You get up early and rush to work and worry about deadlines. Then you sit in traffic or crowded public transport to get home. There are meals to make, obligations to meet, bills to pay. We all know meditation can relieve stress and anxiety, but on these hectic days it’s hard to find the time. Yet this is when we need to find the time the most. Meditating on a busy day helps us shoulder the burdens of our lives and live fully and happily.
So how do we find the time? It's easier than you think. You don't need to lock yourself away from the world to meditate. Mindful meditation can fit into just about any part of your existing day. Read below to see our top five suggestions for when to squeeze some meditating into your day.
FIRST THING WHEN YOU WAKE UP
You don’t need to be stressed to benefit from meditation. Quite the opposite, as meditation can help prevent stress. Spending a few minutes first thing in the morning before you get out of bed can help prepare you for what the day has in store for you. However, many people may find this only makes it harder to wake up in the morning. That, in turn, will only lead to more stress, which is the opposite of what we want! So they’ll need to find some other time during the day. What about …
ON THE WAY TO OR FROM WORK
Whether you walk, drive, or take public transport, there will be time during your transit for meditating. Mindful meditation really is as simple as focusing your mind on yourself. Breathing is the most obvious and popular choice, something rhythmic and mechanical that can ease you into a sense of relaxation. If you’re walking, you can concentrate on the feeling of your feet pressing into the ground. On a bus or a train, you can focus your mind on the rocking of the vehicle, or the sensation of your back pressing against the seat.
Whether it's on the way to work or to home, a few moments of meditation will either help prepare for, or get over, your stressful day.
AT YOUR DESK
If you work in an office, you can usually find a few minutes throughout the day to just sit and concentrate. Even if it’s just five minutes before you start work, or after your lunch break. Putting on some headphones and being mindful of yourself in the present will destress you and alleviate deadline and performance-related anxieties. If you find your mind drifting back to work, gently bring it back. The goal is to focus on the present just for a few minutes, to clear and calm your mind.
You might think that if your day is busy then you won’t have five minutes spare, or that finding these fives minutes will cause stress. But taking that time for yourself to engage in a little meditating on a busy day, even the busiest days, will make you more productive. You lose five minutes, but you gain peace and clarity. Your focus will improve and you’ll achieve more than if you hadn’t taken the time. The rewards far outweigh the cost!
WHILE EATING
Everybody has to eat at some point during the day, and eating can be used as the perfect chance for a bit of mindful meditation. Eating is loaded with sensations that we can concentrate on. The look of the food, the feel of it or cutlery in our hands, the taste, the smell. You don’t have to be mindful through the whole meal, but even taking a moment during those first few bites to truly savour all the sensations can be enough. On those truly tumultuous days where you eat at your desk, you’ll find a few minutes for meditating on a busy day while you eat.
But if all this fails, there’s one last, best place:
BEFORE GOING TO BED
You’ve had a big day and it’s time to wind down. Right before bed is perhaps the best and most convenient time for people for meditating on a busy day. It helps you de-stress from the day’s worries, clear your head of your concerns, and prepare yourself for sleep. Few things keep people awake at night as much as overthinking the events of the day. Mindful meditation will help melt away these lingering concerns and clear your mind ready for a full, restful night’s sleep.
Whether it’s in transit, at your desk, or even grabbing an all-important meal, it is always possible to find time for meditating on a busy day. It doesn’t need to be a full 10-30 minute session: just a few quiet, mindful moments is all it takes to clear your thoughts and enrich your life. We hope you found this helpful and find time during your next stressful day to be at peace.
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