On a quest to be more mindful, I can openly say I am really not very good. I reflected on my progress thus far and have found that possibly I am focusing on the wrong types of mindfulness. I am trying to battle against my world instead of embracing the necessities and making change over time. The truth is, this world is not built to bask in the glow of a new day, it is forcing us to jump out of bed, race out the door and slog through a days work with maybe a moment to heat up some food as you work through your lunch hour. The fabric of society constantly wants more from us with very little in return other than stress, worry and anxiety of past or future. Being present is more important than ever, particularly if you are the kind of person who wears multiple hats, but it is incredibly hard to do.
Can we be a little mindless?
What I have found in my time focusing on my mindfulness failures is that you have to be realistic in the changes you are willing to make. I thought at first that I could be mindful while eating, meditate at mid morning and afternoon and perform gratitude reflection at night, all whilst training, working and maintaining social connections. I was wrong. Like all habit change we need to start small and the changes you see most beneficial have to work with your life. The reality is that multi tasking is sometimes essential to get everything on your to do list done. So when can mindlessness be helpful or a hindrance?
- Eating my overnight oats while checking my email once I get to work.
- Listening to a podcast whilst I drive to feel motivated and learn something new.
Those items are just as essential to my health as mindfulness is. On the other hand some unhealthy examples are;
- Scrolling through Instagram and eating my dinner.
- Watching Netflix in the background whilst doing computer work.
So before you get down on yourself that your constantly multi tasking, rushing or lacking ‘presence’ just think about how you are actually using your time. Can you cut out aspects such as technology/work/your to do list? Where can you do one thing at a time? Once you know what areas of your life are non essential then you can easily find time to fit in a few moments of mindfulness.
How to fit mindfulness into a busy schedule
There is a way you can incorporate a smidgen of mindfulness practice in your day as a starting point and that is through conscious decisions. Being present, having awareness and using acceptance are all cruxes to mindfulness and are the easiest steps to include in a busy life. Let’s be real here, who has time to sit and ponder the five senses or the journey of your spinach from seed to plant whilst you eat lunch at work? Not many of us. A conscious decision is picking when you will allocate time to mindfulness. Below are some suggestions to start you on your mindfulness path:
- Eating more mindfully; You could take more notice of hunger and fullness at the start, possibly during the meal and when you finish. It’s also probably going to be more realistic to do this at dinner when we are in our own environment. Autopilot around breakfast and lunch meals can actually be beneficial for willpower. You can aid this process by preparing your meals or choosing what to have ahead of time to ensure you have a healthy option available.
- Socialising more mindfully; usually this involves removing distractions like technology. Ban phones from the dinner table, bedrooms and when out with others. A popular punishment for using your phone is having to pay for the bill.
- Working more mindfully; Spend less time jumping between tasks and focus on one at a time. Allocate a period of time for each activity, including emails, and schedule it in.
- Schedule in mindfulness like a meeting; physically schedule it into your calendar or combine it with a task you already do. Often we say “I will do this” but unless it is physically noted down for the world to see it rarely gets done. This could be brushing your teeth, as you arrive home, whilst you walk the dog or after you turn out the lights. Pairing is an easy way to create a new habit ie you do this task when you do that action.
The low down; take it slow.
In essence mindfulness is only hard when we want to go from stress filled, whirlwinds to Zen filled monks. By aiming to make small, realistic and gradual changes that benefit, not hinder our lives we are more likely to succeed. Remember to strike balance between making changes that will fit into your already busy life and the need to make the change to make your life better. Focus on your small wins over time and you may find them snowballing into bigger changes.