How to Structure Your Day for Increased Mindfulness

Go beyond meditation and spend a whole day more mindfully

We’ve all heard the numerous benefits of practicing mindfulness. What we hear less of is what this actually looks like in practice. How can we structure our day in a way that helps us to live mindfully?

I’ve worked hard to create a way of living a mindful day and I have created this comprehensive guide to what works. I spend most of my free time reading and researching how I can structure my day for optimal health. I’m an avid self-experimenter. I’ve tried and tested the following practices, and have found them to be hugely beneficial in both increasing my mindfulness throughout the day, but also in supporting me in living a happier and healthier life.

Not every one of these practices will work for everyone, and it’s likely that I have missed some which will be helpful to others. But these practices will provide a basic guide. Take what’s meaningful for you, add your own, and create your own mindful day.

Progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily.

— Epictetus

Morning

Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.”

— Thich Naht Hanh

Starting your morning in stillness and calm lays the foundations for a calm and productive day ahead. It also helps you deal with the challenges that the day brings with a sense of clarity and calm, and increased levels of focus. You start the day stress and worry-free, rather than starting with a stressed and chattering mind. Your morning will set the tone for your entire day, so it’s important to go through your morning slowly, intentionally, and positively.

Breathe for five minutes

As soon as you wake up, lie still and flat on your back, and breathe. Breathe through three breath cycles. Pay attention to how your breath feels. Pay attention to how your body is feeling. Pay attention to where your thoughts are. Don’t label anything as good or bad, don’t cling to anything. Just notice and let go.

This practice provides a calm refuge for the mind and body to recharge, giving you the mental strength and focus you need to step into the day.”

— Laurie Cameron, author of The Mindful Day

This practice has been hugely beneficial for me. Often, I would find myself waking up with a racing heart and a body full of anxiety. But taking the time to pause and check-in can make a huge difference. Just acknowledging how I’m feeling and the thoughts I’m having reduces their power and I’m able to enter the day in a calmer state of mind. This practice has become non-negotiable for me — it makes a huge difference for the rest of my day.

Positivity

Train your mind to be positive from the minute you wake up.

Now is the time to start bringing in positive thoughts and positive input. I like to do a guided meditation that has a particularly positive tone to it. I like to hear positive and happy things when I wake up, before any other input.

You can also now start to bring to mind all that you are grateful for, and to think of the joyful moments in your life. Think about the house you slept in, your friends and family that support you, and the fact that you woke up at all.

We must always remind ourselves of the privilege of being alive, and be grateful for all that we have been given. Remind yourself of this when you wake up. Marcus Aurelius said,

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive — to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”

If we view each day as a bonus day — to live, to love, to do the things we love to do — we can’t help but experience gratitude. Viewing each day in this way will ensure that you live your day mindfully.

I try to remind myself each morning that today is a bonus day. A new day is not a given, but a gift, and I want to use it well. I realize how fortunate I am to have it. I’m also fortunate to still have friends and family, a roof to sleep under, and clean water to drink. None of this should be taken for granted.

Set an intention

The act of setting an intention is so simple yet incredibly powerful. This practice can be used in everything you do — from waking up in the morning, to the tasks you have to do at work. Setting an intention will push you to move through your day consciously and intentionally, bringing more meaning and purpose to your actions.

Intention will:

• Bring meaning to everything you do, so that you can lead a more meaningful life
• Align you with your purpose
• Provide clarity
• Facilitate growth

Setting an intention is a powerful way to direct your focus for the day, to get more done, and to have clarity in your goals.

How do you want to feel today?

How will you need to have gone through today, to be able to look back this evening and say that today was a day lived well?

What matters most? What needs to get done today?

How do you want to feel at the end of the day?

Ask yourself these questions and establish an intention to help carry you through your day mindfully.

Each day I decide how I want to live that day. Today, it was to live slowly. I hate the feeling of rushing, and like to live as though I’m on vacation time. Sometimes, my intention is to be present, or to appreciate the little things. Having this small and simple intention to carry me through the day helps me to stay mindful and aware as I go through the tasks of the day.

