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Introduction

Mindfulness is a great way to reset your thinking, stay active in the present, and prioritize your health. Even on the worst days, mindfulness is always guaranteed to make your day seem a little bit brighter and more manageable.

If you have never tried mindfulness before, now is the perfect time to start. It doesn’t take up a whole lot of time out of your day, and it is a completely free way to enhance your wellbeing. One catch of mindfulness is that you have to practice every day. If you only are mindful sporadically, you will not see the results you want.

To ensure that you stay on track with your mindfulness goals, try to incorporate and integrate mindfulness into your daily life. Implementing mindfulness in your daily routine is an easy way to keep yourself motivated throughout the day.

To help you integrate mindfulness in your everyday life, here are 5 tips to implement mindfulness to your life. Read on to find out more.

Start Small

Our brains are incredibly powerful and smart organs. They allow us to think, act, and live our lives as rational and competent beings. They even allow all of us to practice mindfulness when we want, meaning that we all have the capacity to become mindful.

With that being said, we have to work our brains in order for them to be as powerful as we would like. Mindfulness is an area that the brain especially needs a little help in. Although we all have the capacity to be mindful, we have to practice at becoming more mindful each and every day.

For this reason, it is okay to start small. To unlock the full benefits of mindfulness, you need to practice for at least 20 minutes a day without stop. For most people, being mindful for a whole 20 minutes is incredibly difficult at first. Our minds wander, we get distracted, and we simply can't remain focused on the mindful practice for that long.

If you are finding that being mindful for 20 minutes at a time is incredibly tough, start with 5-minute practices instead. As you get better, slowly increase the increments until you finally reach 20 minutes. After that, you can try to be mindful for longer periods of time if you would like, but you don't have to.

There is absolutely no shame in approaching mindfulness like this. Even practicing for 5 minutes will be more beneficial than doing nothing at all, and it is teaching you mental endurance to practice mindfulness for longer periods of time.

Incorporate Mindfulness Into Your Daily Routine

Let's face it. Many of us simply do not have enough time in the day to finish work, eat, communicate with loved ones and family, and be mindful. It seems that the modern world is constantly filled with never-ending tasks and to-do lists.

If this sounds like you, try to incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine. This can include your morning routine, commute to work, or anything else that you do on a daily basis. Doing so will allow you to maximize your time in a way that is efficient and healthy.

If you're unsure how to incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine, here are a couple of ideas:

Morning Routine: Almost everyone, whether it is intentional or unintentional, has a morning routine. Yours may be reading the newspaper, drinking coffee, or preparing a nice breakfast. Find little ways to be mindful and present in the moment throughout this routine. It will allow you to practice your mindfulness and set a relaxing and healthy tone for the day.

Commute: Most people spend at least 30 minutes in their car a day, and that time is often filled with mindless wandering. Use your commute time to become mindful and relax your brain. It is a great time to focus on your feelings and thoughts without taking up any extra time from your day.

Shower: A lot of people think about their past and future while they're taking a shower. Instead of ruminating, be mindful and present while you take a shower. Your shower is a great time to get in touch with your senses and think about your feelings in a relaxing setting.

Waiting in Line: Some days, it seems that all we're doing is waiting in line: waiting in line for coffee, waiting in line at the store, waiting in line to speak to your boss. Make the most of this waiting time by being present and mindful while in line.

Before Bed: Help yourself fall asleep easier by spending a simple 5 minutes before bed being mindful. You may want to do this after you've already put on your pajamas and tucked yourself into bed. Simply close your eyes and be mindful before falling asleep. You can do this either in your head or write it out in a journal.
Any of these ideas will be easy and efficient ways to incorporate mindfulness into your routine.

Set Aside Time Every Day to Practice Mindfulness

If you want to see the true and full benefits of mindfulness, then you have to set aside time every single day to practice mindfulness. Being mindful for long periods of time on a daily basis is the best way to rejuvenate your life and feel more satisfied with it.

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If you want more free traffic from Facebook then the best way to do this is to increase the amount of engagement that you get with your posts. Engagement is an action that a Facebook user takes in respect to your posts.

The most popular forms of engagement are commenting, liking your posts and sharing them but engagement can take other forms such as clicking links and tagging you in other posts. All of this engagement helps you to improve you organic reach.

When your posts have a lot of engagement this will help to get them increased exposure in the news feeds of your audience. Getting more shares and likes will help you to reach the extended network of your audience.

Having an engaged audience should be at the top of your priority list when you want to drive as much free traffic from Facebook as possible. There is nothing better than having a Facebook audience that wants to interact with you and your brand.

You know that increased post engagement will curry favor with Facebook and their algorithm will help you to extend your reach. So it is worth you identifying the best times to make posts and get this timing really perfect.

It is just common sense – if you add your posts at the times when your audience is the most active then you significantly increase your chances of getting more shares, likes and comments. Fortunately there is data driven research to help you identify the best social media posting times so that you can align your posting schedule with these.

Posting at random times and expecting a lot of engagement just doesn’t make sense. So go to your favorite search engine and search for “best times to post on Facebook”. You will see the results of data driven research that you can use.

There are a number of Facebook content scheduling tools available and we recommend that you look into these. Most offer a free service but there will be limits on the number of posts that you can schedule. You should be able to find a low cost scheduling tool that will help you to synchronize your posting days and times for optimum results.

Do you give your audience what they really want on Facebook? Most marketers don’t do this and then wonder why their engagement levels are so low. Let’s say that you are a local restaurant using Facebook for marketing. Does that mean that everything you post has to be about food or drink – no certainly not!

When you think about it, there is only so much that you can talk about any niche on a day to day basis. What you don’t want to do is to start to repeat your content because if you do this you will certainly lose part of your audience.

