As a whole, our modern society is extremely distracted.
Our glorification of “busy” paired with our ability to constantly stay connected via smart phones and social media both seem to have a negative effect on our ability to simply pay attention.
In fact, research suggests that attention spans have significantly decreased over the last 15 years with some scientists even suggesting that our attention span is now shorter than one of a goldfish.
Whether or not the goldfish thing is actually true, I’m willing to bet that a majority have probably continued scrolling by now. So if you’ve continued to read, THANK YOU!
Anyways, that comes at no surprise, right?? Our obsession with being “busy” paired with our habits of consumption, scrolling, distraction, comparisons, texts, emails, to-do lists… It can feel never-ending — often overwhelming — kind of like we need to be a million places at once, keeping up with with everything and everyone all of the time. Phewww!!!
Mindfulness is a term that gets throw around a lot, but for a very good reason. Mindfulness, itself, is really just a quality of the mind, but a mindfulness practice refers to any kind of practice or technique that helps to focus the attention of the mind on the present moment.
And mindfulness — whether practiced through meditation, deep breathing, yoga, surfing, painting, walking on the beach, or many number of things — holds the power to improve our ability to concentrate and focus the mind of a single task.
And as our attention span increases, so does our efficiency. When we’re able to focus on one single task at hand, we are fully present. And when we are fully present — like out of the head and completely immersed in what it is we’re doing (or not doing) — we become more aware and better able to respond and adapt to meet the demands required to complete the task.
Plus, when we harness this ability to focus the mind on what it is we’re doing, we tend to quiet the chatter of the mind that typically creates a lot of extra unnecessary noise and distraction.
So, if you feel that you constantly have a million tabs open in your head at once, try this simple-yet-effective mindfulness technique to help you cultivate a clear, calm, and focused mind:
Mindfulness Meditation for Efficiency:
Find a comfortable, supported position — either sitting or laying on your back.
Close your eyes and begin to notice your breath.
Keeping your awareness on your breath, begin to count each breath cycle until you reach 10.
Example: “Inhale 1, Exhale 1, Inhale 2, Exhale 2, Inhale 3, Exhale 3…”
If you reach 10, start over again at 1 — continue this for 5-10 minutes.
If you lose track, get distracted, or count past 10 — just laugh it off and begin again.
Once you are complete, take a moment to notice the quality of your mind and your breath. And don’t forget to thank yourself for carving out some time for your mindfulness practice.