3 Tips for Integrating Meditation Into Your Schedule Everyone needs to take time to relax and hit reset in their daily lives, especially busy entrepreneurs.
By Jen Kluczkowski Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Like many entrepreneurs, my schedule changes from day to day. Despite a real effort to create a routine, the requirement to hustle, connect and work dynamically makes it a challenge and I know I'm not alone in this.
The "liquid schedule" of the entrepreneur has the potential to leave us to feeling disconnected, scattered and unbalanced. But, there is a way to feel more grounded, even if the ground is constantly moving beneath us: meditation.
Meditation brings clarity, enhances attention and provides proper perspective. It is an essential practice to enable you to perform at peak potential. However, the idea of incorporating a meditation practice into our regular routines may seem foreign, if not daunting, as regular practice is key in experiencing real results (and I assure you, they are very real). But since we know that, for many of us, meditating at the same time of day and in the same place is impossible, we need to be nimble with our daily meditation practice, too.
Here a few suggestions for entrepreneurs to keep a consistent meditation practice with a liquid schedule.
Related: Russell Simmons: 3 Simple Ways Meditation Will Make You a Better ...
1. Use a technique.
If you simply sit still for your meditation, it's going to be hard. But, if meditation feels like a focused practice for performance enhancement versus a mellow moment, there's incentive to continue. I highly suggest seeking out a teacher to train you in an approach to meditation that resonates with you. If you haven't yet found a teacher and technique, I suggest working with the simple mantra, "Let Go." Synch your breath with the words: on the inhale, silently say, "Let" and on the exhale, silently say, "Go." When you notice your mind wandering into your inbox or prepping for the next meeting, come back to the mantra paired with the breath.
Related: Meditation isn't just for hippies: Here is how it can help entrepreneurs
2. Become location agnostic.
In an ideal world we sit everyday in the same quiet space, but in an entrepreneur's world, we have to be dynamic with our practice. You can repeat your mantra or practice mindfulness (total awareness of the moment and your surroundings) while sitting on the subway, in a coffee shop or at the office. Instead of resisting the activity or noise around you, embrace it and make it part of your meditation. Allow the movement, energy and sound to heighten your awareness of the happenings around you at the moment.
Related: 10 Apps and Gadgets to Help You Find Zen
3. Remember, it's your very own refresh button.
Use it as needed. We actually have a tool to reset our minds when we feel frantic and overwhelmed -- we should really take advantage of that, right? We can supplement longer meditations with brief five minute long sessions to get fresh perspective, right when we need it.
Instead of trying to work our way through projects with anxiety clouding the process, stop. Hit reset and then come back with more calm. It's much more effective than a third coffee break. Promise. The more frequently you integrate meditation into your life, the more powerful of a tool it becomes in keeping you steady and clear.