Think about your Facebook content in this way – it is about your audience and not about you! Of course you want your fans to know, like and trust you but you don’t want to force yourself down the throat of your audience all of the time.

What you need to do is to find some current content that will engage your audience. A good way to do this is to ask yourself some questions:

What real world events can I use in my posts?

There is always something going on that you can use to link your business to. For example, every year there is International Women’s Day so you could create a post about how you support this and you are offering half price for the ladies in your restaurant.

What facts or statistics will interest my audience?

If you are in the restaurant business then there are facts and statistics released all of the time about obesity, healthy eating and so on. You can really use these to your advantage. Ask your audience how they feel about the statistic or fact and watch the comments roll in.

How can you make your audience laugh?

This is a really good question. People like Facebook because they can keep in touch with their friends and family and they can be entertained. So entertain them! There are thousands of funny videos on YouTube for example and you should be able to find something that relates to your niche.

It really is all about your audience. Making posts about yourself or your business is not going to drive much engagement. Use an 80/20 rule here – 80% of your content is for your audience and 20% is about promotion.

Your audience will appreciate that your content is a “mixed bag”. It will make them more curious about what you will post next. They will look forward to seeing your future posts which is just perfect.

If you have been making posts on Facebook for a while then you can easily identify which of your posts were the most popular with your audience. By looking inward like this you can see what type and format of content really resonates with your audience.

It is likely that you are going to have some posts that just really performed well. They got a ton of shares, likes and comments because your audience really loved the content. Don’t just dismiss these posts as something out of the ordinary – analyze them to see why they did so well.

The aim here is to learn all that you can from your successful posts so that you recreate this engagement love with your future posts. Did you use an appealing meme? Did you answer a specific question in detail? Did you show your audience how to do something useful?

It is so easy for you to keep your finger on the pulse with your top performing posts using Facebook Insights. You can see all of your posts and the amount of engagement that they received as well as the reach of the posts.

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Introduction

No. It's a word that only has one syllable and two letters, yet it can be one of the most difficult words to say. Since we were little, we are taught that saying no is a negative thing that hurts people and causes us to miss out on new opportunities. With this in mind, it's no wonder that our society feels uncomfortable telling people no.

Saying no is not a bad thing though, and learning when to say it will allow you to take back control of your life. To learn how to say no, read on.

Reclaiming Your Right To Say No

Though it may sound odd, you have every right to say no whenever you want. You have absolutely no obligation to do things that make you feel stressed or unsafe. For this reason, it is important to reclaim your right to say no so that you can take back control over your life.

Whenever you reclaim your right to say no, you should expect to experience a number of great benefits. Here are some things that might happen when you learn to say no:

Decrease stress Decrease burnout Less resentment
Enjoy your life more
Enjoy your relationships more Increase energy
Increase productivity

Since saying no can lead to any of these benefits, it is imperative to reclaim your right. Get rid of the notion that saying no is harmful or hurtful to yourself and others. Instead, rewrite the narrative so that saying no is a valid response in any situation that you feel stressed or disrespected.

Why Can’t I Say No?

If we have a right to say no and it leads to a number of great benefits, then why is it so difficult to say no? The answer is very simple. As humans, we often put other people's needs above our own. We do this because we want to reassure the people around us and make them feel comfortable and appreciated.

Obviously, the desire to make someone feel appreciated and safe is a good desire to have. The issue is when making someone feel appreciated and safe makes you feel unappreciated and in harm's way. So, it is important to learn how to discern between the two scenarios.

How To Decide To Say No

The best way to discern between these scenarios is learning when and how to say no. Obviously, there are instances when you may not feel like doing something but you absolutely need to. For example, you may not feel like doing laundry, but you need to do your laundry so you can have clean clothes and be healthy and presentable. With that being said, there are many instances when you ought to say no.

How To Decide To Say No

So, you have found yourself in a situation where you are unsure if you should say yes or no. Here are some guidelines to help you think about whether or not to say no to a request:

1. Don’t respond immediately

If you are unsure if you have the time, energy, or resources to fulfill a request, do not respond right away. The worst thing you can do is say yes immediately, but then realize that you're incapable of fulfilling the task. Instead of responding immediately, ask if you can get back to them by the end of the day. Most scenarios will not be time-sensitive. So, you have time to reflect on whether or not you truly have the time and energy to take on this new task.

2. Think about your motivations

While you are considering whether or not to take on another project, think about your motivations. Would you say yes to the project purely out of obligation? Or do you truly want to take on the task? If you are only saying yes out of a sense of obligation, then you should probably say no.

3. Assess your schedule

If you want to take on the task, you then need to assess your schedule and truly take a hard look at whether or not you have enough time to commit to the project. When you're looking at your schedule, look at other work projects, family projects, and self-care time. You do not want to feel overworked or stretched thin by taking on another project.

If you found that your schedule is open for another project and you are excited about this task, then say yes. There is no reason why you should not take on another event or project. If your schedule is overbooked though, you should say no to the project even if it is one that excites you.

How To Say No

Assume that you have found yourself in a scenario in which you have to tell someone no. To many people, this can be extremely confusing and anxiety-inducing, but it does not have to be. Instead, you have the right to say no without guilt or anxiety.

Whenever you are telling someone no, make sure that you are kind and respectful. You do not want to come across like you are angry at the person or that you do not care about the situation or project. It is imperative that you are respectful and kind throughout the entire conversation.

At the same time, you must be assertive. You have nothing to feel guilty for. So, you do not need to be hesitant, resistant, or apologize for saying no. Stand firm in your response to show that you cannot be coaxed into taking on the project.