Tiny Moments: A Simple Mindfulness Practice for People Who ‘Can’t’ Meditate
Do you find mindfulness hard?
Maybe you don’t have time to sit down and meditate for 10 minutes every morning.
Or maybe when you do try to meditate, your mind gets swept up in a neverending cascade of thoughts.
Or maybe you like the idea of mindfulness, but you’ve got zero interest in having a spiritual practice (more on that here).
There’s a perception that to do meditation properly you have to sit on a cushion, cross your legs, hum “ohhhmmm”, and concentrate as hard as you can on nothingness until your chakras align and you become one with the universe.
I’m happy to tell you that that’s complete bullshit.
Mindfulness is simple. You just need to start small.
Introducing… the Tiny Moments approach to mindfulness.
A simple, no rules approach to mindfulness that you can seamlessly integrate into your day.
No app. No timer. No special posture. No need for solitude or quietness. No inhuman levels of discipline and concentration. And no spiritual attachments.
Anyone can do it anywhere and at any time.
And I’m convinced that the benefits are just as transformative as traditional mindfulness practices.
Applying the ‘Tiny Habits’ framework to mindfulness
In his book, ‘Tiny Habits’, behavioural scientist BJ Fogg presents a compelling framework for creating habits that stick.
The Tiny Habits Framework
- Start with a tiny behaviour.
- Find a good spot in your daily routine for this tiny behaviour.
- Nourish your tiny behaviour so it gets firmly established in your life.
For example, if you want to start flossing, start by flossing one tooth. Want to start running after work, start by putting your running shoes on when you get home.
The idea is that these tiny behaviours will snowball into habits.
The same thinking can be applied to mindfulness.
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The ‘Tiny Moments’ method for everyday mindfulness
Let’s start by defining mindfulness.
“The practice of being aware of your body, mind, and feelings in the present moment.” – Cambridge Dictionary
Simple, right?
The ‘Tiny Moments’ method for everyday mindfulness is simply:
“Finding Tiny Moments throughout the day to be aware of your body, mind, and feelings.”
I don’t think mindfulness needs to be any more complicated than that.
It’s simply the practice of bringing your full attention to what’s happening now.
Traditional meditation can help us do that, too.
But not everyone has the time, temperament, or tendency to do traditional meditation.
I think ‘Tiny Moments’ is a great alternative and/or addition to your meditation practice.
After all, Eckhart Tolle says, “One conscious breath – in and out – is a meditation.”
We can take that to mean one tiny moment of mindful awareness is a meditation.
How to practice the ‘Tiny Moments’ method
Similar to the ‘Tiny Habits’ framework, the ‘Tiny Moments’ method is about making your mindfulness practice as small and simple as possible.
In its most basic form, it looks like this:
- Choose a tiny moment in your day
- Bring your full attention to your experience in that moment
That’s it.
The idea is that the effortlessness of the ‘Tiny Moments’ method helps it to become embedded in your daily routine – like a habit.
You can also choose to build on them.
If you take one mindful sip of coffee, you can choose to take two mindful sips.
If you take one mindful breath, why not take six.
Choosing your ‘Tiny Moments’
It helps to identify ‘Tiny Moments’ that are already part of your day.
Start by asking questions like:
What do you do when you wake up?
What’s your morning routine?
What are some of the highlights of your day?
When do you feel stressed?
When are you alone?
What’s your evening routine?
That simple exercise should reveal several opportunities to practice the ‘Tiny Moments’ method.
When I started, I used the following moments in my day:
- Noticing the weather when I open my curtains in the morning
- Feeling the sensation of hot water on my neck in the shower
- Experiencing the first sip of hot coffee
- Listening to the sound of birds singing outside
- Checking in with how I’m feeling to start the day
All of these things can take five seconds or less to do, but they create tiny moments of mindfulness throughout the day.
I don’t have to change my routine or make time to meditate.
My meditation happens naturally through everyday experiences.
The ‘Tiny Moments’ method has had a profound impact on my life.
Take the shower, for example. When I used to shower, my mind would be racing through what I had to do that day or some other train of thought.
I would be in and out in five minutes, but that time was like a black hole.
For the most part, I still do that.
But these days, I take a moment – sometimes just 5-10 seconds – to feel the sensation of the water on my body before I turn the shower off.
The first time I did this it was a revelation. The warmth, the pressure, the sound, the feeling of the water flowing down my body.
It was such a beautiful, comforting, precious moment.
I almost can’t believe I robbed myself of that experience all these years.
I’ve also found that the ‘Tiny Moments’ method has made me more aware of other moments – ones that I haven’t consciously tried to pay attention to.
It’s like these tiny moments of meditation have started expanding.
My day is full of them.
By bringing my attention to just a few tiny moments, my mind’s started noticing them everywhere.
To me, that’s the purpose of meditation.
Examples of ‘Tiny Moments’ you can use
In the morning
- What’s the weather like? How does it look, sound, feel, smell?
- How do you feel? Check-in with yourself
- Taking a shower. Fully experience the sensation of hot/cold water on your body
- A hot drink. Take one mindful sip of your tea or coffee
- In the mirror. Look yourself in the eyes. Maybe tell yourself something nice?
- Be thankful. Find something to be thankful for right now
- Taste your food. Chew one mouthful of breakfast slowly and pay attention to flavours and textures
- Interactions with others. Connect deeply with your partner or children, just for a moment
- Exercise. Connect with the energy, warmth, pain, elevated heart rate
- On the commute. Is your mind already at the office? Let it be here in this moment
During the day
- How do you feel? Check-in with yourself
- Interactions with others. Be fully present with colleagues, friends, clients, children
- What are you working on? Are you engaged in your work? Why/why not?
- Be thankful. Find something to be thankful for right now
- Waves of emotion. Angry, stressed, embarrassed, horny? Let yourself feel what you’re feeling
- Take a breath. One mindful breath, in and out
In the evening
- How do you feel? Check-in with yourself
- Eating dinner. Can you experience a mindful mouthful?
- Interactions with others. How does it feel to be around people you love?
- Rain on the roof. Everyone says it sounds so nice. Listen to it
- Be thankful. Find something to be thankful for right now
- Watching Netflix. Be aware that you’re watching Netflix. Are you enjoying it?
- Take a breath. In and out.
- Brushing your teeth. What does that feel like? Weird, right?
- Laying in bed. Feel your body, the covers, the warmth and comfort
- Having sex. Are you performing or are you actually here for it?
Those are just a few moments that most people probably experience on a typical day.
Borrow, adapt, find your own.
I am convinced that ‘Tiny Moments’ can make a massive difference in your life.
It can help you to improve happiness, gratitude, attitude, relationships, energy, and mindfulness.
If you adopt this approach, I’d love to hear how you find it. Email me or drop me a DM on Twitter.
Books mentioned in this post
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