Mindfulness and Productivity: Unlocking Your Full Potential
Mindfulness has become a familiar buzzword in self improvement conversations, and for good reason. In today's modern, fast-paced world, it can be challenging or even impossible to stay focused and productive. We're constantly bombarded in every moment with distractions, both digital and physical. It can almost feel like we are at war for control of our minds and our attention.
Our ability to focus, to direct our attention at what we chose, is one of the most important factors for productivity. Productivity is the ability to take the steps necessary to achieve our goals: if we’re always getting distracted, and we can’t take the steps we need to, productivity is impossible. (I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get tempted away from writing this blog post by impulsively reading news on my phone). If we can’t reach our goals, we can’t build the life we want to live.
The good news is Mindfulness is an effective, research-backed methodology to break through the noise, train our focus, increase our productivity, and achieve our goals. Mindfulness can help us focus our attention, reduce stress, improve productivity, and improve our overall well-being. So let’s get mindful!
Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment without distraction or judgment. When we are mindful, we can be aware of our thoughts, feelings, and sensations without getting caught up in them or. We have the ability to notice the experiences we are having without attaching to them or rejecting them. We can appreciate and find peace and joy in the present moment without clinging to the past or worrying about the future.
I have been personally engaged in mindfulness practices for 20 years. While there was a learning curve at the beginning, the benefits of engaging in mindfulness and meditation are clear. On weeks where I’m less mindful, I find myself procrastinating, more stressed and anxious, less engaged and happy in my relationships, and less productive overall. On a day to day basis, I can see clear benefits of mindfulness practices and meditation, and clear issues when I skip my practice.
Despite numerous proven benefits, Mindfulness practice can be really hard to start and stay consistent with. That’s why at Recess, we made it easy for our users to begin and sustain a mindfulness practice. Instead of just meditation, our guided bilateral session helps users to become mindful of their thoughts, feelings, and sensory experiences and achieve flow state with consistent use of 10 minutes a day.
When we’re mindful, we're able to see things with greater clarity and make better decisions. We're also less likely to be overwhelmed by stress or anxiety. Those who are more mindful report greater joy, calm, better relationships, increased health and wellbeing overall, and even greater productivity.
Over the past two decades, Mindfulness and its benefits have been very widely researched and empirically verified. The wide ranging benefits of mindfulness have caused it to surge in popularity, especially in the last 10 years, for its benefits on wellbeing, stress, and focus. But what about productivity?
Growing up and living with ADHD, productivity has always been a major focus in my life. When I was younger, I was told that discipline and organizational tools were the key to increasing my productivity. But, for myself and my clients, I found these were not the most useful tools. As I worked with my clients to address anxiety, I found that decreasing anxiety, increasing emotional regulation, and learning Mindfulness practices seemed to make the greatest impact overall. The more my clients have been able to successfully implement mindfulness, the more they have seen their productivity grow.
There are several studies that have shown the benefits of mindfulness on productivity. A study published in the journal Mindfulness found that mindfulness training can lead to improvements in focus, attention, and working memory. These improvements can lead to increased productivity, as people are better able to focus on their tasks and avoid distractions.
Another study, published in the journal Journal of Applied Psychology, found that mindfulness training can lead to improvements in job satisfaction and work performance. The study found that mindfulness training can help employees to better manage stress, cope with difficult situations, and make better decisions. These improvements can lead to increased productivity, as employees are more likely to be engaged and productive in their work.
There are a number of ways that mindfulness can improve productivity. A study by Aetna found that mindfulness training led to a 12% increase in productivity.
Here are a few examples:
Mindfulness can help us focus our attention on the task at hand and avoid distractions. This can lead to increased productivity and fewer errors. It has been proven time and time again in the research that multitasking does not work, but uninterrupted focus can help us reach Flow State.
Mindfulness can help to decrease the stress and anxiety that come from worrying about the future or the past. It also helps to decrease stress by helping to improve the relationship with our body and mind. When we're less stressed and anxious, we're better able to focus and think clearly. This leads to improved decision-making and problem-solving skills.
Mindfulness can help us make better decisions by allowing us to see things more clearly and without judgment. This can lead to fewer impulsive decisions and more effective problem-solving. Mindfulness can also help us set more effective goals, and increase our ability to take the steps necessary to achieve those goals in the present moment, leading to increased and sustainable productivity.
Mindfulness is helpful in improving our relationship with ourselves and our self-worth. By increasing our connection with ourselves in the present moment, increasing healthy internal body-mind communication, improving our relationship with others, and improving our ability to attain our goals, those practicing mindfulness report increased self-worth. As discussed in a previous blog, increase self-worth has been shown to help boost productivity.
Mindfulness can help us tap into our creativity by allowing us to be more present and open to new ideas. This can lead to new solutions to problems and more innovative thinking. Research has shown that meditation leads to large increases in creativity, and an increased ability to enter flow state. This means we find ways of being productive with less effort and struggle and more ease and sustainability for the long term.
In addition to the benefits listed above, mindfulness can also help improve productivity by addressing some of the underlying causes of distraction and procrastination. There are ways that mindfulness can help in the moment, and also ways it can help more long term. Combining mindfulness with somatic based practices can bring some of those direct and visible benefits, especially over time with repeated practice.
Somatic psychological solutions focus on the body-mind connection. They can help to identify and release tension in our bodies, which can free up our minds to focus on the task at hand.
One somatic psychological solution that is particularly effective for improving productivity is bilateral stimulation. Bilateral stimulation involves alternating stimulation of the left and right sides of the body. This can be done through eye movement, tapping, or alternating tones. Bilateral stimulation has been shown to improve focus, attention, and memory. It can also help to reduce stress and anxiety. Recess employs bilateral stimulation to help users to increase their mindfulness and productivity, and ultimately reach flow state.
Another somatic intervention is mindfulness meditation, but specifically employed to focus on physical sensations and emotions. For instance, if there’s something we are having trouble being productive with, or something is causing us stress, we can take a moment to focus on the physical feelings and emotions associated with the task (instead of trying to make a plan or get lost in thoughts).
As we do this, we allow our body and nervous system to work through the emotional blocks that are reducing our productivity. While most of us are trained to think through our challenges, allowing our body to work through blocks that arise is effective long term because the same blocks often reappear in similar situations. Addressing those underlying patterns will have greater long term impact than forcing ourself through individual situations one at a time.
There are many ways to integrate mindfulness into your productivity routine. Here are a few ideas:
Take a few minutes each morning to practice mindfulness meditation. This will help you to focus your attention and reduce stress.
Throughout the day, take short breaks to practice mindful breathing or to simply observe your thoughts and feelings. This will help you to stay centered and focused.
When you’re feeling unfocused, stressed from a task or project, or feel like your focus is slipping, you can focus on the emotions and physical sensations that are arising to help your body process through what’s being triggered so you can return to your tasks with increased focus and productivity.
If you find yourself feeling distracted or overwhelmed, try using bilateral stimulation. This can help you to focus your attention and reduce stress. You can utilize Recess to help you increase your focus and productivity with as little as 10 minutes a day.
Mindfulness is a powerful tool that can help you improve your productivity. By incorporating mindfulness into your routine, you can learn to focus your attention, reduce stress, and improve your overall well-being. This will lead to increased productivity, fewer errors, and better decision-making.
Recess is specifically designed to help users to utilize mindfulness to increase productivity, improve focus, and unlock their full potential. With as little as 10 minutes a day, users can learn to implement mindfulness and increase their productivity in the moment and over time.