Before I started setting an intention at the start of the day, I knew that I should be more present, or appreciate the little things, but knowing doesn’t translate into action. We must make a plan to implement our knowledge. In the words of Napoleon Hill,

“As knowledge is acquired it must be organized and put into use, for a definite purpose, through practical plans. Knowledge has no value except that which can be gained from its application towards some worthy end.”

Journal

Journaling can serve many purposes but, for me, a lot of my practice comes from stoicism. In the morning this primarily involves planning my day, considering what challenges I may face, and how I might deal with these challenges.

A healthy mind should be prepared for anything.

— Marcus Aurelius

I also write one thing I’m grateful for, what my intention for the day is (outlined in the previous section), and my number one task for the day. I then read the relevant passage from The Daily Stoic and journal on this.

Journaling is a powerful way to be present in the moment. It’s hard to sit down with a pen and paper and not be here, right now. I have found that starting my day with my journal helps me to deal with the challenges of the day more effectively, and brings to light everything that is going on in my head — the essence of being mindful.

Coffee

Drinking coffee is a sacred time for me. When I drink coffee, it’s me time — a special 10–15 minutes during the day where I slow down and just be. Usually, I read — if I can do it outside in the sun, that’s even better. Sometimes I’ll listen to a coffee meditation. Sometimes I’ll journal.

But no matter what, this time is non-negotiable. I’m going to sit down and drink in stillness. If something needs to be done right now, or breakfast needs to be made, I will have my coffee later. This is something I don’t budge on.

Having these sacred spaces of time helps me to stay mindful throughout the day. They bring me back to the present moment and help keep me on track for the rest of the day. Taking the time to regularly slow down and just be is incredibly powerful.

I highly recommend listening to some coffee and tea meditations. You won’t have to listen to these every time you have a cup of coffee, but the foundations they will teach you can be implemented every time you have a cup.

They will teach you to start with some intentional breaths, to feel your feet on the floor, to notice the sounds around you. Then you will start paying attention to the coffee — the warmth of the cup, the shape of the bubbles on top, the steam rising, the smell, and finally, the taste. This process can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 15 minutes. It doesn’t have to be a long time, but it’s so powerful.

Movement

Moving in the morning is incredibly beneficial, and movement can actually be more meditative than meditation itself. I always find that I feel incredibly present during and after exercise. For me, exercise is meditation.

Movement allows deep access to who we are and what it’s like to be in this body, right now. It’s a powerful form of meditation. You can’t help but feel the breath going in and out of your lungs. The sun on your skin. The grass beneath your feet.

Movement forces you to be present in the moment, within yourself.

It clears the mind. Thoughts come and go in passing, without even a conscious effort to let them go . When a thought comes in, you can’t help but let it go as you focus on putting the next foot in front of the other, moving to your next yoga pose, or lifting your next set of deadlifts.

You are present. You are breathing. You are in tune with your body. You can feel where there is tension, where your body is asking for more attention and love. This is the essence of mindfulness.

Movement also releases cortisol and endorphins and increases your core temperature as well as circulation, all of which are going to make you feel more alert, full of energy, and ready to focus.

Be present with the movement. Pay attention to your body and the motions. Breathe.

Shower

Showers are a great opportunity to be present. There is so much to pay attention to — the feel of the water, the smells, the sounds, the sight of the steam, the feel of the lather on your hands.

Don’t mindlessly go through the motions of the shower. Pay attention to every little thing. So often we are on autopilot and we’re out of the shower before we know it. Slow down and enjoy this time.

This is one that I really struggle with. So often when I get into the shower, my mind is off and running. Sometimes I can’t even remember if I rinsed the conditioner out of my hair. Sometimes I’m so distracted I forget to put conditioner in altogether.

