If you stop for a few moments to reflect on how you use your time, are you satisfied with the answer? Or do you wish that you had more time for the things that are important to you? If we really want to devote our time and energy to our priorities then we have to move from wishing that we could do so to taking some form of concrete action that makes it a reality.
What kinds of actions cause us to spend more time on our priorities and less time just keeping busy? The act of bringing the mind into awareness of what we are doing in the present moment is the single most effective way to ensure that we are using our time effectively. When we know what we are doing, we know instantly whether it is positive and useful action or whether it has little or no connection to our goals.
The act of being mindful that so powerfully adjusts our behavior may sound trivial when we discuss it in terms of a single moment. But the real power of mindfulness comes when we train ourselves to do it over and over again in a continuous fashion. At insight meditation retreats, we train you in how to incorporate mindfulness into your everyday life so that overtime you will spend more of your energy working towards what you really want.