No Time to Breathe?

See if this sounds familiar:

At work, I’ve got two computers, an iPad, an iPhone, and as of recently, an Apple Watch. To stay in touch with everyone, the computers are always running WebEx Teams, Microsoft Teams, Skype (2 accounts), Mail (6 accounts), Messages, and Tweeten, with Facebook and LinkedIn in the browser.

I get dozens of pings throughout the day, and like Miley Cyrus, most of them come in like a wrecking ball – the laptop dings, the iPad beeps, the phone chirps, and my watch works some kind of haptic miracle on my wrist.

A Friendly Little Orb

Last week I was in the middle of a communications war zone when I felt a single little tickle on my wrist. No beeps, no chirps, no dings. Eh? I checked my watch, and the little guy was showing a pleasant blue-green orb and reminding me to take a minute to breathe. Just breathe.

“I don’t have time for that right now!”, I thought, as I dismissed the message and got back to replying to something or other.

After the communications tsunami had died down, I realized how silly this was. Was everything else so important that I couldn’t take a minute, or two, or maybe even three, to close my eyes and just… breathe?

That might have been the single most important message I received all day. After taking a few minutes to breathe, my head stopped spinning, my heart rate slowed, and I was MUCH happier. I won’t be ignoring that little orb again.

Breathe. Just… Breathe.

Do it. It helps everything. We all know that. But beyond just inhaling and exhaling, there are a couple ways to make the most out of this gift of time and sanity that we’re giving ourselves:

• Shut your computers. If you have a laptop, the physical act of closing it is a signal to your brain that it can relax. If you don’t have a laptop, put your computer to sleep and really enjoy watching the screen go dark.
• Soft focus. You don’t have to close your eyes, sit cross-legged, or enter a trance. Just let your eyes relax. Don’t focus on anything but your breathing.
• Do at least 2 minutes. It takes a minute for your brain to realize that it can relax. An extra 60 seconds won’t impact your workday, but it will absolutely make a difference to you.

What did I miss?

Do you make time to Just Breathe during the workday? Got any other tips to share? I’d love to hear them!

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Did you enjoy this article? You’ll find a lot more helpful entries in my blog. Be sure to download my free eBook, “Building a Career in Technology Leadership”, too!