But if we can come back to the breath when we catch ourselves thinking about other things, we can bring our minds back to the present and refocus on what is happening now. Take a breath, smell the soap, feel the water. Keep coming back to this. With practice, this process will get easier.

Connect

“When you love someone, the best thing you can offer that person is your presence. How can you love someone if you are not there?”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

The morning is a great time to mindfully connect with others. Whether a pet, a significant other, a roommate, or a parent, be present with them. Pay attention to them. Notice them. Maybe even sit down and have coffee or a meal with them.

Presence is the most powerful gift we can give someone and it’s so easy. You’ll both reap the benefits of a mindful connection and it’s a great practice to include in your mornings.

I’m always up before my partner, usually by two or more hours. But as soon as I hear her move (or I know her alarm is about to go off) I make a pot of coffee and I bring it to her. I get back into bed and we sit and have coffee. Usually, we don’t talk (she doesn’t talk before coffee!) but just being together like this is a great way to be present with each other. We share the pot of coffee, we sit in silence, and we are here.

Work

Mindful commute

The morning commute doesn’t need to be dead time. This is a great opportunity to get in some more mindfulness. Ryan Holiday explains this concept of dead time vs. alive time:

“We have to choose to make every moment a moment of alive time. We have to decide to be present. To make the most of whatever is in front of us.

Might it be better if we were totally free; if we weren’t stuck in traffic or at the airport or on some dumb assignment from our idiot boss? Sure. But we aren’t.

So what are we going to do about it? We are going to find some advantage.

Pick up a book. Pick up a pen. Pick up the phone.

Open your eyes. Open your ears. Open your mind.

There is plenty you can get out of this. Plenty you can do to make this productive, purposeful time — even if the situation is not completely in your control.”

You have the power to turn your morning commute into something highly beneficial for you. Listen to a meditation recording. Sit in silence. Breathe. Notice the things around you.

I like to make the morning commute a time to squeeze in some extra mindfulness practice before the chaos of the day starts. I always listen to audiobooks or podcasts on the way to work. Usually, I select more gentle or spiritual ones for the morning commute, and more scientific ones for the way home. Having the first inputs of the day be positive and uplifting has been really beneficial, keeping me positive and in a good frame of mind as I start my workday.

Single-task

Multi-tasking is a lie, so don’t waste your time with it. You’ll end up doing both things poorly.

A better alternative is to do one thing at a time and to give the task your full attention. Be present with it. Keep your thoughts on the task.

Approach each task as if it were the last thing you will ever do. This will ensure that you do it with excellence and mindfulness.

“At every moment keep a sturdy mind on the task at hand, as a Roman and human being, doing it with strict and simple dignity, affection, freedom, and justice — giving yourself a break from all other considerations. You can do this if you approach each task as if it is your last, giving up every distraction, emotional subversion of reason, and all drama, vanity, and complaint over your fair share…. Do external things distract you? Then make time for yourself to learn something worthwhile; stop letting yourself be pulled in all directions.”

— Marcus Aurelius

Yesterday my intention for the day was to focus on the task at hand. It’s so easy to let your mind run away from you when you’re working, but working can actually be a form of mindfulness. When your mind wanders, come back to your breath, and then refocus on the task.

This will probably be easier when you’re doing the things you enjoy. When I’m writing, my mind doesn’t wander. I can sit for hours without moving or diverting off-task. But when I’m writing my thesis, my mind is constantly grabbing for something else to focus on. It doesn’t want to stay here, with this task. It’s a challenge. I have found that having a pen and paper by me helps with this. Each time a new thought pops into my head, I write it down to address it later. That way, I’m able to let it go.

Remind yourself of your purpose

Keeping your ultimate purpose in mind will ensure you remain present in the moment. It will remind you why you are here, doing this task, right now. This will help you to approach each task in a mindful way.

The Stoics believed in the power of hard work and of staying on task. Marcus Aurelius frequently alluded to his purpose — what he was brought here to do — in his writing. This kept him focused on the task at hand and gave him the motivation to wake up in the morning. He said,

“Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants, the spiders, and the bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being?”

