Are you constantly concerned about getting the job done timely and successfully? Does it bother you to always worry about time management and personal productivity? If yes, perhaps you should think about turning the page and using mindfulness as an escape route.
Many people are still now aware of this concept, but even those who understand it don’t believe it is possible to combine work and mindfulness. This is, of course, a huge mistake as mindfulness can help you to become a better person and a better employee. In this post, we will show you:
- The definition and the benefits of mindfulness
- How to use mindfulness at work
There is a long way ahead of us, so let us dive straight into the topic!
Mindfulness: Definition and benefits
Mindfulness is a relatively new phenomenon, so it’s important to explain it before moving on to other details.
By definition, mindfulness represents a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgment. In other words, mindfulness is a state of mind rather than any specific action such as meditation.
This mental technique has a wide range of practical benefits, but our goal is to concentrate on work-related pros only. Here are the most significant advantages of mindfulness at the workplace:
- Reduces stress: Jake Gardner, an essay writer in charge pf psychology-related topics, says that mindfulness is known for its ability to reduce stress and fend off anxiety: “It’s a critical feature in a world overloaded with deadlines, budget limits, and similar.”
- Improves social relationships: The practice of mindfulness makes you open to new experiences, thus helping you to improve social relationships.
- Boosts resilience: It also makes you a stronger and more resilient individual.
- Strengthens professional performance: With everything we’ve mentioned so far, it’s not surprising to learn that mindfulness leads to better results at the workplace.
- Enhances intuition: This type of mental exercise can also make you a more insightful and intuitive person in the long run.
- Improves engagement and motivation: As you keep getting more relaxed and resilient, you will also be improving professional engagement and motivation to do the work flawlessly.
- Builds leadership abilities: Lastly, mindfulness boosts your confidence and helps you to gradually build leadership abilities.
10 ways to use mindfulness at work
Mindfulness is obviously an amazing technique that can make a number of positive impacts on your personality, but how exactly do you reach the state of mindfulness? There is more than one answer to this question, which is why selected ten ways to use mindfulness as a career booster. Here they are:
1. Find a mindfulness mentor
If you are a newbie in the mindfulness world, then you might as well think about finding a mentor to teach you a few basic concepts and techniques. It doesn’t have to be a professional mindfulness instructor. On the contrary, it’s enough to find a friend or a family member with sufficient experience and ask him/her to guide you through the process. That way, you won’t be wandering around looking for the best way to start the journey.
2. Make it an everyday routine
Now that you understand the major principles of mindfulness, you should not hesitate to make it a part of your everyday routine at work. How can you do it? All it takes is to reserve at least five or ten minutes every day for mindfulness exercises. It should be enough to help you relax, regain energy, and go back to work with a clear mind and lots of enthusiasm.
3. Lead by example
Who says mindfulness has to be a one-person activity? This is not the right mindset, so you better lead by example and help other employees realize the benefits of mindfulness as well. Try to lead by example and show colleagues how to practice mindfulness. You can even organize group sessions and turn it into a joint activity among your peers.
4. Focus on one task at a time
One of the biggest advantages of mindfulness is that it teaches you to focus on one task at a time, no matter what it is. It’s a mindset you need to embrace if you want to improve the professional productivity because many studies prove that multitasking actually slows people down. The only reasonable way to deal with everyday duties is to solve them one by one, which is what mindfulness is all about.
5. Practice acceptance
The vast majority of humans are usually not open to other people and different opinions. This happens because we all have a fixed attitude towards any given concept, idea, belief, value, and so on. That is exactly where mindfulness steps into the game to encourage you to practice acceptance. It’s a valuable workplace trait because you need to stay open to other opinions in order to make the entire team more functional and creative.
6. Take action to boost mindfulness
When people talk about mindfulness, they mostly think about a calming and relaxing atmosphere of peace and joy. While it is true on some occasions, it is also true that you have to combine the periods of calmness with the periods of physical exercise. Namely, researchers prove that training helps our bodies and our minds to relax, which is the basic precondition for mindfulness.
7. Relax before going to bed
Your daily productivity depends on how well you sleep at night, which is why you ought to relax before going to bed. How can you do that?
First of all, make sure to turn off your electronic devices because they are genuine sleep killers. Secondly, do your best to go to bed early and at the same time every night. This kind of routine will help your mind to relax quicker and allow you to get enough rest for today’s duties.
8. Be patient
Another thing you should learn is to be patient about mindfulness. Although it can have a tremendous impact on your professional capabilities, don’t expect miracles to happen all of a sudden. On the contrary, you should approach it with all due patience and enjoy the process. Even if you think that nothing new is going on at the moment, rest assured you will see the first results of mindfulness soon enough.
9. Take occasional breaks
It is natural to fully immerse yourself into work from time to time, but you should also know when it’s the right time to take a break. You should take some rest after two hours of hard work and preferably take a quick walk. Besides that, do your best to take a vacation regularly if you want to achieve the state of mindfulness and avoid professional burnout.
10. Avoid micro-management
The last tip on our list is to avoid micro-management because it prevents you from relaxing. Micro-management is one of the biggest enemies of mindfulness, so you better learn how to delegate tasks and trust your subordinates.
The bottom line
Mindfulness is not just a 21st century buzzword, but rather a highly practical technique that helps people to cope with the challenges of everyday life. That includes widespread stress caused by professional responsibilities that occupy your mind and make you worried or even anxious.
In this article, we discussed the concept of mindfulness, explained its practical benefits, and showed you ten ways to learn and use this technique at work.
Have you ever tried practicing mindfulness? Do you think it could help you overcome job-related difficulties? Let us know in the comments – perhaps we could give you additional suggestions!