“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”
Buddha
There is only one time and place where you can be and have any control over.
The present moment.
But most of us still spend a lot of our regular days lost in memories, reliving a sunny vacation or maybe more commonly repeating an old conflict or negative situation over and over in our thoughts.
Or we get lost in scenarios about what could happen in the future. Maybe through wishful daydreams.
Or maybe by building monsters in our minds as thoughts go round and and round and create scary and dangerous mountains out of molehills or just air.
Or your thoughts may become split and unfocused between several different things and tasks.
If you spend a lot of your everyday moments and time in the future or the past or you have difficulty focusing and you feel this may have a negative effect on your life then maybe you want to learn to live more in the present moment.
Here’s what works for me to do that. Just a few simple things that I use in my normal day.
1. Single-task not only your work.
I and many others have often written and talked about the importance of single-tasking your work to get it done more effectively.
I have found that it becomes easier for me to stay present for more time throughout my day if I single-task everything as best I can.
That means to not use tabs when I browse the internet but to just be fully engaged with one thing online at a time. It means to not use my smartphone or my computer as I also try to watch the TV.
Or to use any of those internet-devices during a conversation.
Get a good start to your day and set the tone for it by doing one thing at a time as soon as you wake up.
If you have to multitask, then try to set off some specific time for it during your day. Maybe an hour or so in the afternoon.
2. Do it slowly.
When you wake up and starting doing your first thing of the day, then slow it down a bit.
Do it and the next few things at a relaxed and calm pace. It will probably not take that much longer than if you do it quickly.
And you’ll be able to stay present more easily, to focus on each thing you do and to find a simple joy or stillness in it.
Do that instead of increasing your stress right away and getting stuck in worries or though loops about what may happen today before you even have had your breakfast.
And as you move through your day, try to do it slowly when you can.
3. Tell yourself: now I am…
As I do something I simply tell myself this in my mind: Now I am X.
For example, if I am brushing my teeth, then I tell myself: Now I am brushing my teeth.
This habit is maybe most important when doing things where it is easy to drift away to the future or past. It could be when you brush your hair or teeth or when you are taking a walk to the supermarket.
I don’t tell myself this line all the time, but I pepper it in a couple of times throughout my day.
4. Minimize what you let into your head early in the day.
If I check the email, Facebook and other websites online early in the day then I have found that I will have more thoughts bouncing around in my head.
And so it becomes a lot harder to concentrate on anything, to stay present and to not be dragged away into some negative thought loop.
So the kind option towards myself has become to not check anything early in the day. And to check things as few times as I can.
If I minimize such things then my day becomes lighter and simpler and I not only stay present more easily but I also tend to get more things of importance done.
5. No, no, no + reconnect with the here and now.
The four tips above make it easier to stay in the present moment and to use it and enjoy it fully.
But each day I still drift into the past or the future. Or my thoughts become split between different things.
If you have read any of my stuff on self-esteem then you know that I often use a stop-word or phrase to quickly disrupt and stop the inner critic or a damaging train of thought. I do the same thing here.
As quickly as I notice that my thoughts have drifted away I say to myself: No, no, no.
Then I quickly follow that up with focusing on just my breathing or just on what is happening around me right now with all my senses for a minute or two to draw myself back into this present moment.
Henrik Edberg is the creator of the Positivity Blog and has written weekly articles here since 2006. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Gothenburg and has been featured on Lifehacker, HuffPost and Paulo Coelho’s blog.
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great guideline, I try to practice this the most I can, but sometimes when there’s lots of stress I tend to forget so it’s great that I can come back here and read your words again and again :-) Thanks Henrik.
Dear Henrik,your recommendation was so useful for me ,because most of the time i’m thinking about past or future . I try to apply your suggestions in every moment of my life.
Thank you so much
One more:
Take notice . . . of your environment, the people around you, your own body. Observing is present moment. We miss the moment when we go about without noticing things.
Great post! Very inspiring. I also agree with paying attention to your body. When I’m doing to many things at once the stress always affects (usually inflammation) my body.
Thank you heanri your artikle is smart as Always & it is useful to me, Keep Going.
Thanks for sharing!
Good tips, Henrik.
I used to brag about being able to multi-task but failed to realise that I wasn’t putting in 100% focus to any of my tasks. When I focussed on one task, it was much better and took away some of the stress I was experiencing.
Shan
Wow should I call it a coincidence or similar minds having similar thoughts about being positive. I just posted a similar article today in my blog- ‘The Positive Window.’
Check the link below
http://epsita.blogspot.com/2014/12/6-ways-to-know-you-have-painted-your.html
Great post!!
Cheers,
Epsita
Your suggestion to slow down and to single task make great sense and in general I strive for this but I can’t give up my mad texting with friends while watching football. It’s like all my friends are in the room with me even though they live on the other side of the country. Now can you tell me what happened to the Packers on Sunday?
I came across your website by mistake and I am so glad I did. I’m asking people to take the time to do something they have never done before with a list of 6 tips to change.
http://myexerciseandwellness.com/2014/12/11/survey-and-tips-to-keep-your-new-years-resolutions/
Hi Henrik,
I truly enjoyed your suggestion to focus on a single task. As a disabled mom and grandmother who had the gift of assisting in rearing many children for many years…I often forget to slow down and focus and end up overwhelmed and frustrated because I am unable to do what I once was so capable of doing. No pity party but– I certainly needed your gentle reminder of taking my tasks one at a time to avoid stress and achieve greater fulfillment and success. So thanks,
Ran
Nice article. Focus on what’s going into your life now and live every moment with it. Your power begins within http://sherrihughes.com/
While waiting for a train (which is delayed as usual …) I always notice how almost everyone on the platform keeps looking at their watch every, say, two minutes, although the announced delay is, say, twenty minutes. I can palpably see their stress levels rise. And I know, “half of them” will have a heart attack before they’re fifty … I always have to remember that farmers’ saying “the pigs won’t fatten faster if you weigh them more often”. Exactly in these times of enforced “rest” these people could take a few minutes to reflect on the rest of the day and e.g. plan their next steps. Instead they fret about what can’t be changed anyhow.