The majority of my day is spent solving problems: business, technical, and personal. More often than I'd like, my mind gets caught in a loop, moving from one problem to the other and back again. At the end of the day, before I start my personal inventory, I like to take a breath and let those concerns go. (I know they'll all be there tomorrow!)

There are many techniques for quieting your mind taken from yoga, meditation, and sports.

One is to breathe in for a slow count of four and exhale to a count of four, repeating four times. That's usually enough to me feel more relaxed and present in the moment.

Another technique is to inhale for a count of four, hold your breath for seven, and exhale for eight. Repeating this three times never fails to quiet my mind.

Sometimes just focusing on the word “in” on an inhale and “out” on the exhale is enough to still racing thoughts. A few repetitions of this can guide your attention back to the here and now.

Starting each daily inventory with a quiet mind will help you reflect more deeply and gain greater insight from the process. 

If your interested in learning more about breathing, I highly recommend James Nestor’s very interesting and very surprising book, “Breath”, or visit his website, mrjamesnestor.com