5 Habits That Will Help You Be More Mindful in the New Year

"Mindfulness meditation can help you detach from your thoughts and connect to the present moment," Sharone Weltfreid, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist, told POPSUGAR. "With repeated practice, mindfulness meditation can help you gain insight into the workings of the mind and increase your ability to be present." If you're not sure where to start, Dr. Weltfreid recommends trying guided meditations using apps like Headspace and Calm, which can help you learn the basics and slowly build on your practice.

"This may sound strange, but many people have trouble with mindfulness because they are simply not sure what they should be mindful of," Dr. Jones said, noting that focusing on something like the food you eat is a good place to start. "I'm not saying you need to count calories, but just to be more mindful and aware of what you are consuming each day. Once you learn to do this, you are much more likely to be mindful of other things in your life."

Do you really listen when your friends speak, or are you simply waiting to have your say? "Listening mindfully allows the speaker to feel truly heard and cared for and enhances the connection," Dr. Weltfreid said. "Set an intention to offer your full attention to someone who is speaking to you. The speaker in essence becomes the object of your mindfulness practice."

To do this effectively, "notice and step back from preconceptions, evaluations, ruminative, or self-focused thoughts, and any other internal experiences that could limit your perception, create misunderstanding, or result in the speaker feeling unheard," she said. "Listen with nonjudgment, openness, curiosity, interest, and compassion."

"If we practice mindfulness outdoors, we can notice the feeling of the wind on our skin, the expressions on the faces of the people around us, the sound of birds chirping, the texture of the tree trunk, the colors of the sky, the smell of flowers, and so on," Dr. Weltfreid explained. "Setting the intention to notice our surroundings enables us to take a break from incessant mind chatter and experience moments of joy, peace, and connection."

Dr. Jones added that you should leave your earbuds at home. "Take in the sights and sounds which surround you," he said. "This is a good time to reflect on your life and what's around you, as well as to focus on yourself."

Too much screen time could spell disaster for your well-being. "Technology is great. But it often steals our time with mindless activities and at the same time adds a lot of stress to our lives since business can be conducted 24/7 through email and telephone calls," Dr. Jones said. "Give yourself 30 minutes to an hour of no technology. It's a great way to remove yourself from the virtual world and be mindful of the present world that you're living in."