With meditation, eventually I got to a point where I wanted to find more ways to squeeze in practice time.

Life was busy. Sometimes it was hard to practice at the beginning or the end of the day. Other times, it was hard just to remember to practice.

So I started finding ways to make a game out of it. A challenge of sorts.

Instead of “DO this practice,” I started thinking of it as “CAN YOU do this task?”

The task was whatever practice I was working on for that week. How and where I did the task depended on the game I made up.

The best part was that the games were always just a few minutes at a time, scattered throughout my day.

A Walk to Remember

One of the first games I made up:

CAN YOU: run through your practice while you walk?

Maybe it’s while you’re walking to lunch or walking to a meeting. Or walking to the car.

Whatever practice you want to run through is up to you — use whatever you’re working on for the week.

My challenge is usually to see whether I can stay present during my entire walk, paying attention to the thoughts, sounds, and physical sensations in my body. I’ll try to notice any wandering thoughts or stories and then bring my attention back to the present when my mind does wander. This then makes it easier to be present if something big does come up during the day.

If I win, cool. It’s a micro-rep for my focus muscle and a mini reminder to use the practice when an opportunity comes up. 

If I lose, it’s fine. Try again tomorrow or next time.

Over time, the mini-games have taught me to become better at noticing when my mind falls into stories (like anxiety or fear), and because of this, recovering from anxiety has become so much easier.

And that’s just scratching the surface.

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Try playing this game yourself. Give yourself opportunities for micro-wins with your meditation practice.

The more you play, the easier it gets.