I have a solid morning routine that includes waking around 6, oral care, meditation with breath work, a little movement, showering then breakfast. I love having my mornings centered around my body. I recently noticed once I finish my morning routine, my focus flips without me knowing it and I become top heavy, meaning my mind goes 'ok done w body, now to back to mind as the center' and the day unravels from there. I typically take few breaks, tune out the sensations of my body, multitask all day and race to 5pm. I do stop for lunch.
Last month i had a hard stop in my personal life and took a month off of work. I was able to see how white knuckle I was working and how much suffered it was causing me. Upon returning to work, I'm focusing on doing one thing at a time and, per Shannon's suggestion, using a pomodoro timer to regulate working and breaks to stretch, go outside, play w the dog, fold laundry for 5 mins, etc.
Last week was my first week back to work and I successfully stuck to using the pomodoro about 85% of time. It's really interesting how productive and focused you can be when you do take breaks and bring the sensations of your body back to the forefront. Now that im listening for my body more, what it's telling me is coming through louder and louder. I can also tell when I'm going into the 'mind mode' and stop for a brief moment to recenter. Ive also gained a new appreciation for saying 'no' and it feels really good.