Mental snacks, the mind exercise is something I thought of one day while I was just finishing up a 45-minute block of time for work. What is a mental snack? No, this post isn’t food-related! It is related to feeding your mind goodness throughout your day.
Just as it’s important to your body to eat a well-balanced diet, your mind needs nourishment as well. It’s a pretty cool mental exercise that you do regularly for the purposes of always learning and growing your knowledge library.
A donut with icing and bits of crunchy sugar does sound yummy this morning! And with a great cup of coffee. Unfortunately, I will only be partaking with mental images, as I have cut manufactured sugars out and looking forward to healthier choices for myself. Smile!
Mental snacks
Ok, back to the very important task at hand, mental snacks. As I go through my days working from home I try to constantly evolve and progress in every way I can. I am a learner and doer by nature, so I thrive on knowledge. Mental snacks are what I am referring to the time between things that you are doing.
A mind exercise if you will. For example, when I am working I do time boxing and once the alarm goes off I get off the computer, take a stretch and if I feel like a light snack of fruits I will sit and take in something learning-based.
I will watch an informative video, listen to a podcast, or whatever gets my mind enthralled. There is almost always music or soothing sounds playing in the background for me to absorb anyway, so access is pretty seamless. If you have mentors accessible to view on YouTube, that’s a great way to take in information during your quick break times.
Try to be aware of what your time looks like during the day. Most people will quickly default to scrolling unnecessarily through social media or other distractions based on habit. Break the habit. I promise you once you do you will get a lot more done and you will really start to learn about yourself. Is it that easy? No, absolutely not. We have been primed through the years to keep seeking those distractions.
A great mind exercise that has worked for me is that I try to use those knowledge-based sources as the time filler. As soon as I am going to take my stretch after my time box I get those good sources going. You’ve made it to lunchtime. Even while you are preparing something to eat, listen to something, learn something.
If you work outside of the home use whatever time you have to get the mental snacks in. Listen in the car, on your jog, on your lunch break, on your errand running journey, or when or wherever possible. (please do not do this during important business meetings)
Mental Snacks Tips
-Create a playlist on YouTube or other good sources that you can listen to over and over again. This will be a fantastic time-saver. If things take too much time while trying to learn a new habit, it’s easy to fall off.
-Subscribe to the motivators and influencers on viewing or listening platforms that speak to you so that their content will show up as suggestions. When you do this you will easily and quickly be able to select something of value. 10, 15, 20 minutes at a time or whatever you have before getting back to your work.
-If you have the ability and flexibility to concentrate on your work and have something motivational playing in the background, do it! The goodness will soak in without you even paying direct attention.
-When you have negativity around you, switch your mental snacks on and zone into that. The more you can utilize the tools we all have in the right way the better you will feel about your hopes and dreams.
Conclusion
Mental snacks are just as important as healthy food snacks. Dwell in possibilities and figure out what works best for you. We have the time, we just need to be mindful of it. For many, this will be a newly created habit. This habit will more than likely inspire you to learn and grow more within.
