How Mindfulness Boosts Productivity at Work
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Our society enjoys immediate response and fast-paced living. Whether we’re finishing a report or running to go home, people get caught up in rushing through the world. This lifestyle can cause serious problems both in and outside the workplace for two reasons. First, people who are always in a rush tend to be sloppy, causing them to make small, frequent mistakes. They become so focused on the goal that they tend to overlook small tasks and essential details. Second, people with fast-paced lifestyles are inclined to develop short tempers and impatience. When caught up with a sudden change in pacing, these people may overreact and become aggressive.
This is why entrepreneurial experts and philosophers advocate for the power of “mindfulness.” This philosophy teaches others to slow down and pause to improve productivity and mindset.
Here’s what you need to know about mindfulness.
What is mindfulness?
The philosophy of mindfulness focuses on the present day reality. Rather than being preoccupied with the past or the future, the philosophy of mindfulness examines the “here and now” of our lives. It emphasizes the importance of what is happening and what we experience.
Think of the yoga videos that tell you to focus on your breath or the meditation exercises that ask you to feel the earth under your feet. They all focus on being aware of what is happening. In other words, mindfulness is discovering the reality where you exist at that moment. It makes you more aware of what is happening now. In the process, you also remove any thoughts about the past or the future. You spend less time focusing on yesterday’s mistakes or being anxious about next month’s deadline. What matters at that moment is your breath and yourself.
Key Concepts of Mindfulness
The key concepts of mindfulness involve raising awareness of the present. Each one offers an insight on how you can view what you are doing right now and how you can better shift your attention back to the present. Here are some key concepts on how mindfulness trains your brain to be calm and productive.
Awareness Over Fixation
The first concept of mindfulness focuses on how to stay properly aware of your surroundings. According to the philosophy of mindfulness, paying attention to your current state of being is crucial to self-control. If you recognize that you are stressed about work, your mind will understand why it feels so tired and unmotivated.
Mindfulness trains your mind to accept things as they are by being more aware of what’s around you. Sometimes, the task at hand may take hours to finish. Your colleagues may be noisy and demanding. What you can do is to calm yourself, breathe and understand that you can’t control everything. Once you accept that there are circumstances that you can’t change,, you become less fixated on trying to make things perfect. Whenever you loosen up and accept what is happening, your mind can breathe more.
Living in the Present Moment
The second concept of mindfulness focuses more on the timeframe you set your mind in. Many of us tend to think about the past or the future. We obsess over the details of upcoming events and possible disasters when they haven’t occurred yet. Sometimes, we also keep beating ourselves up over the mistakes we had during childhood.
This obsession with our failures or difficulties is not healthy. For example, you might be panicking about revisions to your paper when you haven’t finished the draft. See how odd and unproductive that mindset can be? By fixating on your problems, you lose time and effort in changing things for the better.
With mindfulness, you learn to concentrate on what is in the present. Ask yourself, is there something you can do now that will help you later on? What lessons did you learn from the past, and how can you use them to improve the present? You become more grounded in your decisions by shifting your mind away from the clouds and back to earth. For example, remember the draft scenario we discussed earlier. Don’t obsess with keeping your writing perfect. Instead, start writing immediately. Come up with an idea and put it all into words on the screen or paper. You can always fix it later. Right now is the time to start.
Staying In Control
If awareness recognizes what we can’t control, then why does the third concept focus on control? You see, the idea of awareness is understanding what is out of reach. You can’t change time, and you can’t hide from your mistakes or obligations. However, what you can control is your behavior.
People who feel stressed often try to hide their emotions or their frustrations. The problem is that they let it build up and manifest in different ways by hiding it. These signs can range from sleepless nights to paranoid thoughts. All of these problems soon grow into emotional exhaustion or bad health.
However, those who understand they are stressed can take time to pause and step out of the cubicle. They might walk around to loosen their mind or sip a cup of coffee to reward their efforts. Mindfulness isn’t just breathing exercises. It’s a way of life. It uses this third principle to remind us that we are in control of ourselves. If we feel nervous, we can either hide it or use it to motivate our work. The more you change your approach to problems, the easier you’ll feel when you arrive at a solution.
How To Apply Mindfulness At Work
Now that you know the three concepts mindfulness uses to control your mind and retain focus, here are some ways to practice it at work:
Make a To-Do List
Stop trying to answer every problem at work in one fell swoop. You can’t solve everything at once, and multitasking will only leave you out of breath. Instead, make a to-do list of your goals for the day. Focus on one thing at a time, such as your write-ups or your presentation slides. You can follow up on other tasks or delegate them to trusted friends, as long as you don’t forget to finish your assignment first.
Minimize Mental Clutter
Clutter exists in two ways: mentally and visually. When we speak of mental clutter, we’re talking about all the random thoughts and distractions in our minds. You might be too fixated on your lunch or the bed you sleep in.
One way you can filter your mind is by writing down your thoughts in a personal journal. List everything that you need to get off your chest. You can rant about your frustrations at work or your fears about your output. The more you write, the more your mind processes the thoughts that stay in your head. Soon, they’ll all be cleaned out and safely stored in your private journal. Meanwhile, your head will feel less crowded and heavy. You’ll have more room and neurons to focus on your next output for the day.
Minimize Visual Clutter
Visual clutter is more about the actual stuff you leave on your desk. If you have several papers and knick-knacks in your office, you have a giant mess that greets you every time you start working. The more you see visual clutter, the more tired your mind feels. Furthermore, you might get easily stressed when you need something, and it’s hard to find.
Save yourself the trouble by putting all your unnecessary items on separate shelves or cabinets. If possible, store them out of sight. Consider what you need at the desk, such as a coffee mug or a whiteboard. Once you clear out your desk of all the junk, your brain will have more space to breathe.
Timed Breaks
Lastly, always pace yourself when you work. Knowing your present also means recognizing when you feel tired or overwhelmed. If you think that you’ve spent too many hours sitting down or staring at the computer, get up and stretch your body. If you are starting to have a headache, sit back and close your eyes for a minute. A timed break doesn’t need to be extended. However, it can happen any time you are at work, as long as you remember to breathe and thank yourself for all the hard work you’ve put in that day.
In Summary
Practicing mindfulness at work is an excellent way to improve productivity on any task. Mindfulness teaches us to be more aware of how we feel, what we are doing, and how we can control our actions. There are many ways that mindfulness can be practiced in your workspace, from occasional breaks to an organized to-do list for all tasks.
Following these tips and tricks, you help your mind declutter any unwanted thoughts or pains.
We also have a video that will help you more in your productivity.
- Craig, H. (2022, June 27). Mindfulness at Work: Using Mindful Leadership in the Workplace. PositivePsychology.com.
- McClinton, D. (2021, October 22). Global attention span is narrowing and trends don’t last as long, study reveals. The Guardian.
- Monday.com. (2021, November 4). Mindfulness at work: 5 ways to improve your productivity.
- Robinette, K. (2021, February 27). 7 Benefits Of Mindfulness In The Workplace. GQR.
- UniversalClass.com. Accessed on July 1, 2022. How Mindfulness at Work Can Improve Productivity.
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