Mindfulness Activities For Adults You Can Do in Just 10 Minutes

Does this happen with you too? – You try to focus on a specific task and want to complete it, but your thoughts constantly hop between past and future.
The situation worsens when your mind revolves around every other thought except thoughts related to your work.

It feels absolutely disgusting, right?

Do you want to get rid of such past-future-bouncing thoughts and live in the present?
I guess your answer would be a YES!

*DRUMROLLS, PLEASE*
Presenting you a two-word solution for your problems – “Mindfulness Activities.”

Now, you would ask:-“What the hell are these mindfulness activities and how to perform them?”

Well, you don’t need to worry, as I’ve included almost everything about mindfulness in this post.

Just read the post carefully and get all your queries solved!

What is Mindfulness, and What are Mindfulness Activities? (Easiest Explanation)

Mindfulness is simply being aware of what’s going on around you (including what you’re sensing and feeling). It is the ability to stay in the present instead of thinking or worrying about the past and future. 

Mindfulness activities are the activities that train you to become better at controlling your thoughts. These controlled thoughts allow you to remain in the present and focus on the tasks in front of you.   

Why Should You Practice Mindfulness? (7 Reasons You Can’t Ignore!)

Mindfulness activities are a one-stop solution for the people who are generally busy making future dream castles or living in past regrets and can’t hold themselves in the present.

Apart from helping you stay in the present, here are the 7 bonus benefits of being mindful:-

• It improves your ability to control emotions.
• It helps you enhance focus.
• It helps you observe your feelings and alter them as per your need.
• It relieves you from anxiety and depression.
• It improves overall well-being.
• Along with mental health, it helps to improve physical health.
• It relaxes you and provides relief from stress.    

21 Incredible Mindfulness Activities For Adults That Will Help You Live in Present

1. Meditate.

Practicing meditation daily alone or along with a group could be the #1 mindfulness exercise. It generally involves deep-breathing exercises which enhance your concentration power and ability to control your thoughts. 
Further, It also relieves you from racing thoughts, calms down your mind & body, and helps you get rid of stress.

2. Focus on Your Breaths.

Focusing on your breathing pattern is one of the most recommended mindfulness activities. It helps you to lower your stress levels and live in the present moment. 

Here are the steps by which you can perform it:-

• Look for a distraction-free and noise-free environment.
• Calm yourself and stay silent for a few minutes.
• Now focus on the air moving from your nose to your lungs and vice-versa. Another option is to focus on the air moving up and down from your nose. If you want, you can count those breaths too.

NOTE:- It is natural to get distracted while doing this activity, but you need to focus back on your breaths when your mind goes away.

3. Scan Your Body From Head to Toe & Vice-Versa.

To perform the body scan activity, here are the steps that you need to practice:-

• Lie down in a relaxed position and take a few deep breaths to slow down your breathing.
• Further, start breathing from your belly instead of the chest and feel each breath. 
• Now, navigate your attention from your feet to the head and feel each part of your body.
• Whenever you feel uncomfortable while focusing on a specific part of your body, visualize it leaving your body into the air.

This body scan activity helps you relax, release stress, and become mindful of your body.

4. Listen to the Sounds Around You.

The fifth mindfulness exercise is to focus and immerse yourself in the sounds around you.

• Sit silently or lie down on the ground as per your comfort.
• Now start focusing on one sound around you. For example, the sound of the ticking clock in your room.
• Further, increase the number of sounds that you observe in the surroundings.

This meditation will help you to improve your awareness of your surroundings.

5. Let Your Thoughts Fly.

We often find our thoughts bouncing from future to past and past to future again and again. 

So, how do most of us get rid of it?

We try to ignore those thoughts and focus back on the task we were doing. But does that help?

Of course not! The situation becomes even worse.

So, in this mindfulness activity, you sit or lie down in a comfortable position, consciously focus on your thoughts and let them flow away. You simply observe those thoughts and allow them to take you wherever they go.
This activity helps your mind to free up from unnecessary confusion and the mess going inside your head. Further, you come back soon into the present having a better focus.

