10-minute guided noting practice for gratitude — in the office

About this practice

A 10-minute noting session for gratitude, in the office. No app, no account — press start. A guided session of about 10 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: gratitude

Attention prioritises threats by default, which is useful for survival and costly for mood. Good things go unnoticed simply because they are not urgent.

It tends to show up as:

• Ending the day with no memory of the good parts
• Focusing on what went wrong
• Good moments passing without registering

Gratitude here is an attention exercise, not a demand to feel thankful. Noticing is the practice; the feeling is optional.

Doing this at your desk

• Feet flat, back supported, screen away from your eyeline
• You can do this with your eyes open if the office makes closing them awkward
• Unclench the jaw and drop the shoulders first, before anything else

Nobody needs to know you are doing it. Keep it invisible if that makes it possible.

How noting works

Noting is a technique from insight practice: when something arises, you give it a single plain label — thinking, hearing, planning — and return to the anchor. The label creates a small distance between you and the content.

• Use one word, not a sentence — explaining means you have joined in
• Label and return; do not follow the thought to see where it goes
• Drop the labelling if it becomes effortful and just follow the breath

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00If you're lying down, let the mattress hold all of you. You can stop holding yourself up.
2. 0:15When something arrives, label it quietly — thinking, hearing, planning, worrying — then return to the breath.
3. 0:30Let the last hour go on its own. You can pick it up again afterwards.
4. 0:44For the next few minutes, the only job is to notice what's already happening.
5. 0:58Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
6. 1:14Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
7. 1:28Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
8. 1:38Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
9. 1:51Notice your heels making contact with the floor or the bed.
10. 2:03Notice your breathing, without changing it.
11. 2:13If the good things you usually hurry past starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
12. 2:31If the small comforts of an ordinary day has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
13. 2:50Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
14. 3:03A label is enough. You do not need to follow the thought to see where it goes.
15. 3:18Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
16. 3:28Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
17. 3:40You are the one noticing, not the thing being noticed. Stay on that side of the line.
18. 3:55A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
19. 4:06Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
20. 4:18If noting feels like too much, drop it and just follow the breath. The label is optional.
21. 4:33I'll step back. You stay here.
22. 4:43Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
23. 4:57If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
24. 5:11Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
25. 5:21Notice the small movement in your belly when you breathe.
26. 5:33Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
27. 5:46Take the next breath slowly.
28. 5:55Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
29. 6:06Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
30. 6:18No rush to move on.
31. 6:27Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
32. 6:39Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
33. 6:50Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
34. 7:02Feel the weight of the warmth of noticing what is already here somewhere specific, then let the floor take a share of it.
35. 7:20Think of the good things you usually hurry past as a guest that arrived without knocking. You can let it stand in the hallway.
36. 7:39Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
37. 7:52You are allowed to be unimpressed by the small comforts of an ordinary day. Indifference is a legitimate response.
38. 8:08Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
39. 8:21Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
40. 8:33A short silence. Let it be empty.
41. 8:43Notice the gap between the label and the next thought. That gap is what we are practising.
42. 8:58Remain here for a few more breaths.
43. 9:08If you drifted off, that was rest, and rest counts.
44. 9:20Stand up when you're ready. The list hasn't grown while you were here.

Questions people ask

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.