn more, click here to read “Mindful Breathing – A Simple and Effective Way to Add Contentment to Your Life”.
Mindfulness Activity: Choose One Daily Task to do Mindfully
There are probably many different tasks you do every single day on autopilot. Those tasks are wonderful opportunities to invite more mindfulness into your life!
Here are some ideas:
Drink your morning cup of tea or coffee mindfully by putting your phone down and paying attention to the flavour, aroma, temperature and textures of your cup
Shower mindfully by observing the sensation of the water falling onto your skin.
Walk mindfully by listening to all the different sounds you can hear in your environment, or feeling the ground underneath your feet as you walk, or looking out for objects you’ve never noticed before.
The point of this daily mindful activity is to create a habit of doing something simple each day in a more mindful way - letting go of distractions, being present, and focusing on your senses so you can actually experience the activity.
Mindfulness Activity: Give Yourself Space to Feel Your Emotions (Without Judgement)
This can be a great mindfulness activity to do towards the end of the day to help you check-in with yourself and your needs.
Simply ask yourself “How am I feeling right now?” and if you can, give yourself a few minutes to really observe your emotions and create space to experience them.
For example, you could sit down somewhere quiet and turn your attention inwards.
Notice how you’re feeling physically.
Reflect on the events that unfolded during the day.
Observe your emotions and the reasons behind them.
Then, let go of the reasons and focus on the emotion itself. “I feel irritated because the house is messy and my boss expects too much from me” simply becomes “I feel irritated”.
Notice how it feels to be irritated without berating yourself for feeling that way.
Allow yourself to fully feel that emotion and you might even notice the intensity of it start to fade.
Mindfulness Activity: Try The “Don’t Know Mind” Technique
I learned about the Don’t Know Mind from Jack Kornfield over a year ago and I still use it often.
It involves recognising and becoming comfortable with uncertainty and the more I practice, the more I feel like I’ve been able to let go worrying about things I can’t control.
The “Don’t Know Mind” technique works like this:
When you notice yourself predicting the future, or obsessing over certain outcomes, or worrying about what’s going to happen, give yourself some time to do this practice.
Observe what your mind is doing for a few moments, then in your mind, start to say the words “I don’t know what will happen and that’s okay”.
You might like to repeat these words a few times and let yourself explore what it’s like to embrace uncertainty; to let go of the need to achieve a certain outcome and to trust in yourself that no matter what happens, it will be ok.
For example, a lovely friend of mine showed me a cool online platform recently called Medium. It’s a huge collection of great quality articles on a range of topics, including psychology, productivity, mindfulness, work, money, and relationships. I was so impressed that I thought “Wow, it would be really great if I could write my own articles and publish them there.”
I did quite a bit of a research and worked on an article and a few days later, I posted my first article about setting goal categories (rather than “random” goals), which was both exciting and really nerve-wracking.
Then, I started thinking “What if no one likes my article?”, “What if my article goes viral and I actually make some money – how amazing would that be?!”, and “What if nothing happens and it ends up taking too much of my time?”.
I was starting to feel stressed and kept checking my statistics… Until, I realised it was the perfect opportunity to practice the “Don’t Know Mind” technique.
I’ve practised it a few times now to become more comfortable with the uncertainty of writing on Medium, and now I feel much more accepting that I can’t control what might happen. I’ll do my best and learn new things, but I’m not quite so attached to any particular outcome. It feels more like an experiment – and that’s way more fun!
Meaningful Mindfulness Activities for the Weekend
The weekend has almost arrived and you’re wondering how to make it more fun, meaningful, and refreshing. Here’s the short answer; do a mindfulness activity.
Ready for the longer (but totally worth it!) answer? Keep reading…
Mindfulness Activity: Have a Mindful Conversation with Someone You Really Care About
Connection with other people is so key in feeling loved, supported and heard. So, why not incorporate mindfulness into an activity that will help you nourish your relationships?!
Here’s how to put it into practice.
Ask a loved one if they have time to have a chat with you. Let them know that you’re excited to hear how they’re week has been and explain that you’d like to have a conversation without any distractions, like the tv or phones.
You might like to go somewhere nice, like a café so you can chat over coffee or go for a walk in nature together.
The intention with this practice is to really give your time and attention to the other person and to be open-minded during your conversation. If you’re looking for simple ways to become a more mindful listener, be sure to check out episode 24 of The Mindful Kind podcast here. You’ll discover my secrets to having more connected conversations, including body language tips and creating a safe space for someone to talk.
Once you’ve finished your mindful conversation, give your loved one a compliment. Let them know you appreciated their honesty and openness and their time.
Mindfulness Activity: Engage in Something Creative
Painting, gardening, writing, cooking, sewing, building things, using colouring in books with your kids, planning a trip, playing an instrument… There are so many different ways to express creativity!
When we immerse ourselves in creative activities, we often naturally experience mindfulness. We’re not thinking about anything except the present moment because we’re too busy experiencing the creative activity.