“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?””

Keep your purpose at the forefront of your mind as you go through your day, to help keep yourself on task and free of distraction.

When I am struggling to stay on task with my thesis, I remind myself that it is the first stepping stone towards what’s coming next. I need to get this done if I want to start writing more seriously and create my own business. Knowing this purpose brings me into the present moment and keeps me focused on what I’m doing, right now.

Pay attention to and acknowledge emotions, feelings, and sensations

Pause during tough moments throughout the day. Use the acronym RAIN — Recognize, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture — to deal with any emotions or situations.

• Recognize what you are feeling. Pay attention to your thoughts and your body.
• Allow them to be here — don’t resist or try to minimize them. Breathe.
• Investigate them — where are they coming from? What do they mean? What do they feel like?
• Nurture these feelings, and yourself, the same way you would if a friend or your child was feeling them.

This is a powerful mindfulness practice. We all experience unpleasant emotions or sensations in our days and we often try to push them away. As an anxious person, this is definitely something I’ve always tried to do. I would feel anxious and I would resist it. I would do anything I could to distract myself or try to push the feeling away. But actually, turning towards the discomfort is the best thing you can do. Run through RAIN. Be present with the discomfort.

Ending the Day

End the workday mindfully

At the end of your day, take some breaths and check-in with yourself. See if there is anything you need to deal with emotionally from earlier in the day. You can use the RAIN process outlined above if needed.

Reflect on your day — did you get everything done that you needed to? What were your biggest wins? What challenges did you face?

Then, set an intention for tomorrow. What’s your biggest priority? What tasks need doing?

I do this as a journal entry. I write my top three wins of the day, one thing I’m grateful for, one thing I’m looking forward to tomorrow, and the one task I need to do tomorrow. Deciding what I need to do the night before helps to reduce decision making fatigue in the morning so that I have more capacity to make the decisions that really matter.

I then follow the Stoics again and I analyze my day — what I did badly, what I did well, and how I can be better tomorrow.

“Allow not sleep to close your wearied eyes,

Until you have reckoned up each daytime deed:

“Where did I go wrong? What did I do? And what duty’s left undone?”

From first to last review your acts and then

Reprove yourself for wretched [or cowardly] acts, but

rejoice in those done well.”

— Epictetus, Discourses, 3.10.2–3

Walk mindfully

We should take wandering outdoor walks so that the mind might be nourished and refreshed by the open air and deep breathing.

— Seneca

Walking is a great way to practice mindfulness. I also recently read that if you have a problem, walk until it is no longer a problem. This is similar to the latin phrase solvitur ambulando: “It is solved by walking.”

Walking is a powerful practice that can help you deal with the challenges of the day, and give you another opportunity to be mindful. And it doesn’t have to be a specially allocated walking session. It could be your walk from the office to the car, or from the bus stop to your house. You’re going to be walking anyway, so why not use this time to your advantage?

If you’re working from home, go for a walk around the block. No matter where you are, the point is to pay attention — to sensations, thoughts, your breath, and what’s going on around you.

Thich Nhat Hanh says,

“When you walk, arrive with every step. That is walking meditation. There’s nothing else to it.”

Whenever I have a lot on my mind, I’ll go for a long walk, listening to my thoughts but also listening to the world around me. I’m objective. I’m not labeling anything. I am simply noticing. Thoughts just want to be noticed and taking the time to notice them will help them dissipate.

Even when I’m not worried about something, I have found walking to be a great way to practice mindfulness. Sitting still is difficult for a lot of people, but we can be just as mindful when we are walking. Pay attention to your breath. Feel the ground pushing back against your feet. Hear the sounds, smell the smells.

Greet loved ones mindfully

Similar to connecting with others in the morning, greeting our loved ones is another way to practice mindfulness and increase the well-being of others and ourselves.

