The Case For Mindfulness In The Workplace

It's a fact: we spend most of our day's either working from home or in the office. With so many hours dedicated to doing work, it's never been so important to start practicing mindfulness. 

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of focusing your awareness on the present moment. Laozi, an ancient Chinese philosopher and founder of the philosophical Taoism, said: “If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.” Being at peace and practicing mindfulness at work has a number of proven benefits including, improved focus and attention, and a decrease in stress. Commonly, those who are in tune with their bodies, minds, and environment are less likely to hold onto the occurrences of daily life that derail us; like traffic, a delayed train, spilling coffee on your favorite shirt or getting into a disagreement with a friend or partner. Taking your mind off a stressful morning or whatever's in your pipeline for later in the week will allow you to focus on your work, and, in turn, increase productivity, efficiency, and happiness.

How Does Mindfulness Translate to the Workplace

Here are simple ways to practice and apply mindfulness at work:

1. Don’t multitask.
   1. Multitasking doesn’t mean you are working harder or faster. More often than not it means the latter-that you are disrupting your workflow by switching haphazardly between tasks, which disrupts projects and adds to unnecessary work. What should be your goal? One task at a time, or one thing at a time. Do one thing well. Then, move onto the next.
2. Prioritize.
   1. What’s the hardest thing you have to do today? Do that task first. It will boost your confidence and lower the stress level for the rest of the day. After the hardest things are done, move down the line until you’re left with your simpler, easier tasks.
3. Eliminate outside noise.
   1. Noise can be both literal and figurative. What notifications (even silent ones) are taking you out of the present moment? Disable iMessage from your computer, don’t check your phone or Facebook, and put your iWatch on airplane mode. If this is too hard try reverse scheduling. This is where you carve out time in your day for breaks, correspondence and a bit of social media. That is your time to catch up.

Clearing out old habits and starting the day with a fresh perspective is the first step to increasing your overall happiness at work, and that will permeate into all aspects of your life. For more ways to stay on-task, sign up for a free Accelo trial.