Micro Meditations
Issue #137: Finding peace in the in-between moments of your day
Welcome to Learn + Grow, where you will learn tips and tools that will help you be 3% more peaceful + productive in just 3 minutes a week.
You Don’t Need More Time
I wish I had more time to do yoga, I wish I had more time to meditate, I wish I had more time to read, and honestly, I wish I had more time for all the little things that make me feel like I’m growing into a better version of myself.
That’s the kind of mental chatter that runs in the background for me most days.
There’s this constant feeling that life is moving fast, and the things that matter most keep getting pushed to “later.”
Of course, the obvious solution is discipline.
I tell myself I just need to be more ruthless with priorities, more structured with routines, and more intentional with my mornings.
And yes, I’m actually pretty good at that stuff.
But life doesn’t always cooperate with my beautifully designed routine.
The baby wakes up early, work gets chaotic, travel throws me off, something unexpected happens, and suddenly the habits that nourish me — the yoga, the meditation, the reading — are the first things to disappear.
That’s usually when the resentment creeps in.
That quiet inner complaint: “Why can’t I just have more time?”
A Small Idea That’s Been Helping Me
Recently, I’ve been leaning on a Japanese concept called Kaizen, which is basically the philosophy of making small improvements over time instead of waiting for some perfect, dramatic transformation.
It’s not about overhauling our entire life overnight.
It’s about tiny optimizations that compound.
Instead of asking, “How do I find 30 uninterrupted minutes to meditate every day?” I’ve started asking a much smaller and more realistic question:
What can I do right now, in this moment, even if it’s only for fifteen seconds?
That shift has been surprisingly powerful for me.
Meditation Was the Habit I Struggled With Most
Walking is easier to fit in.
Work habits are easier to systematize.
But making time for meditation — for the mind and soul — always felt like the hardest thing to protect.
So instead of trying to force big meditation sessions into my schedule, I started looking for small everyday situations where mindfulness could naturally fit.
Here’s what it looks like in practice.
1) The 15-Second Look at Flowers
A couple of years ago, I started doing something small during my walks.
Whenever I noticed a flower, I would stop for fifteen seconds, just look at it, really see it, and then take a picture.
That’s it.
Instead of being lost in my thoughts or stacking productivity with podcasts and audiobooks, I began paying attention to the world around me.
And what surprised me is how much that tiny pause brought me back to the magic of nature — the colors, the shapes, the simple beauty we walk past every day without noticing.
I started practicing this on my walks now.
2) A 30-Second Scan at New Places
Another small practice I’ve been using happens whenever I go somewhere new — a coffee shop, a restaurant, a coworking space.
My old instinct was the same as everyone else’s: pull out my phone or computer, get busy immediately, rush into the next thing.
Now I try to pause for thirty seconds before doing anything.
I sit quietly, look around slowly, and notice the details — the lighting, the artwork, the people, the sounds, the energy of the space.
And I remind myself:
I spent time, money, and effort to come here. I wanted to visit this place. So let me actually experience it before I rush into working or eating or scrolling.
It’s such a small moment, but it makes the whole experience feel richer.
3) Three Breaths Before Meal
One of my favorite versions of this is right before a meal.
When food arrives, it’s so easy to dive in automatically.
Now I stop for three slow breaths.
On the first breath, I thank the person who prepared the meal.
On the second breath, I think about everyone behind the scenes — the farmers, the workers, the drivers — who made this food possible.
And on the third breath, I thank nature for providing what nourishes me.
It takes less than half a minute, but it changes the entire experience of eating.
It turns something routine into something grounding.
The Bigger Lesson
The more I do this, the more I realize mindfulness doesn’t need to be complicated, and it definitely doesn’t require an app, a cushion, or a perfect 30-minute session every morning.
Sometimes it’s as simple as fifteen seconds with a flower, thirty seconds of arriving in a new place, or three breaths before a meal.
Tiny pauses.
Tiny moments.
But over time, they create a big impact.
And that’s really what Kaizen has been teaching me lately — that instead of wishing for more time, we can start by fully showing up in the time we already have.
👋 Until next time, Anil / CEO and Co-Founder of Multidots, Multicollab, and Dotstore.
May the Peaceful Growth be with you! 🪴
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Thank you, Anil for sharing this.
This is such a beautiful reminder of mindful living.
Taking just three breaths to pause and reflect transforms a routine meal into a moment of gratitude and awareness. Small rituals like this truly help us slow down and reconnect with what matters.