Daily Mental Priming is about priming or “setting” our conscious mind on how we want to “be” or “show up” each day. Being intentional and very clear here can have a big impact both on our own experience, on how we engage with others and ultimately on the results we get. Without it, unhelpful external narratives can creep in and shape how we think, feel and perform. There are many practices that can be used to prime our mind throughout the day. Here’s four that I find very effective:
Morning Compass Setting – give yourself 10 minutes for this. It might be done first thing in the morning before anyone else is up, during your morning shower or as you start your workday.
- Take 5 deep slow breaths to simply become as present as possible.
- Write down (or say aloud) 3 things you feel truly grateful for in that moment.
- Write down 3 words of intention that describe how you want to show up into your day ahead. These 3 words will likely be influenced by what you have on for your day.
These words will likely reflect what’s ahead in your day. i.e. things like meetings, conversations and challenges. This can be done as a short meditation or while stretching. The reason for beginning with gratitude is that it helps ground perspective. From a more grounded state, it’s easier to set clear intentions that are meaningful.
Visualising Your Day Ahead – this can build on your morning compass setting. Again, take 5 to 10 minutes to breathe, relax, and visualise your day ahead. No need for words here so instead just see yourself moving through your day and being the person you want to be.
Some things that may come into your visualisation could include:
- Being truly present with your family in the morning.
- Bringing a calm energy into meetings.
- Communicating the way you want to throughout your day.
- Handling stress or difficult conversations well.
- Transitioning smoothly from work to home so you can stay in the present moment with your family in the evening.
There’s no right or wrong way to do this. The key is repetition and small experiments to find what resonates and works for you.
Password Priming – if you’re at a computer throughout your day, try using your password as a subtle daily nudge. For example, if you are leading a team through a challenging company reorganisation, it may be important for you as the leader to be very conscious of your language, energy and behaviour over this time. It may also be important for you to pay extra attention to how your team is navigating this difficult time. So, in this case something like “conscious leader” as a password (add in relevant numbers and symbols), may act as a primer for you throughout the day to pay attention to these important things. We can use this for anything that we are consciously trying to do, eg eat healthier, get better sleep, be more present etc. Passwords get typed between 5 and 15 times a day. So that’s likely at least 7 mini reminders built into your work day. You can use this for any behaviour you’re working on improving such as improving sleep, eating better, being more patient etc
Evening Recharge – most of us will plug our phones in to recharge overnight but we may not consciously think about how we “recharge” our own batteries in the evening. What helps each of us wind down may be very different. A simple way to approach this is work backwards from getting a great night’s sleep. So, what are the things you might do (or not do) in the evening that typically result in you getting a great night’s sleep? For many people it’s things like:
- Unplugging from technology in the evening.
- Not having a phone in the bedroom.
- What we eat for dinner.
- Not snacking late into the evening.
For me with three children under six, this is the area I’m currently working on. The better I recharge in the evening, the better my morning tends to go. A good morning for me often leads to a really good day.
None of the above take up much time, they’re all free to do and on the face of it are very simple. Please don’t mistake the simplicity of these for any lack of effectiveness. Just because they are simple doesn’t mean they’re easy to do consistently. I will share another lever next week. If you do try some of the above over the course of the week, feel free to get in touch and let me know how you have gotten on with them.
