turning down the noise with mindful writing

Seems everywhere you turn these days someone is talking about mindfulness. There's mindful walking, mindful yoga, mindful coloring; doctors are prescribing mindfulness meditation to their patients, and corporations are offering mindfulness as a leadership practice.

It's a thing.

But what IS it, really? And WHY is it such a thing?

I mean, we're mindful a lot of the time, aren't we?

Our brains are always working ... checking stuff off the to-do list, watching the clock so we're not late for this or that appointment; thinking about our schedules: when did the dog last get walked? have I checked in on the parents today? and what am I making for dinner?

And that's what our brains were designed for: practical matters; taking care of business.

For many of us, they also keep busy narrating our days, like an internal voice-over, commenting on our activities and interactions, judging us and others, obsessing over past mistakes, and future tripping about all sorts of stuff.

The mind is a meaning-making machine. It tries to make sense and meaning out every durn thing, and that often winds up tying you up in mental knots, making you ineffective with your work, stressed out, distracted, and generally crankypants.

And that's where mindful writing comes in.

With mindfulness, you practice paying attention in the moment, observing your thoughts, and the stories your mind makes up without judgement ... bringing more awareness and understanding to your life.

With mindful writing, you just do that on the page.

It’s is a powerful practice that can help you turn down the noise in your mind (and yes, I did just quote Carly Simon).

A lot of people talk about taking up the practice, but ... they don't. (“There's no time…” “I wouldn't know where to start…” “What am i going to write about?”)

The great thing is: there's no perfect way to do it (remember, it's practice), no perfect time, and no one will be looking over your shoulder telling you what's important to write about or not.

It can be done almost anywhere ... and it doesn't take fancy, expensive equipment. And the practice has powerful benefits. 

Here are a few tips to get started:

Start with your to-do list. Really. I'm not kidding. Sometimes our heads are so mucked up with all the stuff we have to do, it's hard to see clearly.

Write about things that need your attention, or a written exploration of what’s on the docket in your day, and your most pressing tasks or deadlines.

Giving yourself 10 minutes to write down all the things that you need to do – the immediate and the long-range – can free up you energy, and give you space to just be present. (That it helps you manage your day-to-day a bit better? Bonus.)

Keep your hand moving. If you stop to think about whether "commitment" has two m's or two t's (or is it one m and two t's?) (oh, no; two m's and one t ... ok), you're stopping the flow, and the point is to open up your mental faucet and let it all out.

A note about typing vs. handwriting: while a lot of us are really used to typing these days, writing with pen and a paper adds a whole other layer of focus to the process. (It's science.)

Start small. I always suggest that people new to the practice start in 5 minute increments so they don't set themselves up to fail by thinking they need to write down nearly everything that's happened to get them to the page.

Just write one thing. Five minutes.

This is also a great exercise if you're angry, impatient or frustrated:

Pick one small thing to write about.

Your dog's chew toy. your hangnail, a flower. Don't write about the whole garden, or the weeding you need to do; don't write about the flowers you still have to pick out for your daughter's wedding ... just. one. flower. Observe and write what you see. Write about the color; the way the stem goes from a pale to a deep green as it gets closer to the top; the water beading on the petals.

When you slow down and focus on just one thing instead of stewing in your emotions and frustration, you'll notice the difference physically: your stomach may start to unclench, your shoulder relax. It's kinda magic.

Be patient. Writer and writing teacher Anne Lamott says: "Try looking at your mind as a wayward puppy that you are trying to paper train. You don’t drop-kick a puppy into the neighbor’s yard every time it piddles on the floor. You just keep bringing it back to the newspaper.” With writing, just keep coming back to the page.

Experiment. Try stream of consciousness writing. Write out the voices that loop in your head, holding you back.

When this practice becomes habit, you'll reap so many benefits.

You’ll see patterns emerge, and you'll notice the ebb and flow of your life and its challenges.

You'll likely catch yourself in negative self-talk patterns: “I never should have ___; I'm not ___ enough; why didn't I ___ ...” and when you do, ask yourself: am I making something up here, or is it true? is it helpful to me, or can I let it go? 

You’ll become more aware of the obstacles in your path and the steps you can take to deal with them.

You’ll gain perspective, clarity and self-compassion.

Not too shabby for a pen and some paper.