Throughout the day, ask yourself: “What am I doing right now?”
Is what you are doing right now the best use of your time (starting after you read and share this post :))? If not, do something that is. If it is, stop whatever else you are doing and live in the moment. Be wholly present.
Are you checking your phone? Stop that.
Is Outlook automatically checking for new emails & popping up an alert? Turn it off.
Is Skype notifying you of new chats? Close it down.
Get rid of all those distractions.
Don’t go and check Facebook or Twitter or Google+, live in the moment and be present to your “right now” task.
If you’re spending time with someone, don’t be checking your phone. It’s super-rude to do it, but so many people do. Do you realize you’re telling the other person that they don’t really matter to you?
As some of my friends have found out, if you check your phone while hanging out with me (unless it’s an important call or message), I’ll probably send you a message then and there saying “Hey, we should catch up some time. Let me know when you’re free”. The look on their face when they get the sms is priceless, because it’s pretty obvious what’s going on. If you’ve only got a few minutes or an hour to spend time with someone, then spend the time with them. They’re here right now. The person on the other side of the phone isn’t.
Try it for yourself next time someone checks their phone while hanging out with you. They’ll probably only do it once 😉 You’re doing them a favour by helping them live in the moment with you.
It goes without saying that you better not be checking your phone while you’re hanging out with them! That’d come back to bite you on the ass big time.
Right now is the only thing you have any semblance of control over. Living in the moment is all that matters right now. Shut off all distractions and live fully for the present. Right now is when you will get the most joy and pleasure out of life.
There’s a time for distractions, but that should be the exception, not the norm. If you catch yourself being distracted, don’t beat yourself up over it – it’s still right now. You can simply be less distracted right now.
Stop pretending you can multitask if what you are doing is important. No women are no better than men at multitasking – they’re just better at disguising the stress it’s putting on them to keep up the pretense 😛
Whatever you do, do it with full focus.
As Alice Morse Earle wrote, over 100 years ago:
“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present”
Right now is all that matters. Be present. Live in the moment. Be fully focused. Live right now.