“Often when we are welcoming someone — whether home from a long day, to a planned dinner, or even to an important meeting — that person is coming from crawling traffic, a difficult encounter, or another potentially stressful situation. A welcoming physical gesture conveys safety and trust. Neuroscientist Michele Noonan says a warm touch can create an instant attitude makeover and can ease a person’s level of irritation because this sensation triggers the insula, a region in the brain involved with emotional processing.”

— Laurie J. Cameron

When your loved one comes home, make an effort to get up and greet them. Pay attention to them — what they’re saying, how they look, even how they smell. Pay attention to all the little details.

Dr. John Gottman highly advocates for rituals of connection with your partner, with the main one being a six-second kiss upon returning home. Not only will this help you to be more mindful, but it is also highly beneficial for your relationship as well.

Sometimes it’s hard to be happy and positive when we get home. Work has been hectic, traffic was chaotic, we’re tired and hungry. But connecting with your loved ones can actually mitigate these feelings.

Transition mindfully

Transitions in your day are a good time to be mindful. We go through so many transitions over the course of our day. For example, when you leave the house or return home, breathe mindfully. Pay attention to where your thoughts are. Notice areas of tension. This will help prevent you from blowing up from pent up stress either at work or home with your loved ones.

You can use doors as a cue — either the car or the house or the office. Before you open the door, take a few breaths and check-in with yourself.

I like to start breathing mindfully as I approach the final few blocks before I get home. This will ensure that whatever has happened throughout the day, and however I am feeling, doesn’t come home with me. I want to be able to be present with my partner, and not to project any negative feelings from my day onto my interactions with her.

Cook and eat mindfully

Like the shower, cooking and eating provide a great opportunity to be aware of smells, sounds, and textures. Pay attention to what you’re doing. Be mindful of all five of your senses. Smell the herbs and spices you’re putting into the dish. Hear the sounds of the water boiling and the oil popping. See the steam rising.

And when you eat, really pay attention to the food — the smell, the taste, the texture. Eat slowly and purposefully.

“Eating is not only nourishing for the body, but also for the mind.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh

This is another one I struggle with. I like to read or catch up on notifications while I eat — I know I’m not supposed to, but I do. But this prevents me from being mindful of what I’m eating. I’m distracted. I’m not paying attention to my food at all.

Put your phone away and turn the TV off when you eat. It’s too tempting otherwise. Sit and eat and do nothing else. Pay attention.

Tea meditation

I love coffee and tea meditations. I think they’re a great way to bring mindfulness and stillness into your day. Thich Nhat Hanh explains this well:

“Something as simple and ordinary as drinking a cup of tea can bring us great joy and help us feel our connection to the Earth. The way we drink our tea can transform our lives if we truly devote our attention to it. Sometimes we hurry through our daily tasks, looking forward to the time when we can stop and have a cup of tea. But then when we’re finally sitting with the cup in our hands, our mind is still running off into the future and we can’t enjoy what we’re doing; we lose the pleasure of drinking our tea. We need to keep our awareness alive and value each moment of our daily life…. Drinking a cup of tea is a pleasure we can give ourselves every day. To enjoy our tea, we have to be fully present and know clearly and deeply that we are drinking tea.”

Pay attention to the tea. Feel the warmth, enjoy the aroma, watch the steam, savor the taste. Use the tea as a cue to be mindful, and to check in with your body and mind.

Every time I have a cup of tea or coffee, I pause. I feel the warmth between my hands. I watch the steam rising. I breathe in the aroma. My first few sips are slow and purposeful.

Then, I return to drinking normally. This doesn’t have to be a long process. Even a minute or two of mindfulness before you start drinking will reap massive benefits.

Evening routine

An evening routine is a perfect opportunity to end your day mindfully. There are numerous practices you can include in an evening routine, but some of my favorites include:

• Journaling
• Meditation
• Foam rolling
• Preparing my sleep sanctuary

Journalling

Journalling is powerful at any time of day, and I do most of my journaling in the morning to plan my day, and at the end of the work day to reflect. But I also journal at night if I’ve been thinking about something, or want to process some thoughts.

