As Americans, most of us are used to running on the treadmill of earn and spend. Time is money; therefore, efficiency is of the essence. In the name of doing more things in less time, the hours and minutes that fill the seasons of our lives can become the enemy. Like sand in an hourglass, we watch it falling away, challenging ourselves to make every grain count. But for what? To scurry around driving ourselves crazy or to savor the infinite possibilities that lie hidden within time like the germ of an oak tree inside the acorn? Saving time is not a matter of anxiously packing more things into our day, but of experiencing the essence of what unfolds within each moment.

Several years ago, I was reading one of the ubiquitous magazine articles about saving time. It was filled with “helpful hints.” The author suggested that you conserve precious minutes by soaping your hair only once in the shower instead of twice. Joyous thoughts from my childhood ran through my mind. I remembered sitting in the tub while my mother gently shampooed my hair twice, until it was squeaky clean. I’ve listened for that squeak and unconsciously experienced my mother’s tenderness in all the shampoos of my adult life. Nonetheless, I tried the helpful hint and shampooed just once, playing beat-the-clock. I got out of the shower two or three minutes faster all right, but I felt downright testy. Is this what life has come to? A breathless race to an exhausted finish?

The next morning, I decided to resist rushing through my shower. After all, the sensation of warm water and creamy suds is one of life’s sweet pleasures. Muscles unwind in the steamy warmth and you can choose to enjoy the self-massage rather than imitate a three-minute automatic car wash. Not only did I soap my hair twice, but I dawdled, extracting every bit of pleasure possible from this small revolutionary act.

While shampooing mindfully, languorous as a cat, I realized how often I was mindless about what I was doing. I was everywhere but in the moment. Time was running out and it was doing so without me because I was somewhere else. My body was in one place, going through the motions, but my mind was elsewhere. Even while showering, I was used to being a model of efficiency, planning the day or ruminating about unfinished business while scrubbing away. It was possible to emerge from the shower exuding as much adrenaline as if I’d been fighting off mad Norman from Psycho.

Our culture prides itself on this kind of efficient multitasking. We read while we eat, watch television while we study and think about our problems while driving. No wonder we’re so stressed and depressed.

I invite you to try a little experiment and put your mind fully into one thing.

Let’s take the shower as an example. Why not think of it as a meditation rather than a chore, with the moment-to-moment unfolding of delightful sensation and peace your primary focus? Stand under the shower and pay attention to your breathing. Let every out-breath be an opportunity to let go of the past and future so that you can enter more fully into the present. Let the warm water wash over you in delicious waves. Now imagine that it’s a waterfall of light, washing fatigue and negativity out through the bottoms of your feet. Wash your hair with loving attention, as you would do for a small child. Whenever you catch your mind wandering, take a deep breath and come back to this simplest of meditations. You’ll have more energy and peace all day, even if you didn’t win the Indy 500 of showering.

The same principle applies to everything you do. You can carry a stack of dishes to the cupboard with your shoulders hunched up to your ears and a scowl on your face, shaving precious seconds off the race to unload the dishwasher. When you finish, you’re likely to feel cranky and used up. No one will appreciate your efficiency. What they will notice is that you’ve turned into a Grinch. Throwing efficiency to the wind, you could take some deep, relaxing breaths and move into the moment, enjoying the feelings in your muscles as you hoist the dinner plates into the cabinet. When you drive, you could slow down and enjoy the scenery, rather than racing to the finish line.

As the saying goes, haste makes waste. Not only are you likelier to drop the dishes or have a car crash if you hurry, but you’re wasting the essence of your life. Life is not what happens when your shower’s over, when the dishwasher’s empty, when breakfast has been eaten, when the kids are in bed, when the report is completed or when you’re off your shift. Life happens now, one moment at a time. When you’re in that moment, efficiency takes care of itself, time seems to slow down and life is once again a delight.

This month, pay attention to how you go about the tasks that make up your day. When time efficiency turns to tyranny, make a different choice. Take a few more minutes to taste what you’re eating, chewing slowly enough to extract exquisite pleasure out of every morsel. Give a real hug, melting into the person, rather than squeezing the breath out of them with a two-second boa-constrictor clutch. Even if it takes a few seconds or minutes longer to do something mindfully, you’ll get more done in the long run if you relax and enjoy each task. You and your life will become one again and you will come home to yourself.

*Excerpted from Inner Peace For Busy People, 52 Simple Strategies for Transforming Your Life.

Joan Borysenko, PhD has a doctorate in medical sciences from Harvard Medical School. Currently the president of Mind/Body Health Sciences, Inc., she is an internationally known speaker and consultant in women’s health and spirituality, integrative medicine and the mind/body connection. She is the author of 10 books, including Minding the Body, Mending the Mind. Joan’s website is: www.JoanBorysenko.com.