Making time to Meditate

All around us we see a culture of ‘being busy’. We constantly feel the pressure from our demanding jobs, families, house duties, children and general busy schedules; and not having enough time is usually the excuse for not doing what we really want to or what makes us feel connected to ourselves and our emotions. But the truth is that we make time for the things we really want to do, the things we prioritise.

Without a doubt, meditation should be at the top of this list. Meditation retrains the brain to be more efficient, to focus and to not spend time worrying about things that don’t deserve our attention. When we condition our minds to get clear and focus, we are able to get much more done. So, why should we create the time in our busy days to meditate?! By prioritising meditation, we can start to fully understand that practising it will actually open up more time in our schedules. In order to start creating time to meditate, it is important to start small and keep it simple. For someone with a busy schedule, it might be an idea to integrate this practice with everyday duties in order to minimise the time spent on it, whilst also making the most of actions that take time away from our day no matter what.

For example, you can start by practising breath work while in the shower. This type of meditation consists of active breathing, disrupting the traditional meditation facade, and can be practised even just for a couple of minutes at the time. Try focusing on the natural rhythm of your breath to obtain a baseline length of each inhale and exhale. If you feel like it, you can also gradually expand this last one.

You can try meditating while doing house work. The repetitive nature of cleaning the bathroom or washing the dishes naturally lends itself to meditation practice. With the practice of mindful cleaning, you can transform this boring activity into an enjoyable moment for yourself.

Try listening to a meditation podcast while travelling to work. This way of practising is especially good if you travel by bus, train or tube and can take only 5-10 minutes of your time. You can find some of my meditation podcast episodes on the link at the top pf page.

Baking can also be therapeutic. Don’t think of meditation as a task that needs your full attention in this case, but more of a time to be enjoying your breathwork while giving your full attention to the bread loaf you’re baking.

Just start with one or two things at first and build from there. If you start with an impractical length for your meditations, you could get discouraged. For instance, start creating consistency by practising some guided meditation 10 minutes before bedtime. Prepare yourself a herbal tea, dim your lights and take some time for yourself.

While some of us might not have the opportunity to, if you do, try to create yourself a clean safe space or room in your home. Although you might not feel like it helps, having a space that is only for yourself to practise mindfulness in, can actually encourage our minds to find more time to do so.

As you build your practice and start enjoying meditating, if the excuse of “not enough time” surfaces again, make sure to remind yourself that no matter what is going on around you in your life, you still need to find your inner peace daily. Meditation is the way to do that.