I used to meditate everyday - I did so for years. Then, about two years ago I just stopped. There were a few reasons for this: my practice felt stale; my mind was relentless in its 'chatter' (I know, this is why I needed to meditate!); and I simply did not have enough time do dedicate 30 minute each morning to being still and present.
Well, about three weeks ago I found myself wanting to sit and meditate again, so I followed this impulse. Three weeks later I can really feel a difference in how I am experiencing myself and others as a result of committing myself to be present to myself each morning. It is like my mind is becoming entrained again to being quiet. I feel really focused.
Mindfulness meditation is a life hack for me that amplifies my focus and productivity.
At a practical level, I am dedicating time to explore my 'self' through meditation for 30 minutes each morning. With a young family this means getting up early, which also means going to bed early - another insight: Going to bed earlier means (for me) that I sleep better and wake feeling more refreshed and focused.
One other thing.
Since recommitting to my daily practice of meditation I find myself feeling into the question “How do I put hacks in place in my life to support me in being focused?,” more often during the day. It's like my mindfulness meditation life hack is creating a virtuous reflection loop that has me actively seeking out additional opportunities to create more effortless ease in my life. For example, I read a blog post yesterday on Medium about superhuman productivity. Th post promotes the 90|90|1 rule ... making sure you do 90 minutes a day for 90 days on the 1 thing that is most important to you. I read this post and experienced a whole-body 'yet' to putting this in place for myself.
So, I created a Coach.me reminder that reminds me 4 days a week at 8:30am. The reminder tells me to:
Dedicate the next 90 minutes doing something that will take you one step closer to accomplishing a goal you care about deeply.
The reminder's bias towards action feels strangely liberating. And, just like the experience I have had meditating each day my aim is to entrain my body-mind to 'just act' in ways that have me realise my highest potential each day.
