I made it a goal recently to focus on the present, on what I am doing now. Or on who I am interacting with right now. With so many things to distract us, it is really easy to not be present, even if it is just you and one other person. Texts, phone calls, emails, messaging, Facebook, Instagram, etc… all take our mind off of what we are doing in the present.
I know for me, it is a bit depressing when I tell someone something and a minute or two later they ask me what I just told them. Or they tell me what I just told them..!!
For example, I have had interactions like this with co-workers; In a meeting, I say “I am going to stay and work late tonight, maybe staying until 7 or 8 to finish up the project” They ask, “So how is the project going?” “Good”, I say, “But it will take a few extra hours to finish up, as I said.” They say, “well, could you stay late tonight to finish it up?” Crazy huh? Maybe they looked at a text real quick or an email, and for that second or two had no idea what I was saying. Talk about feeling unimportant.
So having this type of situation happen to me, is what made me decide not to make anyone else feel unimportant. by doing it to them.

At home the same thing occurs, my kids do the same thing, and I have been guilty of it. I used to drive my kids to school and on the way ask them something about their day. I would look over and their head is pointed down to read a text. So I wait until I see them look up. Or they hear the silence and say ” go ahead, I’m listening….yeah right. I used to get mad about it and let them know that it’s not polite to do that. But at some point I realized that I may be doing that to others, my wife, friends and kids.

I now ask myself, Am I listening to what this person is saying? Or am I thinking of what I will do once they leave or stop asking me questions, or do I let my cellphone dictate whether I am present or not? It is not easy to be present but it is well worth the effort. I now make sure to look the person in the eye, and concentrate on what they are saying. This tends to make meetings a bit shorter at work and leads to a more efficient day.
At home, I do the same, and have begun talking about living in the moment. I don’t think you can live in the past or the future very well. You have to live for now.
You can learn from the past, and plan for the future, but trying to live either one just won’t work. The past is gone and the future is not here yet. So try to “be here now” and see how it feels, see how others start commenting on your focus and attention, they will notice, because believe me, people notice when you are not really in the room with them even though your body is there. They notice when you seem to listen then they realize you didn’t hear them, I mean really hear them and absorb what they said. People do notice. So be here, now.