There are 1,440 minutes in 24 hours. However, it’s hard to say how many of those minutes we spend living in the moment. When you have a lot on your plate or you have constant anxiety about the future, it can be difficult to focus on the moment at hand.

It’s almost as if wherever we are and whatever task we are doing, we visualize ourselves someplace else or doing something else entirely.

When we’re at work, we fantasize about being on vacation; on vacation, we worry about the work piling up on our desks. We dwell on intrusive memories of the past or fret about what may or may not happen in the future. We don’t appreciate the living present because our “monkey minds,” as Buddhists call them, vault from thought to thought like monkeys swinging from tree to tree.

Despite our nature for mind wandering into the past or future, there are ways we can enjoy living in the moment—and they don’t require a lot of effort at all.

Do One Thing at a Time

When you’re going a thousand miles an hour, it’s important to step back and do one thing at a time. Focus on the task at hand and complete it before jumping to something else. Not only does this help you live in the moment, but it also helps you from getting overwhelmed.

This is a time when you don’t want to multi-task.

Side note: According to the American Psychological Association, multitasking decreases efficiency:

A study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance (Vol. 27, No. 4) indicates that multitasking may actually be less efficient–especially for complicated or unfamiliar tasks–because it takes extra time to shift mental gears every time a person switches between the two tasks.

Do Less

You might be shaking your head on this one, but dropping even one thing from your to-do list can help you stay focused on the moment. When your day is filled to the brim with tasks, you don’t have time to step back and live in the moment. You might think it’s impossible to drop anything from their day, but you’d be surprised in how you can find time when you prioritize.

Take 5 Minutes to do Nothing

If you can’t possibly remove anything from your daily to-do list, remember to take a 5-minute time out for yourself. This can be in the morning while you enjoy your coffee or in your car before you go home from work. The idea is to decompress, even if it’s just for a moment.

Find Peace in Cleaning and Cooking

Cleaning and cooking are two tasks that most of us do every day. Instead of dreading the chores ahead, think of them as time to relax and meditate. Think about every move that your make and do it slowly. When cleaning and cooking become meditation, you’ll find yourself enjoying your time and living in the moment.

Every moment counts—and it’s important that you don’t look back on your life and wonder where all the moments went. For more ways to stay mindful, continue to follow the blog at Best Life Hub.