6. Observe What’s There in Front of You.

Do you experience running thoughts often while doing a specific task?

If yes, this mindfulness activity would help you bring back the focus and be mindful of what you were doing!

Whenever you feel that your brain is constantly switching up thoughts, focus on the object right in front of you. For example, if you were writing something, start observing the pen in your hand. Look at its shape, design, and other characteristics.
Else, you can even observe your hand lines or how your hand moves and helps you perform different tasks.

The concept is to focus consciously on your actions and surroundings.   

7. Feel Gravity.

In this activity, you need to divert your attention to the gravitational pull of the earth. There are two ways you can perform it:-

• While going upstairs or downstairs, feel the gravitational force pulling you towards the ground and helping you to stand firm.
• You can also focus on the same gravitational pull while walking on the flat surface. Simply feel yourself getting attracted to the earth.

8. Observe the Colors Around You.

Giving attention to the colors is an activity that helps you to be mindful of your surroundings.

Whenever you feel that your thoughts are running from the present, start focusing on the various colors around you. 
For example, if you are sitting in a room, start looking at the color of the walls around you, the color of the pen, or the color of your clothes.

9. Go for a Soothing Shower.

You know the feeling – you come back home after a stressful day at your workplace and go straight to the bathroom for a peaceful shower.

All the tiredness goes away, and you feel more relaxed than ever.

You count it as an activity that helps you calm down but did you know it’s a mindfulness activity as well?

Bit shocking, right?

So, let’s discuss how to maximize the benefits of this activity.

A mindful shower could be a perfect headstart for the day. Here’s how to perform it:-

• As you undress, consciously name every article in your mind that you are taking off. It will help your thoughts focus on the present moment.
• Bring your attention to the point that you are going to cleanse your body and mind.  
• When you enter the shower, feel the sensation of every drop of the warm water going down through your body.
• Now visualize that all your negative thoughts and physical pains or problems are seeping down through the drain.
• Feel immersed in the moment and enjoy it as much as you can.

10. Focus on your Tasks.

As your mind starts skipping thoughts, bring back your focus to the task that you were doing. 
If you are busy doing some official work, bring your consciousness to the analysis:- 

• Am I doing the task right? 
• Will I be able to complete the task before the deadline?

Or, if you are eating food, focus on the food going down from your mouth to your stomach.

This activity will help you to be mindful of the task that you are doing right now. 

11. Go for a Nature Walk.

Going out for a peaceful walk in nature is one of my favorite mindfulness activities. 

Every morning or evening, wear your shoes and reach your nearest park. Have a nice walk over there and observe everything that’s around you.
Walk barefoot on the grass and carefully feel its sensation on your feet. Hear the sounds of the birds chirping. Look at the sky and observe the clouds.

All you have to do is chill out in nature and observe its beauty.

12. Single Tasking.

Multi-tasking generates multiple thoughts, which could easily make you feel lost in the clouds of these thoughts.
As you constantly shift your tasks, your mind keeps shifting its thoughts, and soon it becomes a habit.

One of the easiest mindfulness activities is to stop such multi-tasking. It becomes easier for your brain to process a specific task and help you stay in the present.

13. 3-Minute Breathing Space.

The “3-minute breathing space” mindfulness activity involves 3 steps that you have to perform in 3 minutes.

• The first step is to think about what you’re doing right now in life for 1 minute.
• The second minute involves being aware of your breathing pattern. In this step, you need to feel every breath that’s entering or leaving your body.
• The third minute involves considering the body as a whole and acknowledging all the sensations in it.     

14. 5 Senses Technique (5-4-3-2-1).

“5 senses mindfulness technique” works by involving all the five senses of the human body i.e. vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Here’s how to perform this activity:-

• Sit down wherever you are comfortable and think of the 5 things that you can see around you. It can be a book, a tree, a pen, a table, or anything else.
• In the next step, think of the 4 things that you are feeling.
• Further, think of the 3 things that you are hearing.
• Now think of the 2 things that you can smell.
• At last, think of the 1 thing you can taste right now. It could be anything like a tongue in your mouth or a chopstick in your lips.

