The reality is, in today’s digital and simultaneous world, there is no such thing as “work-life balance.” There is, instead, “work-life integration.” And the trick is learning to maintain focus on the task ahead of us. Mindfulness – that kitschy word everyone keeps throwing around these days. Staying in the present. Actually living every experience, instead of automating it, or being distracted away from it. A surprisingly difficult task, particularly for those of us who have just gone through a major life event (marriage, childbirth, death in the family, loss of a job).
So how do we go about making a change? To get increasingly more adept at “finding the moment,” try the following three steps:
1. Practice, practice, practice.
Think of mindfulness as a muscle that needs exercise. Focus on the task at hand whenever it occurs to you – even the mundane. When your toddler corners you into an intense discussion about the ladybug she saw that day, make the world stop for her, and listen. There are hundreds of practice opportunities every day. I’m constantly awed by the beauty that can be aroused from those ordinary moments.