Double Tasking and Mindfulness

Mindfulness sounds easy but it’s not. Especially for someone who has attempted to double task for so much of my life.  Even after I know science has shown that it is not as efficient as single tasking for most things.  I seem to think I am different.  I am special and can double task and be more productive, maybe others can’t. But as with most things practice (and I have spent a lot of time or wasted a lot of time) practicing double tasking.  It is my habit.

The work or mental energy that mindfulness takes feels heavier, harder than the work of double tasking, which I guess goes back to the principle of what you do the most, you fall back on.  You don’t even know you are choosing it or are not aware of the choice so not mindful!  My one small act of mindfulness that I mostly remember to do daily is to really feel the wonder of having a hot shower.  This mindful moment, and it usually is a brief moment, is also one of gratitude.   

Can I thread some more mindful moments throughout my day?  When I visit my mom in her assisted living facility we sometimes sit outside in a covered patio area with some of her lady friends.  They sit outside to escape the air conditioning and don’t seem to mind 90 degree temps and 70 plus percent humidity.  They sit and stare at the magnolia tree or the flowers, occasionally make a comment and frequently nod off.  I challenge myself to sit and just be.  To not run through my to do list in my head or get out my phone.  To breathe, to look carefully at the plants, until the insects become visible.  To listen to the birds sing or cicadas buzz.  To smell the faint scent of the magnolia blooms.  To cherish and be grateful that I still have the choice to get up from my chair, unaided by a rollator or a cane and do something else when I decide to.