This technique instantly draws your focus to your present space, and the best part is, you can perform it anywhere.

15. Think about Your Goals for the Day.

Having your daily goals written on a piece of paper could be a great mindfulness activity.
Paste the goal sheet on the wall or table. It will constantly remind you of what needs to be done right now to accomplish your daily goals and help you stay in the present.

16. Make Daily Intentions, A Routine.

You can make intentions for each day. It is vital to note that these intentions aren’t related to daily goals. They don’t require work for accomplishment.
 
These intentions are what you want to become and how you want to be the whole day. For example, you want to be positive in every situation, or you want to feel happy in every situation or anything else.

Write down these intentions on paper and stick that paper on your wall or place it on your desk. It will constantly remind you of your intentions which will ultimately make you realize who you want to be.   

17. Focus on Lyrics.

If you are a music lover, I’ve got a little surprise for you.

You can practice mindfulness by listening to music!

Shocking, right? Here’s what you need to do:-

• Pick up your mobile phone and put on your headphones keeping everything else aside.
• Now start listening to your favorite music and focus on its lyrics. You can also pick up a new song with your favorite beats and observe its lyrics.

Soon, you’ll find that your brain is now aware of everything going on around you. 

Just make sure you don’t go on and listen to the music for hours.

18. Turn Down Your Smartphone.

Did you know:- As per researchgate, an average person unknowingly checks their phone 110 times per day.

In this activity, you need to switch off your smartphone and put it far. Further, sit or lie down alone in a silent atmosphere and close your eyes. 

Now, Focus on yourself and your body. Think of all the negativity leaving away with your running thoughts. Focus on the silence and feel it in your head. Try to silence your brain like the silence surrounding you.
Further, when your brain is cleaned up, open your eyes slowly and feel the sensation of light going inside every part of your body.

19. Stand On Your Terrace Or Balcony.

Just standing idle on our home terrace or balcony is a relaxing activity that most of us do.

To turn it into a mindfulness activity, observe the cars moving on the road, stars in the sky, apartments in front of you, light poles, or anything else. Give attention to their characteristics, and soon, you will find your thoughts to be back in the present.      

20. Create a Gratitude List.

Make a journal of the things in life that you are grateful for. It doesn’t necessarily need to be on paper, but you could even do it in mind while sitting or lying down in a bed.

You could be grateful for anything in life. 
For example, grateful for the comfort of your home, the facilities you have, and the family that raised you so well.

Preparing a gratitude journal isn’t just a mindfulness activity. But, as per research, it also helps you to uplift your mood.

Undoubtedly, it’s worth a try!    

21. Present Analysis.

Analyzing how your life is going right now could be a great mindfulness activity. It brings your attention to the fact that you need to focus on the present in life to achieve your future goals.

Ask yourself these questions:-

• Why do you want to achieve your goals in life?
• Where do you currently stand in life?
• Where do you really want to be in the future?
• What can you do right now to achieve the life that you dream of?

Do this every day to have a well-defined self-analysis that makes you live in the present to achieve the brightest future.  

Parting Words

These mindfulness activities look extremely easy, but in reality, they aren’t.

Initially, you will be distracted a lot while doing these activities. You’ll try to focus again and again but, you’ll lose it easily. You might even get frustrated sometimes when your mind goes out of control.

But all you need to remember is that it takes time. 

Giving up won’t change anything, but giving it a try definitely could.

So just keep practicing. 

Don’t punish yourself whenever your brain gets distracted, as it’s natural. Just bring back your attention to the activity and train yourself to better each day.

I believe in you. You got this!

So, let’s end this post right here. 
Comment down below if you found it helpful as it motivates me to keep writing. Make sure to share it with your friends that lack the skill of mindfulness. Hit the bell icon if you are interested to read such astonishing upcoming posts.

I’ll see you in the next post.