Trying to think clearly

Last month, I talked about Benjamin Hardy’s morning routine. One of the things he talked about was meditation or prayer.

Then I started looking at Tim Ferriss’s latest book, Tools of Titans, and he mentioned that among all the people he interviewed — executives and leaders in many fields — meditation stood out as one of the tools that a majority of them use. I read the section on Mind Training 101, where Tim talks about a bunch of different options, and then i read Chade-Meng Tan’s suggestions on where to start (next section of the same book).

I decided to try the Headspace meditation app on my iPad. If you’re searching for it, you do have to type in “Headspace meditation” because “Headspace” brings up something completely different. I downloaded it last week, and I’ve been slowly working through the free “Take10” meditations. Not daily — because as any parent knows, ten minutes of quiet, uninterrupted time with family around is pretty close to impossible, so I haven’t managed a weekend day yet, and it’s been dicey with the kids’ schools having delays this week as well.

Some of the meditations are preceded by short videos to introduce concepts that the narrator (Andy Puddicombe) is going to talk about during the meditation. One of those didn’t work in my app, so I had to look it up on YouTube later.

So how’s it working for me?

Well, as I’m feeling over-tired this week, I have noticed a tendency to drift off as I relax. On the plus side, this means that when I lie down at night, I have a better idea of how to get to sleep fairly quickly. I’m one of those people who always takes half an hour to an hour to fall asleep, so this is a major discovery for me.

I’m noticing that when I start fretting about things, I can now say to myself, “Yes, I see those thoughts” (or some equivalent), and refocus my attention on what I’m supposed to be doing. Sometimes. (Again with the family, noise, chaos, trying to get things done)

Does it make me generally more focused? Is it going to make a big difference over time? I don’t know. But if you want to try your hand at meditation, this free app isn’t a bad place to start.

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This is the first of what will be a randomly occurring series of posts reviewing different apps I use on my iPad mini. Watch for the upcoming one on the Scrivener app, and if you have suggestions or questions, be sure to drop a note in the comments.

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2 Comments

  1. Falling asleep when trying to meditate is a “problem” for me as well, but I don’t usually have trouble going to bed regularly. I’m glad you discovered a way to get yourself to sleep sooner!

    I’m looking forward to more app reviews, and hearing which app you enjoy most!

    • I’ve always been a little envious of my husband’s ability to fall asleep instantly. I could never quiet my brain squirrels, though.

      Glad you’re looking forward to the app reviews! Let me know if you have any suggestions. 🙂

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