Too Busy to Meditate? Tips to Make Time (Part 2)

In my last article I shared ways to reconsider what it means to say you are too “busy” when it comes to making room in your life for practices like meditation.

For many people the thought of adding a beautiful, spacious meditation into their day seems like a great idea, but most have no idea how to fit it in. If you haven’t read my article on how to re-think busy, start here.

Next, here are a few tips on what to do when you’re too busy to meditate:

1. Do an Honest Assessment

If you truly believe you don’t have even ten minutes a day to meditate, do an honest assessment of how you are using your time.

Without being hard on yourself, notice if you are spending your precious time on things that don’t add the same value to your life as meditation could. Spend a day tracking your normal activities and how you use your time.

You will likely notice some area you can reduce to give yourself the gift of a regular meditation session (the primary time stealers for most people are T.V., Social Media and scrolling your smartphone).

2. Take Something In, Let Something Out

One of my favourite methods to help keep my living space free from getting too cluttered is that I don’t bring something new in unless I am willing to let something I already have, go.

When you buy a new sofa, it is to replace the old one you no longer love to sit on. You don’t stack your new sofa on top of the old one. You sell or give that old piece of furniture away to make room in your home for the new one.

Strangely, many people do not think this way about how they use their time.

They don’t think that in order to bring in a new habit like meditation they may need to trade out the 20 minutes of hitting the snooze button in the morning or delegate a few tasks to other members of their household.

Avoid trying to cram more into your schedule and letting meditation become just another task on your to-do list. Instead make the conscious choice to trade out an activity or habit that is eating up your time with no real benefit and clear the way meditation.

3. Make a Date with Yourself…and Some Friends

When I first began exploring meditation I found it very difficult to stick to my commitment. My urgent “to-do list” often displaced my intention to meditate because it wasn’t a high level priority to me yet.

However, I knew that when I did keep my appointment with myself to meditate, I felt better and had a greater perspective with which to face the day. I decided to make a daily date with myself and invite a few friends to help me stay accountable.

I met with fellow yoga teachers before we began our classes for the day and we would sit together for an hour. On the days that wasn’t possible, I would jump on a Skype call with friends from all over North America and enjoy the connected silence of shared meditation.

Accountability is a powerful thing.

While I wish I was the type of person that always kept appointments with myself, in truth knowing that other people were counting on me to show up is was the inspirational push I needed to sit down and meditate some days.

Booking your meditation sessions on the calendar ahead of time might be all your need to do to give yourself the space. If not, use the power of meditation friends who can help you support your desire to carve out the room in your life to sit regularly.

If you are willing to look, you can find the time and energy to bring regular meditation into your life. We all have 24 hours each day and meditation is a practice that can help you appreciate the sacred nature of this beautiful life you are living.

I promise. You’ll be glad you did.