Everyday Life Meditation - Dishwashing

Many of us lead busy stressful lives, and even though we may want to take time out of our day to relax and meditate, it can be hard to find the time. However, you may find that it is possible to transform your everyday actions into an act of meditation. By changing the way you think about something, you can change the way you feel about it.
A good time to try meditating is while doing the dishes. Notice the shapes and textures of the dishes as your hands gracefully move around and clean them as the water flows over the dishes. Your touch is sacred, nothing would be happening without out it. Your hands create something new, and all creation is sacred.

Here is a writing from Thich Nhat Hanh which may give you further insight

To my mind, the idea that doing the dishes is unpleasant can occur only when you are not doing them. Once you are standing in front of the sink with your sleeves rolled up and your hands in warm water, it really is not so bad. I enjoy taking my time with each dish, being fully aware of the dish, the water, and each movement of my hands. I know that if I hurry in order to go and have a cup of tea, the time will be unpleasant and not worth living. That would be a pity, for each minute, each second of life is a miracle. The dishes themselves and the fact that I am here washing them are miracles! Each bowl I wash, each poem I compose, each time I invite a bell to sound is a miracle, each has exactly the same value. One day, while washing a bowl, I felt that my movements were as sacred and respectful as bathing a newborn Buddha. If he were to read this, that newborn Buddha would certainly be happy for me, and not at all insulted at being compared with a bowl.

Each thought, each action in the sunlight of awareness becomes sacred. In this light, no boundary exists between the sacred and the profane. I must confess it takes me a bit longer to do the dishes, but I live fully in every moment, and I am happy. Washing the dishes is at the same time a means and an end that is, not only do we do the dishes in order to have clean dishes, we also do the dishes just to do the dishes, to live fully in each moment while washing them.

If I am incapable of washing dishes joyfully, if I want to finish them quickly so I can go and have a cup of tea, I will be equally incapable of drinking the tea joyfully. With the cup in my hands I will be thinking about what to do next, and the fragrance and the flavor of the tea, together with the pleasure of drinking it, will be lost. I will always be dragged into the future, never able to live in the present moment.

The time to enjoy life is now, not later. When you are aware, you will find treasure everywhere.