For example, last week I went out to the garden and picked some dahlias. I spent some time arranging them in different ways and taking photos of them. I wasn’t thinking about what I needed to cook for dinner, or worrying about the unread emails in my inbox, or thinking about my to-do list for work. I was paying attention to the beauty of the flowers – the different colours and shapes and textures, having fun arranging them in new ways, and taking photos to experiment (rather than trying to capture the perfect image). I was simply immersed in that creative activity.
I’d like to encourage you to try this yourself. Think of one creative activity you could do next weekend and schedule it into your calendar. Then, when you’re engaging in the activity, try to reduce distractions and do the creative activity with your full attention.
Mindfulness Activity: Spend Time in Nature
Being in nature is not only a great way to incorporate more mindfulness into your life, there are a number of other potential benefits, too.
In 2019, a study found that spending two hours in nature every week was associated with good health and wellbeing. This study involved interviews with over 20,000 people and found that participants who spent at least 2 hours in nature each week were less likely to experience mental health distress and poor physical health, like obesity and cardiovascular disease. The researchers also found that spending time in nature didn’t have to involve exercise – it could be a simple as going to a park and sitting on a bench.
Another study in 2019 found that spending just 20 minutes in nature significantly lowered the participant’s stress hormone levels. And when they spent 20-30 minutes in nature? Cortisol levels dropped at their greatest rate.
There are some great indications that spending time in nature is great for both our mental and physical wellbeing.
Here are some ideas so you can try this for yourself:
Go for a walk around a lake
Hike to a waterfall
Sit on a picnic blanket under a tree at the park
Wander around a botanical garden
Visit a berry-picking farm
Go stand up paddle-boarding
Try horseback riding.
There are so many fun things you can do and again, try to go about these activities mindfully by staying present and open-minded as much as you can and letting go of distractions.
Mindfulness Activities for Tough Days
These activities revolve around self-care and looking after yourself, so they’re great to use when you’re feeling low, tired, burned out, or stressed. If you’d like to discover more tips for self-care during tough times, check out this article called 7 Ways to Practice Self-Love When You’ve Had a Bad Day.
Mindful Self-Care Activity: Write Down What You’re Thinking and Feeling in a Journal
It often amazes me how much of a difference journaling can make. I can be feeling overwhelmed, panicky, rushed, emotional and scattered, then spend some time writing and feel much more clear-minded and calmer. Suddenly, I can see what’s real and what’s not, how I’m self-sabotaging, what I’m really feeling, and what I need to do to move forward. It’s a great way to make sense of scattered thoughts and emotions.
Journals can also be awesome tools for self-reflection to help you can find patterns in your feelings and thoughts, discover common stress triggers and recognise what’s working and what’s not.
In my book, The Mindful Kind, I shared a whole chapter about journaling, including different journaling strategies and effective journaling prompts. Get your copy here and check out Chapter Three: Journaling Techniques and Inspiring Prompts.
Mindful Self-Care Activity: Listen to Your Favourite Music, Meditations, or an Uplifting Podcast
Mindfully listening to positive and meaningful content not only helps you invite more mindfulness into your life – it can also help you feel inspired and uplifted.
Below, you’ll discover some great resources you can use!
Meditations
If you find it difficult to switch your mind off at the end of the day and stress tends to stick around, be sure to check out my Relaxation Meditation Album. Simply pop in your earphones, press play, and I’ll guide you through an effective meditation to help you physically release tension, mentally relax, and feel more grounded and calm. Find out more about the Relaxation Meditation Album here.
Meditation Music
Some of favourite meditation music was created by Tahlee Rouillon – it’s soulful, beautiful, and soothing to listen to. You can discover this meditation music on Seekers’ Sanctuary.
Uplifting Podcasts
Did you know that my podcast, The Mindful Kind, has over 200 episodes about mental health, mindfulness, self-care, goal-setting, and so much more? It’s true! You can find The Mindful Kind on Spotify, iTunes, and many other podcasting apps.
One of my favourite uplifting podcasts to listen to is The School of Greatness. Not only do I learn helpful tips and ideas, but I think the host has a really positive type of energy. If you don’t know where to start, I really enjoyed this conversation between host, Lewis Howes, and his guest Brene Brown.
To find out more of my podcast recommendations, check out the image below!
You did it!
You’ve made it to the end of this article - well done! I know it was a big one, but I hope you can refer back to it in the future whenever you’d like a reminder about how to be more mindful.
Don’t forget to grab your free copy of the Mindfulness Activities Checklist below so you can start incorporating these activities into your life regularly and consistently. It’s great to learn about mindfulness, but the benefits happen when you actually start taking action. And don’t worry, I’ve made the checklist both helpful AND fun so mindfulness activities won’t feel like another chore on your to-do list.
If you would like to learn more about mindfulness and how you can incorporate it into your everyday life, be sure to grab a copy of my book, The Mindful Kind! In each chapter, you’ll find interesting and meaningful ways to incorporate more mindfulness into your life. Download a free chapter below for a sneak peek!
