Month #7: Meditating for 20 minutes every day
A Year of Monthly Challenges
20 minutes * 30 days = 600 minutes. I meditated for 10 hours this month. That’s a lot of time doing nothing — well, sort. As it turns out, doing nothing is really hard!
So, how did it go?
My experience varied day-to-day. I tried a lot of different techniques. First, I used some guided meditation tracks on Youtube. I found one that worked really well, and stuck with it for a few sessions. Soon, I could predict what the calming voice was going to say next, so I started tuning it out and letting my mind wander. I tried mixing it up with a few other videos, but couldn’t find another that was just right — I would find the speaker’s voice jarring, the subject matter too spiritual for my purposes, etc.
I tried music and nature sounds, making playlists with 2–3 relaxing tracks that added up to around 20 minutes. This worked a couple of times, but I was often too easily distracted.
Sometimes, the distractions were physical — itches, soreness or tightness — and other times they were mental. I often felt like meditating was another thing to cross off my to-do list; On those days I was antsy and frustrated at having to make myself sit down and do nothing for 20 minutes when there were so many other things vying for my attention.
Eventually, I tried out the Headspace app. This worked well for me, since the tracks were slightly different on each day. The daily sessions were only 10 minutes long, though, so I supplemented by listening to a little music afterwards.
Still, every day was hit-or-miss. I felt like I could only relax if I was already relaxed. If I was busy or stressed, I was never able to meditate effectively.
Despite the frustration, I plan on continuing to practice my meditation. I haven’t found my personal rhythm yet (and I still can’t sit still for even 10 minutes), but it’s something to work toward. I hope that practicing mindfulness will translate into my everyday outlook — teaching me to more clearly understand my own thoughts and motivations.
Month #8: Start a conversation every day
We miss out on opportunities every day by ignoring the people around us. We miss out on career opportunities, opportunities to make friends, find roommates, meet our soul-mates, or just hear a new story or perspective on life.
This month, I’ll start a conversation with someone every day. This should be an in-person conversation with someone I don’t normally talk to.
The goal is to be a little more outgoing than usual, but definitely not to make anyone uncomfortable. I’ll be sensitive to the fact that people don’t always want to have a conversation (particularly with a stranger). This involves sticking to situations where it’s appropriate to chat, and paying attention to social cues.
The last rule is that conversations with people who are working for tips (servers, Lyft drivers, etc) don’t count. Even though these conversations can be totally genuine, the person providing the service has an external motivation to be agreeable, so it’s too easy.
Next blog entry to be posted on June 1st