This is the perfect opportunity to sit in stillness and pay attention to your mind. What are your thoughts doing? How does your body feel? What emotions are you experiencing? Write them down.

This will help you to not only be mindful of how you are feeling before you go to sleep but will likely also help you sleep better because any pressing thoughts or ideas will be down on a piece of paper and not running around in your mind.

Meditation

I like to do guided sleep meditations before bed. These usually involve body scans and noticing any areas of tension. I find that this method of meditation helps me fall asleep very quickly.

But you can do anything. Sometimes I’ll lie with my legs up the wall and just be. You could sit on a meditation cushion and do a Vipassanā-style meditation. The point is to sit, and breathe, and notice. To end your day calmly and in stillness, to set yourself up for good quality sleep and a mindful day ahead.

Foam roll

Rolling before bed can be a type of movement meditation — you are focusing on your body, breathing into tension, and listening to what your body is telling you. Connecting with your body before bed is powerful for increasing relaxation and subsequently a higher quality of sleep. This practice will release tension, and bring you back to your breath.

Shawn Stevenson, author of Sleep Smarter, explains that rolling can “unlock your sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system and activate your parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system” and has “clinically proven benefits on serotonin production, oxytocin, and reduction of cortisol.”

Foam rolling can greatly improve your levels of relaxation and help you wind down after a busy day. Switching off your stress response will allow you to fall asleep faster, have a more restful sleep, and subsequently achieve greater quality sleep.

Pay attention to how your body feels while you roll and stretch. Feel for the twitches of your muscles releasing. Pay attention to your breath.

Don’t do anything else while you’re rolling. I’m always tempted to listen to an audiobook or podcast, but I know that will distract me and bring me out of the present moment. Instead, I sit in silence. I pay attention to my body. I breathe. I close my eyes and relax into the tight spots. I find this to be a powerful form of meditation.

Sleep sanctuary setup

This is one of my favorite parts of the day. I get my earplugs out, I do a final check that my water bottle and headphones are ready for when I wake up, and I put a few drops of lavender oil on my pillow. My phone is away with my morning meditation ready to go, my to-do list for tomorrow is made, and my journaling is done.

Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day. . . .The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.”

— Seneca

Having a space where you feel safe and comfortable is vital for a good night’s sleep. Ideally, you want a clutter-free, plain room, with nothing except the essentials in it. Make sure your nightstand is clear. Have something that makes you feel safe nearby — whether a photo of a loved one, a particular blanket or pillow, or anything else that is comforting.

Smells are also an incredibly powerful tool to include in your sleep sanctuary. I use lavender, which is the traditional sleep smell. It helps to promote calm and relaxation and helps with sleep. As soon as I smell the lavender, I feel safe and relaxed. It’s become a comfort for me, because it is associated with being tucked up in my comfy bed, feeling relaxed and prepared for the next day.

Tips

• Start small. One breath. One minute. One line of your journal. You don’t have to spend hours on your meditation cushion. Find opportunities for short moments of stillness in your current routine.
• Curate your environment to support mindfulness — ideally a clutter-free home and bedroom, a space to do your meditation practice if you choose to do so, nice mugs for your tea and coffee to help cultivate awareness. Use your environment to your advantage.
• Play around with these practices. Not all of these will resonate with you, so try them out and see what works. Alter them if needed, to fit your lifestyle and schedule. Mindfulness is highly personal, and no two people will practice mindfulness in the same way.

Conclusion

Mindfulness doesn’t need to be difficult or complicated. We don’t need to spend hours on a formal mindfulness practice. Mindfulness can be found in the simplest of tasks within our current routines. We just need to be aware of the opportunities presented to us. Every moment is an opportunity to cultivate mindfulness, and in doing so, to live a slower, richer, and more meaningful life.

Assemble your life… action by action. And be satisfied if each one achieves its goal…. No one can keep that from happening…. Action by action.”

— Marcus Aurelius