[{"id":7247,"date":"2026-08-19T05:23:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T05:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/hr-worklife\/?p=7247"},"modified":"2026-08-17T21:25:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T21:25:38","slug":"simple-ways-to-add-mindfulness-to-your-daily-routine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.vcu.edu\/hr-worklife\/2026\/08\/19\/simple-ways-to-add-mindfulness-to-your-daily-routine\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple Ways to Add Mindfulness to Your Daily Routine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Even on busy days, you can discover moments throughout our day to practice awareness that can help add mindfulness into the things you do every single day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to making meditation a habit, sometimes we\u2019ll talk a big game, but we don\u2019t necessarily put it into practice. But you\u2019re doing that right now\u2014you\u2019re actually taking time out of your life with the intention of using mindfulness and meditation as a vehicle toward living in a particular way, maybe with greater ease and less struggle and suffering in your life. So, I want to take a moment just to acknowledge you for taking this time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Definition of Mindfulness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, what is mindfulness? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This question has come to me thousands of times, and has no doubt come to thousands of other people thousands and thousands of times. Let\u2019s just clarify this to keep it really simple. Mindfulness is simply being aware. That\u2019s really all it is. I often say it\u2019s the verb of intentionally paying attention<\/a> in a particular way with an engaged curiosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s really an engaged practice that utilizes nonjudgmental attention. The word \u201cnonjudgmental<\/a>\u201d is a little bit confusing because as human beings we\u2019re going to run into a situation, a person, or whatever it is, and we\u2019re going to naturally judge. We have to do that to be safe. Is this safe or is this unsafe? Is this good or bad, right or wrong, fair or unfair? How should I feel about this?<\/em> So, it\u2019s okay to judge. We\u2019re not looking to walk around with nonjudgmental awareness all the time. Judgment is good and important in our lives. But, nonjudgmental awareness<\/a> does help if we\u2019re going to develop something. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We get caught in certain patterns in life, certain ways of reacting with family members, with coworkers, with ourselves, and with our own emotions, that can be unhealthy. We get into unhealthy patterns of communicating and unhealthy patterns of coping in our lives. Being able to settle into an experience, a more nonjudgmental awareness, can help us break out of that reactivity, and then choose a different response. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that said, a lot of people come to mindfulness because they\u2019ve seen it in the magazines, they\u2019ve heard about it in the news, or they\u2019ve heard about it from a friend. They\u2019re curious about it. That\u2019s certainly the way that I was introduced to it\u2014I\u2019ll tell you my story in a minute. But mainly, we\u2019re all kind of looking to alleviate our suffering, the struggling in life. We want a sense of ease, a sense of clarity, a sense of insight. Mindfulness says, \u201cHey, if you practice this stuff, you can get this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Make Mindfulness a Habit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a good analogy that speaks to this. It is said that if you\u2019re a person who walks on the earth, and you find that the earth is really hurting your feet, then you should find pieces of leather and cover the earth with leather. Then, your problem will be solved. But where do we find the amount of leather that can cover the entire planet, or even just the surfaces that we\u2019re going to be walking on? That\u2019s impossible. Instead, what we might do is take a small piece of leather, wrap it around our feet like we\u2019ve learned to do. That way when we walk on the earth, it\u2019s no longer going to hurt our feet. And so, it is the same idea with our minds. It\u2019s said that if we learn how to shift the way we\u2019re relating to things with our minds, it\u2019s like putting leather on our feet when we\u2019re walking on those harder surfaces. We can learn to train our minds with mindfulness, with this awareness, with paying attention in a particular way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With engaged curiosity, and nonjudgmental awareness during the actual practice, we can break out of our reactivity and see things differently. It is a skill that we can all learn and build on. All it takes is applying the learning that you\u2019re doing right now. That\u2019s how we build muscle, with practice and repetition. That\u2019s how we build. That\u2019s how we learn to play an instrument. That\u2019s how we learned to walk, to talk. It\u2019s all the same. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Does It Look Like to Add Mindfulness to Everyday Activities?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a little back story to give you an idea of how this whole mindfulness thing happened to me. I was working hard and playing so much harder. I eventually came across a man at this month long retreat I went to, who introduced the act of eating an orange with mindfulness to me. With this awareness, I had this incredible experience that I didn\u2019t intend to have at all. My body was more relaxed; I felt more joy in the moment and wanted more of that. I knew that it didn\u2019t necessarily stick right away, but coming back to it over and over again, and with enough practice and repetition, it started sticking more and more. It\u2019s really like anything else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we jump in with a formal practice, before I teach you about the attitudes that are fundamental to the success that\u2019s here, before we kind of jump into any of that, I want you to start simply. Habits are things that are developed best when we have simple, doable tasks<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Mindful Awareness Checklist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I want you to consider how you can bring awareness to anything throughout your day. I want to give you a number of examples here, and as you go through the list, check off what works for you and what doesn\u2019t. Say, \u201cYeah, that one worked. No, that one\u2019s not good. I\u2019m not going to be able to do that one,\u201d whatever it is. So, let\u2019s start up with this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n