Article by Materahub
The workplace can be fast-paced, competitive and stressful, it demands that we perform at our best, be productive and focused, and get along with colleagues, management, and/or clients. This is where meditation and mindfulness come in, helping you to feel less stressed, be less reactive, and improve your compassion while simultaneously strengthening areas of focus, productivity, and resilience. Mindfulness is a simple practice for reducing stress and it can be used at work too. It is a way to train your mind and paying attention to the present moment. Hundreds of published studies show that our brains are malleable and can actually be rewired through a mindfulness practice. Research on the brains of conflict meditators has documented neuron growth in the area of the brain associated with learning, memory and emotional control.
Employees have learned to calm themselves when they want and this helps them be more productive at work.
And that’s where being mindful at work — being fully present and consciously focused on the task at hand, free from distractions or judgment, and with a soft and open mind — can be hugely beneficial and transformative. By training ourselves to be more present at work through mindfulness, we learn to take care of one thing at a time. Moving forward task by task allows us to create opportunities to be more attentive, aware, and productive and less reactive, overwhelmed, and on autopilot.
How to be more mindful at work:
Focus on your breath When you have negative thoughts, try to sit down, take a deep breath and close your eyes. Focus on your breath as it moves in and out of your body. Sitting and breathing for even just a minute can help.
Pay attention. It’s hard to slow down and notice things in a busy world. Try to take the time to experience your environment with all of your senses — touch, sound, sight, smell and taste.
Live in the moment. Try to intentionally bring an open, accepting and discerning attention to everything you do. Find joy in simple pleasures.
Actively listen. Try being fully present and mindful of what others are saying throughout the workday, instead of just automatically nodding as you wait for your turn to talk and you may even strengthen your relationships with people at work.
Take regular breaks. A well-known productivity study found among a group of employees, the 10% who were the most productive had an ideal work rhythm of 52 minutes of work time followed by a 17-minute break. If you want to start incorporating regular breaks into your day, try setting a timer on your phone to ring every hour. When the timer rings, take a break, it could be as short as one minute at your desk or as long as you can spare, to do a simple mindfulness practice such as a breathing exercise, or to get outside and take a walk.
So let’s remember the words of Eckhart Tolle “Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it”
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