Focus and mental clarity are arguably today’s most valuable currencies.
With the plethora of distractions vying for your attention today, practicing mindfulness exercises at work to avoid work anxiety and burnout is more important than ever. Meditation at work for even five minutes at a time can help us manage stress, reduce depression, and it makes us nicer and happier individuals. Now with perks like that, who wouldn’t want to give it a try?
Simply put, mindfulness exercises are a way to help you live a focused and deliberate life. By practicing mindfulness at work, you’re able to clear up a foggy mind and have the mental clarity to proactively own and manage your day effectively.
This is ingrained deeply into how we built Brief as a minimalist dashboard that helps leaders to consciously manage their day in a thoughtful and impactful way. Simply put, the act of standing back from the noise to focus, write down to-dos, prioritize action items and complete tasks in a systematic manner, is crucial to effective days, a clear mind and productive meetings and outcomes.
Before you sigh and think “oh boy, now I have to add mindfulness exercises at work to my already gigantic To-Do list?”— read on…
How to get rid of brain fog
Our minds are constantly whirring as we multitask and juggle a work-life balance. Whether it’s worrying over the past or fretting about the future — the human mind is like a monkey swinging from branch to branch, avoiding the present. It may be that you’re procrastinating on a difficult project at work, or trying to avoid a delicate conversation with a loved one — we all find our reasons to not focus effectively when we need to.
‘Meditation’ is simply a focusing tool, an active form of brain training. It brings your awareness to this very moment. This will be your secret ingredient to being productive and getting more work done. Only when you’re focused on this moment and on your task at hand, then you can stop bouncing from distractions.
“A lot of people have this idea that meditation means sitting down and doing nothing,” says John Hopkins researcher Madhav Goyal.
“But that’s not true. Meditation is an active training of the mind to increase awareness, and different meditation programs approach this in different ways.”
Tame work anxiety and take charge of your day
Well, what if I tell you that just a few minutes of meditation may be the difference between a clouded mind and a one that has serene mental clarity. Sure, you can continue bouncing endlessly between your Twitter feed and email, but your obligations will still be there.
Mindfulness exercises at work can take many forms – from stepping into a quiet room in the office for five minutes on your own to just being in a regular state of mind that actively allows you to embrace each day effectively. You can do it anywhere; during your commute to work (if you don’t drive that is), at your desk, during a quick walk after lunch, or even five minutes in the bathroom cubicle if you have to! Simply close your eyes, take in few deep breaths, observe your body and let the frustration flow from your mind. The Stoics offer this valuable life lesson:
“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” — Epictetus
We don’t control what happens to us, we can only control our thoughts and our responses. Working mindfully and choosing to live your life in a purposeful way is a powerful antidote. Don’t let today’s distractions or simply working for the sake of working overtake your life. You are in control. Use tools like Brief to master the art of staying focused and working in a deliberate and impactful way, that allows you to own your day as if it were your own business.
Focused and deliberate work
Meditation is not about escaping your reality or feelings, but instead, observing them and choosing to let some things go and work through others. Today’s modern work life means that work often spills over into your personal time. It is more important than ever to control how you spend your time.
That’s why mindfulness exercises can help you step back from the noise and realign your priorities. If you’re an entrepreneur, you no doubt have various projects running simultaneously and a busy team to manage, all while working to grow your company. With constantly competing priorities, it can be easy to forget that focus and mindfulness is also key to success in business and in life.
Brief lets you put all your priorities onto one dashboard and continuously reflect on their importance. Create different Hubs with your goals for today, this week or this month. Be sure to be realistic and list the things you hope to accomplish.
By consciously looking and reflecting on what you hope to achieve in these different time frames, you can work in a deliberate and impactful way. Did you accomplish everything you wanted to accomplish this week? Why/why not? This reflection is crucial for personal effectiveness, that in turn brings enhanced productivity and outcomes to all the environments you operate in. Meditation about your professional and personal goals is a great way to train yourself to be reflective and thoughtful about what you do and how you manage your day.
Having all key communications on one dashboard also helps you stay focused and concise in your thinking and priority setting. Stay in the moment and focus only on the key tasks at hand, not everything that happens to cross your path in a given minute of the day. No checking multiple email accounts or devices — everything is on one seamless dashboard with Brief.
Chatting or video conferencing with your team is all built in, making it easy to turn chats into Action Items for you to remember for later. Mix in a bit of fun and mindfulness into your teamwork with Brief. Create a group chat about meditation where you can share tips and suggestions with your team. This type of positive interaction with the team not only brings the team closer but also brings calmness to each individual.
How to practice mindfulness at work
Performing mindfulness exercises at work starts with a tiny, first step. Start with just five minutes three times a week. If you have a few minutes in the morning or evening, instead of scrolling through your phone, try quieting down your mind. There are great apps on the market today; Headspace and Calm, or try a guided meditation playlist.
Pay attention to your thoughts and letting them go without reacting to them. Live mindfully and stay focused on what’s important, live a life of gratitude and focus your mind to bring your best to every aspect of every day. You’ll find you’ll be more productive, creative and grateful on the days when you meditate. Try it today. Your team, family and company will thank you.
At the end of it all, meditation is a very personal experience. You’ve got to find the right amount of time and best setting in which you find it best to relax and breathe (and listen to your breathing) in order to clear your clouded mind.
Deeper focus and effective communications are just a click away. Join Brief for free and invite your colleagues, teams, and contacts in seconds.
