“Time to be Mindful” 
How are you feeling with your clearer spaces at home after last month’s article? This month I am going to talk about what to do with the time once you’ve created more from a minimalistic approach.
Mindfulness is a buzz word at the moment and sometimes can be a bit confusing as to what it is. I think everybody’s interpretation can be different, but for me being mindful is about coming back to the present moment, and slipping off this auto-pilot mode many of us are in. Life can be so full of stuff, to do lists, meetings, work deadlines, household chores, that it can be difficult to find time to just be in the current moment. I took the approach that if I cannot create more time, I will use all my time in a more mindful way. There is something therapeutic about simply focusing on the washing up or driving to your destination, I use the boring mundane parts of my life to switch my ever racing mind off. The amazing thing I have discovered from doing this is that there are many wonderful things I was missing out on. Just by being in the present moment I can enjoy the beauty of the view driving to work, or the calmness in my thoughts whilst I clean the kitchen. This calmness is what begins to have a greater effect on your body and mind overall. Mindfulness reduces stress, depression and anxiety as well as improving focus and increasing happiness.
So the next time you are driving to work I invite you to just bring your mind to the task in hand and allow yourself to settle in the present moment and see if anything shifts from that auto-pilot mode.
