The Sources of Your Distraction
Printable Worksheet
The Sources of Your Distraction
PDF·161 KB
A mindful companion to this worksheet
Befriending what we usually avoid
Boredom, restlessness, and avoidance are often messages we have learned to silence too quickly. “The Sources of Your Distraction” is a chance to turn toward these states with curiosity instead of escape, and to see what they actually hold.
How mindfulness can help
Mindfulness often shows that boredom is not the absence of stimulation. It is more often the presence of a feeling we would rather not feel. Staying with the discomfort instead of reaching for a distraction can bring back a quieter, steadier aliveness.
Gentle steps to try
- Notice the urge to escape. When the pull toward the phone or the snack arrives, you might pause for ten seconds and just feel the urge in the body.
- Find the feeling underneath. Under the boredom, what is here? Loneliness, grief, tiredness? Name it gently.
- Stay a moment longer. You do not have to fix the feeling, only keep it company. Curiosity is enough.
- Choose rather than react. If you still want the distraction, take it on purpose. Choosing changes the experience.
There is nothing wrong with you for feeling restless. It is one of the most ordinary doors into presence, if we are willing to stand at it for a moment.
Printable Worksheet
Awareness When You Are Killing Time
PDF·30 KB
A mindful companion to this worksheet
Returning to the present
Awareness is the ground every other practice stands on. “Awareness When You Are Killing Time” is an invitation to come back from the past and the future and meet your life as it is actually happening.
How mindfulness can help
Mindfulness is mostly the practice of returning. We are not trying to silence the mind, only to notice when attention has wandered and bring it back to the breath, the body, or the sensations of this moment. Each return is the practice.
Gentle steps to try
- Rest in one sense. Choose one sense, sound, touch, or sight, and let your attention rest there for a slow minute.
- Notice the wandering. When the mind drifts, you might quietly note “thinking” and lead it back. Noticing is not failing.
- Ease off the effort. You do not have to make anything happen. Awareness is already here. Let yourself rest in it.
- Let it spill over. Bring the same attention to washing a dish, walking to the door, or greeting someone.
The present moment is the only place life is happening, and it is always available. It welcomes you back every time.
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