Sit Spots by Mirjam Glessmer

Introduction to "Sit Spots"

mirjam_glessmer — 2026-07-30 18:08:49 UTC

“Sit Spots” are a mindfulness practice recommended for example by Venet (2024) and Bitting et al. (2026). The idea is that you select an outdoor location that you can conveniently visit — for example on campus, or close to your home — and that you then visit repeatedly, once or twice per week, for ca 10 minutes each. While you are there, notice what you see, hear, smell, feel, how your body and your mind react.

If you like, you can share your experience with us on this padlet: Post a photo, a text describing your experience or thoughs, a picture and a text, or anything you like. You can be logged in and thus share who you are, or post anonymously. Please remember that the padlet is public, that we are advertising it widely, and that therefore anything you share on there is visible to anyone on the internet, so please use your own judgement with regard to what you post.

We provide columns for every week from now until the end of the year (or longer, if we feel that it is good for us and you), and you are welcome to post about every "sit spot" you do! If you would like a weekly reminder email on Mondays, please let me know and I will email you!

Trying what the task is like before asking you to do it

mirjam_glessmer — 2026-08-14 06:30:50 UTC

I have had the "try sit spot" task for today on my calendar for a while already, to try the task before I ask you to try it. But of course now that the day is here, it is crammed with appointments and I start wondering if I should really spend 15 minutes on this rather than trying to get through the day as quickly as possible and go home and into the weekend as soon as I can. But I did it, I went to my new sit spot. And what can I say: It was so worth it! Watching and listening to moving water has such a calming effect on me. I smell a fall morning rather than the muddy lake I expected, and I hear birds through the splashing water of the fountain, and someone building scaffolding in the distance. I am enjoying the cool breeze in the shade after having sat in full sunshine at my desk before coming out, and I know today is going to be a hot day. I can feel my shoulders coming down, my chest opening up, my mind relaxing. I am looking at the trees, already noticing leaves looking more like fall than summer. How many weeks of sit spots will it take until the fountains are switched off, the trees are bare, the lake is frozen? Will I sometimes meet students here? Will this practice become something that I build my day around rather than squeezing it in? I am excited to find out, and I even feel a little excited about going back to my desk now to take on the world!

My first official sit spot

mirjam_glessmer — 2026-08-17 07:43:05 UTC

Now we are officially kicking off the sit spot thing this week! And of course today is really not the kind of weather where it is tempting to do it, and in fact it got cut a little short (which, I know, is because of my optimistic clothing choices, since there is no such thing as bad weather. And we really do need some rain...). Compared to last week, it felt even more like fall, and there are people a lot of people back in the office, and groups of students working next door. I see a tsunami of work on the horizon (and tsunamis move really fast, when you see them it's pretty much too late already, and I will be busy at a conference the next couple of days), so it felt even more important to take these few minutes to breathe and look at the fountain and the trees and the two ducks. I am wondering if, weather permitting, I should start bringing a journal to write down all the stuff that is going on in my head so that I can more easily let it go while at my sit spot. Or do that at my desk before I go. Today didn't feel all that successful compared to last week, but I will try again on Friday!

Sit spot by Gerdahallen

cectrg — 2026-08-17 09:33:15 UTC

Today, during a break from the rain, I tried the sit spot for the first time. My team and I moved from the Ecology building to Geocentrum at the beginning of the year and ever since, I have not really tried the outdoor spaces around our new office. At the Ecology building, I was spoiled to have wildflower fields and a little creek just outside my office and I would often go outside to recharge my batteries. Now, I am between two busy places - Gerdahallen and Sölvegatan. I wanted to try the sit spot exercise to see if I can find a new spot to recharge my batteries close to my new office (another option would of course be to bike up the hill to the Ecology building, but I know from experience that I won't take the time to do that and some outdoor time is better than none). I did find an inviting bench and a nice tree and it was nice sitting there listening to birds quarreling and watch the clouds drift by. I could still hear the traffic and I assume it will soon be busier when also the students are back and unfortunately it was pretty smelly from a close by garbage bin that presumably hasn't been emptied in a while. But I still felt a bit recharged and look forward to see how this exercise and spot will develop over time!

Temporary sit spot

jlrichter — 2026-08-17 14:14:15 UTC

I have not found my regular sit spot yet because I have been travelling. I did, however, make time today to go for a little wander past the shopping centre and train station where I am staying towards a little stretch of trees with an inviting wooden staircase. Halfway up there was a bench inviting one to sit. Perfect! It was nice to look around and wonder where the path ahead goes, look up at the sun coming through the treetops and around at dead logs becoming a new home to (unseen) creatures.

Borrowing Jessika's temporary sit spot

mirjam_glessmer — 2026-08-19 16:33:49 UTC

After two intense conference days, I thought it would be a great opportunity to borrow Jessika's temporary sit spot -- and there was even a sign (the little one in the bottom left!) that invites people to "hang" for a bit and explains that bird song and the sound of leaves help reduce stress, improve memory and restore energy, so we are on the right track here!