Days 65-68, Feb. 28 - 3/3 -- DISTRACTIONS

"Distractions waste our energy, concentration restores it." - Sharon Salzberg

Something that I have become more aware of since beginning my mindful living journey is how easily distracted I am. Some of my friends and family may not be surprised by this. But, for me, it's such an innate part of who I am that it is 'normal' and after all of these years a light bulb just went on and I'm thinking..."should it really be this hard to stay focused and be mindful?".  I have suddenly recognized how much energy I put into to being distracted. It's like there's a squirrel in my brain constantly distracting me.  Here's an example from this week...

I arrive home from work with plans to go exercise. I go into the bedroom to change into workout clothes, and then I decide I've got a few minutes so I'll lay out my clothes for tomorrow, at which point I get into my closet and realize, as I look at my shoes all over the floor, that I never did find my shoe inserts, and I should really be wearing them so I go to my dresser thinking that's where I'd start looking when I see my night gown there, and I decide I  should put that in the bathroom since Ed usually goes to bed before me and besides that's where I normally keep it.  I take it to the bathroom and remember that the bathroom remodel starts next week and yep - a quick look at the time on my phone shows me I have time to empty one drawer into the empty tub sitting there, which I do, (after a quick look at Facebook). I then take the tub to the upstairs spare bedroom where I'm storing things. Then, on the way out of that room I look into where the kids play and realize they left a few things out last time they were here. Company's coming so I pick up a few of those things on my way by and then back down the stairs I go only to realize I better get changed to go exercise . .   You get the picture! Seriously!!  This is how my brain works sometimes...chasing squirrels! 

So what's a girl to do? Here's a few tips I've found through my research. Some I'm working on already (like being more mindful) and others I haven't tried yet (meditation).

• Practice mindfulness
• Slow down
• Eliminate clutter
• Shut off electronic notifications
• Train your brain to stay focused -- stop yourself when you catch yourself being distracted
• Quit trying to multi-task
• Learn to mediate

Is anyone else easily distracted? What do you do to stay mindful?