A man searching for the meaning of life climbed a mountain to seek out the advice of a wise monk. He asked that learned man what the key to happiness was. The monk answered, “Do whatever it is you are doing now!”

How many times a day do you find yourself planning the next hours and losing your current focus? Often when you are at work, you think about all the things you have to do at home. When you get home, you worry about all the things you did not get done that day and that will be awaiting you tomorrow. Meanwhile because you are distracted, you are not getting as much done in either location.

People complain about the constant interruptions they deal with all day long. One source of interruptions that often is overlooked during these laments is that you frequently interrupt yourself. You allow yourself to lose focus during the task at hand, or you are multitasking so much that you do not ever get to feel you are concentrating on a specific task at a specific moment.

The advice to “Do what you are doing now” seems simple but is in fact extremely difficult in today’s world. To counteract this, try to start with two or three things a day in which you become totally immersed in. Be sure at least one of those is family and one is your personal time.

A major benefit, in addition to being that proverbial key to happiness, is that you will actually find you are more productive! How many moments today will you be able to experience yourself living totally in the moment?