December the 21st in Britain seems like an innocuous day but this year it taught me something about cricket.

The date is the Winter Solstice: The shortest day of the year when we enjoy just 7 hours and 49 minutes of daylight and darkness arrives before 4pm. Some might say that the depths of winter are depressing, dark, cold and often wet. Others may say this is the start of the long road towards summer.

I used to think like that, pushing my hopes forward to indoor nets in January and pre season training in early April.

But this year I realised something. That constant thinking ahead is good when you are planning but the rest of the time it's a massive distraction.

The best players don't spend their time fretting about the future or worrying about the past. They live in the present moment. After all, to get all zen on you, that's all there really is.

Brain research backs up this way of thinking. Our subconscious minds are unable to distinguish between the present now, the past then and the future hope. That's why we are so good at having ideas but so bad at remembering to buy toilet roll when we are in the supermarket.

So I have decided to dump hope and depression this year and live more in the now. It will help me in everyday life and help me get into the zone on the pitch.

Modern society constantly bombards us with 'stuff'. How many emails do you get a day? I'm betting it's a lot more than it was 5 years ago and a million times more than 10 years ago. That's before you even start factoring your own brain's constant demands on remembering to do things at the least opportune moments, like buy toilet roll the very moment you run out and are desperate to go.

Playing cricket bombards you too. There is sledging of course but what can really trip you up is your mind distracting you as you just go about your business or runs and wickets. How good is this bowler? What if I bowl a bad ball or drop a catch?

If you can eliminate all that noise in the same way as turning off your email program then you are in the moment, calm and without distraction.

"Catch the drifting as it happens, refocus, then repeat as necessary. That’s it."

That has to help your game right? (It might also help you get on top of your email, but that's for others to talk about.)

There is no simple way to do this. You need to get there through a change of mindset. That takes a break of habit for most people and breaking habits is hard to do.

I'm trying to break my habit through being more 'mindful' every day, especially during gym sessions and indoor nets.

I say I think because I'm not really sure yet. I'm going to try it out and start by reading this book over Christmas to kick me off.

I know where I want to be in April but I'm not fully sure how to get there yet. Sometimes the answer is harder than just a single page of tips can give. It's more research and experimentation I need.

I would love to know your experiences with this. Perhaps we can work it out together. I think it can really make a difference, but the only way to find out for sure is to try it. Please leave a comment or get in touch.

Image credit: HNM_1977