Meditate, be Present: One activity at a time

Today people will walk, text, and listen to music all at the same time; or be on the phone with someone while scrolling Instagram; or eat breakfast while watching YouTube videos. While “maximizing” each moment this way leaves us appropriately distracted and our attention maxed out, we lose out on the benefit of simple moments and living fully.

Doing one thing at a time can actually improve mental health and also bring richness to moments that would otherwise feel ordinary. When we pause to fully experience a given activity to create meditative moments, we will find greater satisfaction and fulfillment in our day to day lives, all while doing less.

Meditation and Mindfulness

I once spent 10 straight days meditating. This experience was immersive as electronics, reading materials, and even conversation were not allowed at the meditation retreat. As we spent 10+ hours a day meditating, the moments outside of the meditation hall became meditative in themselves. Instead of focusing on my breath and mental space, I began to focus on the tasks at hand.

Distractions were gone, and I began to take in life one activity at a time. Simple activities became meditative: eating by myself in silence at mealtime, walking around with nothing except my thoughts, or brushing my teeth before bed. As my daily activities became focused, and I stopped multi-tasking at every opportunity, life became more beautiful and mindful.

Mindfulness: Meditation in Action

I remember one morning during the retreat seeing the sun begin to creep over a distant mountain range. I took the time to stand there for 15 minutes and watch the sun inch over the horizon until it was in full view. That was a beautiful experience that would have never happened in my normal fast paced life. Urges to reach for my phone, or feeling the need to rush to do something else might have overpowered the moment.

Though I was spending hours seated in meditation at the retreat, I consider that moment watching the sunrise in stillness just as meditative. Mindfulness to me is meditation in action, where instead of focusing on our breath with eyes closed, we make walking the dog, showering, or driving a car singular activities as opposed to base habitual activities that we can layer distractions onto. We need these mindful moments in our lives.

Benefits of Mindfulness

Why limit ourselves to one activity though? When I am brushing my teeth and watching a YouTube video at night I feel very productive, as I maximize every moment of my nightly routine. We need to limit our multitasking because dividing our attention lowers not only our productivity, but also (more importantly) our life satisfaction.

There are many studies on how multitasking decreases productivity (link), but when it comes to multitasking in day to day activities, our objective isn’t productivity, its distraction. We don’t care about maximizing our productivity when we drive in the car while listening to music, or cooking while watching Netflix. The objective in these monotonous day to day moments is maximizing quality of life, and doing less in these moments can actually improve that quality of life. Yet somehow we believe that in these moments our life is better when we are busy.

Decrease Mental Strain

The purpose of limiting our activities to one at a time is not to increase productivity (though that is a byproduct) but to bring greater peace, and decrease mental strain, while feeling more connected to our surroundings.

Walking while doing absolutely nothing else can be healing for the soul. You might have a thought come to mind or notice something around you that you would have missed had you been on your phone or listening to music.

Focus on the Primary Task

As you begin noticing moments when you are dividing your attention, and instead choose to focus on the primary task at hand, it might initially feel awkward to have excess attention. I practice this when I brush my teeth at night. Instead of brushing with my right hand, and watching a YouTube video on my phone with my left, it’s been a meditative experience to begin standing still and focusing on the primary act of cleaning my teeth.

Taking life one activity at a time is uncomfortable. Imagine these situations and how you are currently layering them with distraction:

• Driving in the car
• Preparing food
• Eating a meal by yourself
• Walking into your office
• Standing in line at the grocery store
• Sitting on the subway
• Running in your neighborhood
• On a conference call

Instead of pulling out your phone, or turning on music, lean into these awkward moments by paying attention to your surroundings and emotions.

Conclusion

Learning to live out our day-to-day activities in simplicity can be as restorative as we realize our state of distraction. Yoga or meditation are popular activities because they force us to focus on nothing but the task at hand. The irony in meditation and in living a simpler life is that you can actually be a happier person by doing less.

Find areas that you are layering 2-3 activities at a time and observe whether your satisfaction in that moment is being enhanced. You may be surprised at how much more satisfying life is when you are leaving room for new thoughts and not filling every moment with layers of distraction.