Got a Minute? Count Backwards.

Got a minute? Feeling frazzled, overwhelmed, or distracted? Here’s another installment in the ProfHacker one-minute body/mind series.

This exercise is very valuable when you find yourself so overwhelmed by thoughts and ideas that you can’t actually focus on doing anything. Maybe you’ve even tried to close your eyes and simply breathe for one minute, but your anxious internal voice wouldn’t quiet down. 

By giving your visual and logical capacities something to do while you are breathing, you can trick your brain into letting you calm down your nervous system. This is what your brain actually wants anyway.  A calmer mind and calmer body will work better, rest better, and function better in all ways.

• Set your timer for one minute.  (Or 2  or 3, if you’re able to.)
• Close your eyes.  (This is optimal but not required, if you are in a situation in which closing your eyes would be unsafe or socially peculiar. For instance, I sometimes practice this exercise with eyes open while waiting in line.)
• As you inhale slowly, visualize the number 10.  Really work at seeing it in your mind.  You can pick the font and color, but be sure you’re seeing it large enough so that it fills most of your visual field.
• Exhale slowly, still seeing the number 10.
• Inhale, and visualize the number 9.
• Exhale.
• Repeat, counting backwards and visualizing each number, until one of the following happens:

1. your timer goes off
2. you get to the number 1 (if you actually do this in one minute, you are probably breathing a bit too fast)
3. you find yourself distracted and thinking about something else, no longer seeing and focusing on the numbers.  When this happens, just start back at number 10.

Alternative Option 1: As an untimed meditation practice, this exercise is also very valuable — it may take weeks or months of attempts before you can actually count backwards from 10 to 1 for 10 deep breaths without getting sidetracked on something else. And that’s totally fine. Any small amount of time you put into trying this will help you calm your mind and gain greater clarity and focus.

Alternative Option 2: For longer practice periods, or if you find that counting 10-1 backwards is already a too familiar task to provide much focus for your brain, pick a larger starting number and a mathematical interval for counting backwards. (I often use 3 or 7 because they require a little more thought than, say, 2 or 5.)

Alternative Option 3: Instead of just visualizing the number all at once, try painting it in slowly with a mental paintbrush as you inhale; trace back over it as you exhale.

See also:

• Got a Minute #1: Relax
• Got a Minute #2: Get your energy flowing

Like this tip? Try it and let us know in the comments!