Workday Meditation – Ending Your Workday

Release your workday and transition into the rest of your day using this brief practice. This track can be a helpful tool for intentionally putting work thoughts aside so you can focus your attention and energy on the other people and things in your life that are important to you.

Background music used under Creative Commons CC BY 3.0; "Moon Acoustic Vibes " by LesFM.

Transcript

Close your eyes,

Picture an empty coat rack,

A long row of empty hooks on the wall.

Visualize yourself wearing each of the metaphorical hats and personas you wore today at work.

Trusted advisor,

Meeting participant,

Phone call answerer,

Email writer,

Friendly colleague,

Etc.

Now take them off one by one,

Naming each as you do,

And hang them neatly on the hooks.

Notice how you feel removing each hat,

Seeing them lined up on the wall in front of you.

Later,

As you go about your home or social life,

Notice if you unconsciously put one or more of the hats back on.

If you do,

Gently remove it and hang it back up.

If you're planning to do more work later,

Then at that time,

Mindfully and intentionally,

Put on an appropriate hat or two,

But remember to take them back off when you're done.

Take one round of breath to acknowledge your hats.

Take one round of breath to commit to only putting them back on intentionally,

And only those that are yours to begin with.

Take one round of breath to release your day and to open your eyes.