Mindfulness On Task
Posted by terrepruitt on January 10, 2018
Not too long ago I discovered a way to be mindful quite by accident. This way to be mindful is also ONLY during a specific task. A couple of years ago I wrote briefly about Mindfulness because I had come across a video on Facebook that represented an entirely different definition of mindfulness than I think of mindfulness as. In that post I mentioned walking around while brushing my teeth as not being very mindful. I am not concentrating on the task (brushing my teeth) at hand. I am trying to save time by doing other things while brushing my teeth. The result of that is usually me spending way more time brushing my teeth than I need to because I forget where I have brushed. While I am walking across the room to get my clothes I might have brushed the top front, but then by the time I get to my clothes I have moved onto the top sides. When I grab my clothes I forget if I did the front. So I think I end up brushing and rebrushing. So in effect NOT saving any time at all. Plus the fact that I am just not being mindful of the task at hand. Well, quite by accident I found a sure fire way to MAKE me focus ONLY on brushing my teeth.
I don’t like soft tooth brushes. I like medium. The last time I went to buy a tooth brush I could find soft or firm. No mediums. Every brand, every style I looked at was either soft or firm, but not medium. Who is the jerk responsible for that? Well, I decided to try the firm. WELL, NOW! That is what is making me concentrate solely on brushing my teeth. Them bristles are WAAAAYYYY firm. I am afraid that if I am not giving it my attention 100% I will brush a hole in my tooth. Not only do I have to concentrate as to where I have brushed because I don’t want to go over any area of my tooth more than is necessary, I have to concentrate on the pressure I am using,
So, for a bit now, I have been standing at my sink brushing my teeth – JUST brushing my teeth. For those of you that do that normally, I am sure this sounds ridiculous. But I know there are a lot of others out there like me who do other things while brushing their teeth and it sounds ridiculous, even unimaginable, for other reasons. Well, yup . . . there it is – FORCED mindfulness. I think it actually saves me time. As I mentioned, before there was unnecessary brushing. Now there is not and so it is much more efficient.
Now, if I could just let this cross over into some of the other things I do. There are moments with some tasks where I am very focused, but some tasks just don’t seem like they need my full attention. And then that is when I end up with spilled liquid, a broken nail, a misplaced item, or something else unwanted.
Do you have any tips or tricks for staying focused and being mindful?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
paulliverstravels said
Less multi-tasking. And focusing on breathing is the classic mindful practice.
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terrepruitt said
Yes. It is. Sometimes just deciding NOT to do something while doing an every day task can help with mindfulness, too!
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terrepruitt said
I can’t say that I have heard that, but it sounds familiar. I think my hubby has mentioned his method and it included the four minutes. I have no idea how long it takes me. I am either doing it while doing other things . . . . so it could take 10, 20, 30 minutes . . . . I don’t know. Or I am completely focused and I just do it until I feel I have covered my entire mouth. Not sure how long that takes. 🙂 Have a great weekend, too!
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Liz said
They say brush your teeth for 4 minutes I do it in one minute flat…have a great weekend!
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lisakunk said
I, too, am a multi-tasking brusher. My husband however, is a 6 foot 3 inch bender over, block the path in and out of the bathroom kind of guy. It makes me crazy that he can’t stand upright to brush. Good luck with the concentration. Once a multi-tasked, almost always a multi-tasker I fear.
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terrepruitt said
Well, I do believe that it is somewhat of a habit. But I don’t believe that habits can be changed. So while I might never do every single task on it’s own, I think I can do a few.
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"Walk the Goats" said
Like you I want to make efficient use of time that otherwise seems “wasted.” I’ve done wall sirs while brushing and leg lifts. I use an electric toothbrush which runs for 2 minutes and beeps every 30-seconds. It helps with timing and I still suspect I don’t brush as well while I’m doing multiple things.
I have one mindfulness practice you might like (not while brushing). Here’s a link to my post about it. Happy focusing!
https://walkthegoats.wordpress.com/2018/03/08/mindfulness-money/
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terrepruitt said
Yeah, I think that with society in such a rush and in such a hurry and instant gratification being the word of the day . . . we all feel like we have to do more than one thing at a time. We feel like we have to multitask, but I don’t believe it is good for us to always be like that. So I definitely try to JUST brush my teeth and not do anything else – as I said the toothbrush helps!
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