How to Incorporate Meditation into Your Busy Schedule

Prayer is a widely condoned practice that is proliferated by many religions and ideologies, and quite frankly, it is something that you can implement into your day quite easily. Obviously, there are strange stigmas that people have about certain religions and faiths, but technically speaking, you can pray at any point in time and for any length of time. The same goes for meditation.

Meditation typically is looked at as something that you have set aside an ample amount of time for in order for it be done ‘correctly,’ however, meditation is much more similar to prayer than one may think. Envision a more ideal you, a you that operates at a much higher frequency and is accessible via tapping into the vast ocean that is your consciousness. Meditation is simply the practice of getting in touch with this part of you and achieving greater clarity of mind, body, and spirit.

It probably seems unlikely that you can make the time for a beneficial meditation in the midst of your busy schedule, but there are ways in which you can practice meditation throughout your day when you feel like you hardly have time to breathe.

This discussion focuses on how you can go about incorporating meditation into your hefty schedule so that you can reap all the benefits while still getting everything done that you need to.

Scheduling is Key for Consistency

You know how you use your day planner to schedule all of those tasks that you need to complete throughout the day? Well, you can use that same planner to schedule your meditations—no matter how brief—into your frantic agenda.

With how prevalent of a role technology has in our lives, you can also use your phone and computer to set reminders. Whether your allotted time is 10 minutes or 60 seconds, you can most certainly make the time to get in touch with your higher self and bring yourself back to a state of clarity and heightened awareness.

Mindfulness Exercises

Though mindfulness and meditation are certainly close in relation to one another, they are indeed different and can be practiced in different ways. However, one can turn almost anything into a mindfulness meditation of sorts that can bring you into the present moment and arouse profound feelings of fulfillment and satisfaction in your everyday life.

Such ways that you can practice mindfulness throughout your busy schedule are:

• Mindful Walking: Pay attention while you are walking into where you work or if you are going to a restaurant nearby for lunch. Feel the ground beneath your feet, feel the breeze as it gently kisses your cheeks, feels the sun on your shoulders warming your back, and enjoy the experience to the fullest.
• Mindful Eating: While you are eating your breakfast, lunch or dinner, pay attention to how the food feels as you chew it. Bring your awareness to the flavors bouncing off your taste buds and feel gratitude for the comforting feeling of your belly being full of food that improves your functionality. This mindfulness will improve your eating experience ten-fold.
• Mindful Observation: While you are driving to work or on your way home, take the time to observe the colors of the skyline, the whirring sound of your car coasting across the pavement, and watch the clouds as they hang in the sky like a beautiful work of art. This can also be done in your workspace, in your own home after work, or any other place that you can fathom. This will bring about feelings of deep fascination and wonder in your life.
• Mindful Listening: Whether you are on a call or someone else is speaking to you at any point throughout the day, do your best to focus on listening instead of responding. When you listen for the sake thereof, you will find yourself in a space that encourages a deep sense of understanding and appreciation for others, which will also increase your own personal sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.
• Mindful Working: You probably didn’t guess it, but you can also turn your own work into a mindfulness exercise! When you are in the thralls of your workflow, find ways to enjoy your work. Direct your attention to what you are gaining from the experience, what you are bringing to the table, and what you enjoy about it. In doing so, you will find that working can be a much more delightful experience than you have deemed it up until now.

60/5 Routine

If you are new to meditation, it is always good to start small. Considering this, you may want to try a 60/5 routine, which involves setting aside 60 seconds of your time 5 times a day. I know 60 seconds doesn’t sound like a lot, but taking a minute while at your desk to focus on your breathing and settle into your heart space can be just the recentering you need to get back on track and stay in a healthy headspace throughout your hectic day.

72/20 Routine

For those who are looking to dive in a little deeper, there is the 72/20 method. This involves sectioning off your day into 72 20-minute increments. When doing this, you will rapidly begin to see how you can set aside one or two of these segments for some in-depth meditation to ground yourself in your heart space and realign yourself with your highest nature.

This method is focused on shifting one’s perception of time. When you begin to stretch your perspective and allow yourself the courtesy of change, a whole new paradigm of experiences and states of being become possible.

Sleep Meditation

You probably never considered meditation while you are laying down to go to sleep, but it is much more effective than you may think. In my own personal experience, I have used Youtube to search for binaural beats and meditation music made for sleeping.

While you are laying down to go to bed, put in a pair of headphones or use a speaker on low volume, and lay flat on your back with your arms down at your side. Facing your palms upward is a good practice because it symbolizes keeping yourself ‘open’ to the Universe and yourself. Once in this space, simply focus on your breathing and get into a comfortable and relaxed rhythm. Bring your attention to your pulse and allow your thoughts to roam freely, and revel in the magnificence of your mind’s chatter and creativity.

This may induce deep relaxation which will help you to fall asleep, or it may keep you awake for a little bit. If it does keep you up, feel free to do this for as long as you’d like before you drift into dreamland. Before you do, take time to feel grateful for the day and everything in it. Perhaps you have learned some lessons that have made you grow just a little bit more, or maybe you had an encounter that opened up your eyes to how you want to be in the future. Whatever it is, use this time to welcome in appreciation and gratitude. I can guarantee you, you will wake up feeling fresh and full of love in the morning.

The Internet is Full of Resources!

Much like you have found this article, there are plenty of resources on the internet that will assist you in implementing meditation and mindfulness into your everyday life, no matter how busy your schedule is. Take a few minutes and explore the web to see what you find, and try out as many techniques and methods as you can to find what resonates with you.

“I just don’t have time” and “I’m too busy for that” are things that we say far too often. It isn’t that we don’t have time, it is simply that we choose not to make time. So, if you are searching for ways to find peace and stillness in an all too hectic world, you need only create the time to explore yourself through the beautiful art of meditation. There is no need to be afraid. It is only you.