Are you always running a little behind?
Time is one of the most precious things we have, yet it often slips through our fingers unnoticed;
We hurry, postpone, and overfill our days, believing there’ll always be more of it tomorrow.
But time isn’t something we can control or reclaim – it simply moves.
The way we spend our minutes shapes the way we feel in our hours, days, and years.
I invite you to become more aware of how you use your time.
To be able to pause, breathe, and truly be present in what you’re doing.
When you give yourself permission to slow down, even for a moment, you don’t lose time – you reclaim it.
The following is from my stress prevention book, The Frog in the Pot:
Are you the eternal time optimist?
Do you, when you’ve just walked through the door and need to be at a party in 46 minutes – one that takes 18 minutes to get to – think you can easily squeeze in a shower, walk the dog and wrap the present too?
You put unnecessary pressure on yourself when you don’t leave little buffers at the start and end of your plans.
“I really should…”
…get started on that mindfulness thing everyone keeps recommending.
Agreed.
But maybe you should just begin by adding small pauses into your day.
Try the 10-minute trick and pick one of these:
- Set your alarm 10 minutes earlier.
- Leave 10 extra minutes between your appointments.
- Put your feet up for 10 minutes when you get home.
- Head to bed 10 minutes earlier.
Why is it a good idea to catch up with yourself?
When you’re constantly one step behind, life can start to feel like a never-ending chase.
You’re rushing through your days, juggling to-dos, and squeezing in one thing after another – and before you know it, weeks have flown by without a single real pause.
It can leave you stressed, unfocused, and disconnected from what actually matters.
It’s not always about fixing your calendar. It can also be about shifting how you move through your days.
Mindfulness helps you press pause.
By becoming more aware of where your attention is, you create space to notice what you’re doing, how you’re feeling, and what you actually need.
What to do when stress starts creeping in
Your response to stress depends on a combination of your nervous system, life experiences, personal coping strategies, and current circumstances.
That’s why stress can look and feel different for everyone – and why the symptoms and triggers vary so widely.
But no matter what’s causing it – whether it’s work pressure, a breakup, grief, illness, trauma, or just too many demands for too long – your body responds in the same way.
And because stress affects both your body and your mind, any real reset needs to include care for both.
Want a tool to get started?
Try the exercise “The nose knows”:
Mindfulness helps you to:
- Increase presence and awareness in daily life.
- Enhance judgment and decision-making.
- Cultivate self-awareness and self-compassion.
- Cope with difficult emotions, thoughts, anxiety, depression, and insecurity.
- Foster self-care, healing, and personal development.
- Gain better control over your thoughts, reactions, and actions.
- Prevent and address stress-related disorders, both physical and mental.
- Create clarity and organization in your life.
- Embrace reality as it is.
- Develop inner peace, joy, and resilience.
“Thank you for a razor-sharp presentation and great tools for bringing the conversation about stress to the table before it hits.
jakob Herbert Pedersen
Mette B. Lorenzen engages and puts herself into play when prevention is on the agenda.
As one colleague put it: “Wasn’t sure if I wanted to attend, because I didn’t want to see more mechanical slides and statistics about stress, but Mette’s presentation captured me, was present and offered practical tools served in an easily digestible way.”
I can recommend speaking with Mette B. Lorenzen if it has to do with stress and stress prevention.”
Director, Global Manufacturing,
Vestas