Working a full time day job as you know, leaves very little time for a personal/family life. And I used to agonize over it. I became obsessed with time, focusing on how much time I had left to enjoy my evening and what I could cram into it. I had so many things I enjoyed doing and so little time to enjoy them all. I found myself speeding through life and it only made me more obsessed with time and angry I didn’t have enough of it.
My nutritionist pointed out the benefit of mindful eating. Mindful eating is about paying attention to all your senses as you eat. Its about slowing down and savouring each bite. Mindfulness is about attention to your thoughts, feelings and actions in the present moment. Its about slowing down and focusing on the moment. After she told me about mindful eating and mindfulness, I started applying it to not only my eating habits but to the different aspects of my life. I sacrificed a few extra minutes of sleep to give myself more time to get ready for work in the morning, lowering my stress levels at the beginning of the day. I focused less on time, only paying attention when I really needed to. I set out a plan for my crafting projects and lowered the number I was allowed to commit myself to every year.
From there I’ve started to focus on one thing at a time in everything I do instead of multitasking. I still have a long way to go but I’ve already seen a huge improvement. I don’t get to do as much as I used to but I’ve traded quantity for quality. I get to savour each moment to its fullest.