A520.2.3.RB Instructions: Reflect
on the following in a well-written and integrated blog post: What is the
expected value of spending 10 minutes doing nothing? What did you learn about
yourself and your own stress through this exercise? Is this something you will
continue and will you encourage others to practice these techniques? Why or Why
not? How can remaining in the present reduce stress?
In his TED Talk “All It Takes is 10 Mindful Minutes,” Andy
Puddicombe (2013) recommended that individuals take 10 minutes out of their daily
lives to do absolutely nothing. He specified that the goal is to let your
thoughts come and go, almost as if they are passing right in front of you, while
avoiding the instinct to pick one out and start actively thinking about it. According
to Puddicombe (2013), the expected value of this exercise is that it allows us
to give our minds a much-needed rest and naturally serve as a stress reduction
and avoidance technique.
To test Puddicombe’s theory, I practiced his recommendation – I engaged
in 10 minutes of complete silence for three consecutive days. Here are my
reflections of this experience.
On day one, I pulled into my parking space at work, shut off the
engine, and took a deep breath. I didn’t close my eyes, but I also avoided the
instinct to look around and see who else was arriving in the parking lot. It
was a Wednesday morning and I didn’t have any meetings to rush to, so I let
myself relax and sit quietly. To be honest, I felt as if this experiment
stressed me out. I could not help myself from thinking about the fact that I
was sitting in my car instead of rushing into my office to turn on my computer.
Although I tried to avoid it, I kept looking at my watch to see if the ten
minutes was up. Oddly enough, I did not think at all about the work that needed
to get done. My stress was caused by the fact that I had sat in traffic to get
to my desk before my colleagues and now sitting in my car could allow someone
else to beat me in. This is not at all what I expected to think about, but
these are the results of my initial experiment. I felt a strange threat of
competition bubble inside of me and the thought of “losing” dominated my mind.
I didn’t like this feeling at all. Upon completing the experiment and entering
my office, I was relieved to discover that I was still the first one in. I immediately
felt embarrassed with how I had been feeling and I was disappointed with how I
managed my first 10 minutes of silence.
Day two was Thursday, January 18th and I vowed to do
things a little differently this time. I drove to my office, booted up my
computer, did about two hours’ worth of work, and then I put a private
appointment on my calendar from 9:30 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. During this time, I
went to a privacy room down the hall from my office, shut the door, and sat in
silence. This was a much better experience than the first time, as there were
no distractions around me and there was absolutely nothing on the walls to
distract my attention (not even a window!). I truly felt relaxed during this
process and, to be honest, actually felt a little sleepy during the last few
minutes. One important change in my approach this time was to set a timer on my
watch for 10 minutes. The timer allowed me to resist the instinct to become
distracted by constantly checking my wrist.
On day three, I wanted to take my 10 minutes at home. I knew I
couldn’t accomplish this while my girls were awake, so I took my time after
they went to bed. My husband starts his nightly exercise routine at 8:30 p.m.
so I took this opportunity to go downstairs in our basement and sit quietly by
myself. This experience was an interesting combination of the first two days. On
one hand, the environment was ideal for quiet time. On the other hand, this is
normally my homework time, so I couldn’t help the guilty feeling that I was
cutting into 10 minutes that I normally dedicate to my studies. To address
this, I reminded myself that taking this 10 minutes is my homework, so I needed to relax. It’s clear to see by now that
I was doing way too much thinking during this time.
What I learned about myself during this exercise is that I worry
too much about things that don’t deserve space in my brain. I have got to do a
better job at disconnecting – not only from my electronic devices, but from my
own thoughts as well. I intend to continue practicing Puddicombe’s
recommendation and trying other techniques to help myself relax. I especially
liked the suggestion by Harris (2014) to learn how to separate productive worry
from unproductive worry. Productive worry is motivating, and as Whetton &
Cameron (2016) stated, “stress is needed to motivate action” (p. 92). Unproductive
worry, on the other hand, only blocks people from finding moment to relax
and/or get much needed rest (Harris, 2014). One way to separate these two types
of worry is to make lists, which is a concept I really like and is something I
plan on doing more of in the future.
I plan on encouraging others to watch Puddicombe’s (2013) video
and practice his 10-minute strategy in their own lives because I see people all
around me who struggle to turn off their brains and live in the present. Living
in the present can help reduce stress because it forces us to focus on the
things we can control today instead of worry about the things that might pop up
tomorrow. Although Levitin (2015) recommended prospective hindsight as a way to
prevent future stresses, it’s critical to balance this with the acknowledgement
that we can’t always control things that may impact us in the future. Proactive
strategies help us cope with stress but mixing these strategies with a commitment
to let our brains rest for at least 10 minutes each day may help us all live healthier
and more balanced lives (Whetton & Cameron, 2016).
References
Harris, S. (2014). How to shut off your brain when you just can’t
sleep. Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/23/shut-off-brain-cant-sleep_n_5161774.html
Levitin, D. (2015, November). How to stay calm when you know
you’ll be stressed [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jPQjjsBbIc&
feature=youtu.be
Puddicombe, A. (2013, January). All it takes is 10 mindful
minutes. [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzR62JJCMBQ&feature= youtu.be
Whetton, D. A. & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills, 9th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson.
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