January 20 – Do one thing at a time

By | January 20, 2017
5 Comments

Dear Friends,

I had the opportunity to attend a meeting yesterday evening, and the talk turned to boredom, and the tendency that many people have to fill time by doing “stuff”. In the context of that conversation, Doris mentioned a talk she listened to by Gil Fronsdal, in which he suggested a practice of doing one thing at a time.

This idea seems to fit in wonderfully with the topic of simplicity that we looked at yesterday, and it’s another great way to integrate an intentional practice into our daily lives.

I’m not sure which talk Doris listened to, but I found a couple of talks from Gil that are on the topic of doing one thing at a time:

In both talks, he mentioned a story from his own experience, in which he was going to walk from one side of his small apartment to the other, with the intention of putting the wash into the dryer, and that simple task took much longer than necessary because he found that he was continually getting distracted – by putting away something, or looking up something, etc.

Oh yeah, I can relate!

So he suggests instead, when distractions pull at our attention, to make note of it and say “not now”. He also suggests many other ways to aid our focus, including turning off the “dings” and notifications on our phones and computers so that they won’t distract us as much.

In the second talk, Gil mentions that you don’t have to do one thing at a time all the time, but even doing it for 20% of your day can have big benefits, similar to what you might experience on retreat.

In the Q&A of one of the talks, he also reminds us to do this with a bit of lightness and curiosity.

I know I have a tendency to do lots of other things when I’m eating breakfast and lunch, so I’m going to experiment today with just eating, and when the thought to check my email or read a book arises, I’m going to note that, and say “not now.”

What do you think… is there something that would be a good focus for “one thing at a time” for you? What tools might you use to help you keep your focus? Feel free to share by email or in a comment below!

With best wishes,
Andrea

5 thoughts on “January 20 – Do one thing at a time”

  1. Lynn Gow

    I just want to say how much I am enjoying these daily emails in support of my meditation and mindfulness practice. Having the intention to read them each day in and of itself is helping me to stop and be present. This morning I notice that I am eating my breakfast while reading and it has me thinking about how much ‘multi-tasking’ I actually do. I have some ideas today about how I will limit distractions and (at least for part of my day 🙂 do one thing at a time. Thanks, Andrea.

  2. Carol Kavanagh

    I could relate to the temptation to do a lot of things at once . . . I’ve been noticing how when I’m doing a pick-up and clean up of the house or my desk, I find I’m holding some object in one hand and in the other I’m moving things around and I’ve been realizing the tension in this activity, the pressure I feel. So I’ve been practising to have both hands free to do the work, so, if something gets into one hand, it has to get put where it belongs before I move on. This decision has helped me to feel a lot more relaxed and present when I’m straightening things up. Thanks, Andrea.

    1. Andrea Grzesina Post author

      Wholehearted and both-handed… Thanks for sharing this suggestion – I’ll give that a try when I’m cleaning up tomorrow!

  3. Laurie Fayant

    I really like the open invitation to say “not now” when attempting to multitask.

    Today, I was working/cleaning in my kitchen & decided to listen to a podcast while working. Although I enjoyed listening to the programs while working a future exercise for me would just be to allow myself time to sit & enjoy the program (not while working)–just scheduling time to be present with the experience. For me, this would allow me to connect with pleasure without clouding my experience with “to do” lists.

    Thanks Andrea!

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