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Mindfulness in Everyday Life | Guideline # 1

Writer's picture: Ashley CruzAshley Cruz

Wall clock featuring Discus chronologicus — an early eighteenth-century German depiction of time.
Wall clock featuring Discus chronologicus — an early eighteenth-century German depiction of time.

Right now, I’m juggling full-time motherhood, managing requests for private yoga, pilates, and personal training sessions, part-time website design projects, and being a full-time student in doula training and a Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting Teacher Training course. On top of that, there are the many roles I take on as a "housewife"—personal shopper, chef, cleaner, life-planner, gardener... you get the picture. It's a lot. And I love it.


But, it's a lot.


Sometimes, like this week when I’ve been under the weather, things fall behind. And wow, do I dislike falling behind. It goes against all my principles, especially my perfectionist tendencies. When that happens, I feel tension building, resentment creeping in—towards things I’m actually grateful for. Which, of course, is confusing.


Does that ever happen to you? Do you ever feel this tug-of-war between gratitude and stress?


Yesterday, during a mindfulness lecture, someone asked, “How can we expect parents to practice mindfulness meditation every day? Not everyone has the privilege of time.”


That question got me thinking about my own mindfulness practice amidst everything else I’m responsible for. What works for me is practicing informal mindfulness throughout my day. Thanks to this, I’m aware of the tension I sometimes feel, as well as the gratitude that winds through it all. That awareness keeps me patient during days when my energy is low, kind to myself in my inner dialogue, and calm when things don't go as planned.


So, today I want to talk to you about that—about Mindfulness in Everyday Life. How you can start your own informal practice, and how it can bring calm to your busy life too.



 

Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Spring Moon at Ninomiya Beach, 1931 — one of Hasui Kawase’s stunning vintage Japanese woodblocks.
Spring Moon at Ninomiya Beach, 1931 — one of Hasui Kawase’s stunning vintage Japanese woodblocks.

Mindfulness isn't about becoming a "good meditator." It's about being more awake in your life. Many people think mindfulness and meditation are things you have to set aside time for—like something you do “over there” in a quiet corner, and that if you do it enough, something magical will happen.


The truth is, mindfulness doesn’t have to be separate from your daily life. Yes, a formal meditation practice is wonderful, but we don't always have the time or the same lifestyles as others.


So, let me introduce you to informal mindfulness.


This is about paying attention to the routine activities that fill your day—those small, often overlooked moments like brushing your teeth, making your morning tea or coffee, commuting, greeting friends or co-workers, setting up your computer, preparing food, or washing dishes. My personal favorite informal mindfulness moments are taking a shower, brushing my daughter’s hair, walking her to school, and cooking dinner with love for my family. In my opinion, informal mindfulness is every bit as important and beneficial than a formal meditation practice.


But here's the catch—you need to start, and you need to commit.


Why? Because the more you stay mindful in these moments, the more alive you become in your own life. You experience these small but real moments with more awareness, more presence, and more gratitude. You also become calmer and less stressed.


For example, whenever I catch myself having a conversation in my head or replaying a past event, I pause and check in with myself: “Is my body tense? Am I being kind in the way I’m speaking to myself?” Through mindfulness, I can sense tension, consciously release it, and shift to kinder inner talk. This practice helps me let go of the past, stay grounded in the present, and feel good in my own skin.



 

Guideline # 1 for being more mindful


Art by the Brothers Hilts from A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader.
Art by the Brothers Hilts from A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader.

Now, let me share one of seven guidelines for being more mindful in everyday life. I’ll save the others for future posts, so stay tuned 😉


Guideline # 1: Whenever possible, do just one thing at a time. Then do the next thing. And the next. But do them mindfully.


I know—it sounds simple, but as a proud multi-tasker, I get how hard it can be. Motherhood, in particular, has made me a chronic multi-tasker (probably diagnosable, ha!).


But as mindfulness teacher Nancy Bardacke says, “Part of the incredible stress of modern life has to do with how much we think we need to get done every day. The result is that we can find ourselves completely absorbed in *doing* almost all the time. Multitasking becomes the order of the day.”


Even as I type this, I’m telling my daughter, “Shoes...shoes...put your shoes on.” Ugh, I know. How do we stop this endless cycle of multitasking? How do we slow down and focus on just one thing at a time?


The answer is simple: Mindfully.


When we practice paying attention to one task fully—then the next, then the next—we often find that not only are we less stressed, but we actually accomplish more. As Nancy Bardacke puts it, "Paradoxically, the quality of whatever we are engaged in improves, and we accomplish more with greater joy.”


Now, you might be thinking, "But I can multitask. Isn’t it more efficient?" In reality, there’s no such thing as multitasking. The brain can only pay attention to one thing at a time. What feels like multitasking is actually your brain switching back and forth between tasks really fast, which takes a toll on your energy and focus. The result? We feel frustrated, irritable, overwhelmed, confused, overstimulated and exhausted. In a word, stressed.


 

Art by Ofra Amit for The Universe in Verse
Art by Ofra Amit for The Universe in Verse

So, as I finish this post, I'd like to reflect with you a bit about my morning. My daughter is out of school today because she’s sick, and I’m still feeling under the weather myself. I had big plans for today—things I wanted to accomplish. For a moment, that made me feel stressed.


But then I practiced mindfulness. I did one thing at a time. I fed my daughter, got her dressed, and helped her brush her teeth. We did some reading, spelling, and writing. Then I asked her to get ready for an errand, but checked in with myself—and that brought me back to you here. Sure, whilst writing this blog there was a moment where I didn't stick to one task at a time. There was a moment that my mind wandered from this one thing I was doing, connecting with you, to this idea of needing to rush out the door. But I brought mindfulness back into my everyday moments and realised that, in all honesty, there was no rush.


And guess what? Her shoes are finally on. She proudly zipped her coat all by herself. This post is done. And how do I feel? Calm. Not frustrated, irritable, overwhelmed, confused, overstimulated, exhausted or stressed. Calm.


I wish that same calm for you, dear readers. Have a lovely day. ~ Ashley

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