Take 10 Minutes: Get Out of Your Way
I have found tremendous value in the unlimited value of silence. An old mentor told me once that I need to slow down.
I thought my intellectual brain and thought processes would be my path to “victory”, and slowing down only meant I would never be ahead of the game.
Slowing down is like a mini vacation for yourself that costs nothing and can leave you feeling fresh and ready to go.
The goal is to get the heck out of your own way. You know what I mean. You do it a lot, as we all do, and will continue to do so. But we can minimize that to make you a better developer, tester, people leader, strategist, etc.
Here's a few things you can do in ten minutes:
Position
Lying down, in a chair, whatever. If you're sitting, stick your tummy out and make it look big — this is to get the natural curve of your lower spine into play. It's good for your back health. Imagine a stick going down your back and neck, be straight without stressing about it.
Close Your Eyes, or Half Open
If you fall asleep, that's totally okay, that's what you need. Otherwise find a place to stare at, tuck your chin back a little and look down at a 45 degree angle.
Watch How You Breathe
Don't do it differently, just notice how you breathe. Don't change it, just notice it.
Use Your Imagination
Try some of these things:
Notice how each of your body parts feels. Start at your feet and work up. Take inventory, notice aches and pains, tightness.
Imagine your veins opening up and “feel” your blood flowing to your toes, fingertips, everywhere.
Hum! Yeah it's weird, but I love this. Humming makes my body vibrate and I try to feel that buzzing everywhere in my body. I love it, but I'm weird.
When you breathe in, pretend you're ingesting bright warm sunlight. Feel it warm you up.
Or when you inhale pretend you're sucking in molecules from the edge of the universe. Do it slowly, really pull from the edge.
Imagine a sphere growing outward from your body every time you breathe in. It slowly gets bigger
Notice sounds, smells, sights, everything else. Don't sweat em, just notice it all happening, as it does, whether you engage or not.
And That's It
That's plenty. Try it for 10 minutes or more. Try it for 5. Whatever you have is fine.
Any amount of this over time and you'll notice some change. It won't reveal cold fusion, or the perfectly efficient algorithm with zero complexity that self-heal… but it just might help slow you down a little so you can move faster.
If you need help, let me know, I'm happy to help you if you run into challenges, get stuck, etc.
