Being mindful takes practice, and it can be easy to forget to be aware of your thoughts and actions throughout the day. However, there are some methods you can use to remind yourself to be more mindful, even if you're a scatterbrain. With a little bit of effort, you can develop a routine that helps you be more present in each moment.
Sounds simple it can be a nightmare in practice.
The world is full of advice and it normally starts with the word just. Just put your keys in the same place every time you get home. Hmm yeah but my ADD brain was daydreaming again as I walked through the door so I forgot I was supposed to remember to remember. oops.
The only two things that ever really worked
So just for you, here are the two strategies that actually work when remembering to remember.
The Blazingly Obvious Hack`
One way to remind yourself to be mindful is to create a visual or auditory cue that will jar you into remembering. For example, if you're trying to remember to meditate every day, you could set a reminder on your phone or put a sticky note on your bathroom mirror. Choose something that you know you'll see or hear regularly throughout the day so that you won't be able to forget.
Strengths of the hack - it can act to jar your thoughts reminding you that you have a task to do.
I used to work in a supermarket and at the end of a shift I sometimes need to buy groceries, informally I would sometimes forget, usually going back into the store anyway and buying everything but what I need so if I was walking to work and thinking about what I need just before shift start I would push my bag as far back in my locker as I could so retrieving it was jaring enough to remind me of my list.
Weaknesses - you kind of have to remember to remember 🤣 so it's unreliable
The Single Thing to Remember Hack
If you have trouble remembering multiple things throughout the day, try condensing everything down into one reminder. For example, you could set a daily alarm on your phone that reminds you to do everything on your list for the day. Or, try wearing a smartwatch that buzzes every time you need to do something. This way, all you have to remember is to charge the watch!
I like smartwatches for this, you can set them to buzz for a geo-location, and since it is right on your wrist, you don't need to rely on the dreaded phone. A physical sensation is always perfable in my opinion as I'm completely blind to notifications and really don't want to explain myself every time an alarm goes off.
The dreaded phone:
- Do you have it with you
- Is it charged
- Do you have data
- Is it set to silent
Arrgh - and apparently, I'm the only person who struggles with this. 🤯
Strengths - Set every important thing entire life and only have to remember two things each day, the fact it is so less overwhelming seems to help me keep it together, Remeber to take it off and charge it, I can set a reminder for that, remember to put it on each morning.
weaknesses - Not great for spontaneous change
Conclusion:
With a little bit of effort, anyone can develop a mindful routine. It's worth the effort. By using some of the hacks above, you can remind yourself to be more present in each moment. eventually, being mindful will become second nature and you won't even have to think about it!
