Last week I talked about a mindful eating challenge that I’d started. The challenge involved, for an entire week, chewing everything I ate until it turned into a paste. I failed a lot, but I also had a lot of success.

I’ve got a fairly busy schedule, and eating in this way took a lot more time than my usual habit of swallowing everything in large chunks. During the first few days of the challenge, I also noticed that I felt a lot less satisfied after eating the same amount of food that I’d normally eat. This feeling went away after day four, and looking back I wonder if my dissatisfaction was simply a result of my digestive system suddenly getting an extreme cut in the amount of work that it had to do. Maybe, for the the first few days, it was putting just as much energy into digestion as it did before… even though it no longer had to. After day four, those hunger pangs, after eating, went away and I felt better than ever.

I also said that I failed a lot, so I’ll fess up. When it comes to buffets I’m a lost cause, and at the Halloween staff party I definitely went overboard. Wouldn’t you? Still, with mindful eating on the mind I did spend a little bit more time chewing and a little more time socializing away from the snack table… although it’s still definitely one of my weaknesses.

I titled this post “mindfulness is a gateway drug” because adopting this new behaviour inspired me to start some other life-affirming habits. I’ve been thinking a lot about time this week, and it seems to me that if you can’t make time for something when you’re busy, you won’t make time for it when you’ve got all the time in the world. You’ve got to examine your priorities and decide where you want to be spending your time, and then you have to commit.

For me, this exercise was a gateway into meditation: something that I’ve always wanted to do, but always felt too busy to do. I’ve committed to a short five minute morning meditation these last three days, and as a result I’ve felt more focused and alert at work. Although I know it’s unrealistic, and perhaps unhealthy, to think that I can be “perfect” all the time — chewing every bite 25 times — I definitely think this has been a step in the right direction.

What activity can you perform mindfully this week?