I struggled to find a description of it on the web (everybody gets hung up on secondary details like 'light a candle' and 'read a sacred text') but basically you can
(1) set a timer for some specific time (say 5-10 minutes to start, could be more once you get experienced; it's important to use the timer so you don't need to think about when to stop.)
(2) meditate by closing eyes, focusing on the breath, relaxing, for a short time. (practice this by itself first if you are starting out) eyes closed is important because the point is to get your brain producing alpha waves.
(3) focus on some object (could be a thing in the your environment, could be something you visualize) and whenever your mind wanders from the object you put your attention on the object and tell yourself "that is interesting but this is more interesting". it does not matter if you are eyes open or closed at this point because the concentration state involves the brain producing beta waves.
What you are describing is "mindfulness" exercises; basically a modern take on meditation.
I have the app "Meditation Studio" which consists of some softly-spoken people talking you through breathing exercises and relaxation - would recommend for anyone wanting to try these techniques.
I don't think there's much sense in hating it. It has a real and interesting meaning, but it's just rare to hear anyone provide it.
The problem is that understanding it rests on something most people have never even heard of, much less looked into themselves: that experience does not actually work how they think it does. Experience seems panoramic, i.e. continuously seeing, continuously hearing, etc. But that's not the way it actually is. Experience actually consists of a very rapid series of micro-messages from the sense bases, and those are stitched together by the mind to provide the illusion of panoramic awareness.
Once that's understood, you can give the real definition of mindfulness: remembering to know what kind of message the mind is currently knowing. This will be like watching attention flicker between knowing information about touching, seeing, hearing, etc. A person is being mindful when they're watching how mind's attention is moving.
(1) set a timer for some specific time (say 5-10 minutes to start, could be more once you get experienced; it's important to use the timer so you don't need to think about when to stop.)
(2) meditate by closing eyes, focusing on the breath, relaxing, for a short time. (practice this by itself first if you are starting out) eyes closed is important because the point is to get your brain producing alpha waves.
(3) focus on some object (could be a thing in the your environment, could be something you visualize) and whenever your mind wanders from the object you put your attention on the object and tell yourself "that is interesting but this is more interesting". it does not matter if you are eyes open or closed at this point because the concentration state involves the brain producing beta waves.