I recently read Reading Fiction as Meditation. It spoke about escapism - escaping from your daily grind and giving your mind a break. It got me thinking about other things that could give you the same effect. Here’s an interesting quote from the article:

I’ve seen too much online about “how to read more quickly.” Bollocks. It’s not a competition. It’s relaxation: an act of escapism. I mean, who goes to a cinema and asks them to put the film on fast forward with subtitles so they can watch it faster?

I came up with the following list of mundane tasks that could provide you with that daily dose of escapism - if you let it. And what I mean by that is that you have to only focus on the task and cut out all other distractions like watching TV, reading Twitter, listening to a podcast etc while doing these tasks.

  • Ironing your clothes
  • Washing the dishes
  • Cooking a meal (frozen dinners do not count as cooking!)
  • Going for a walk
  • Cleaning (your house, car etc)
  • Sketching in a journal
  • Playing an instrument
  • Playing with your children
  • Having a relaxing brew
  • Having a cat nap

What others can you think of?