These “Active Pauses” give us an opportunity to clear the mental clutter, even if just for a moment. Use these frequent activities to serve as cues to reset and begin again.
This activity gives us the opportunity to acknowledge what we have been doing up to this very moment, and let it go as we clean and wipe. Some possibilities in how we can ‘check in with ourselves’, reset and begin again:
As you begin clearing off the bedside table, cleaning the equipment, wiping down the bed or stretcher, ‘check in with yourself’, in other words, what just happened? What are your thoughts? Are you wishing you could have done more? Are you thinking about what you need to do next? Try and allow your mind to have a ‘task break’. Take those ‘task thoughts’ and discard them with the wipes. Just try and ‘be’ as you clean and wipe. This gives your mind a chance to reset and regroup.
As you wipe, take a deep breath. How does that feel? So often throughout the day, we fail to take deep cleansing breaths. Why are they ‘cleansing’? Think how you feel when you take a deep breath. Relaxed, refreshed, even if just for that moment. How often do we ask our patients to do the same when they are anxious, experiencing pain, unable to focus? So while you clean equipment, even if just for a few moments, breathe deeply. See how you feel after you have completed your task.