MINDFULNESS  |  TOP MIND

5 Simple Ways To Practice Mindfulness Meditation At Work

Chad Prinsloo | Web Designer

Anneke Kirsten  |  Counselling Pychologist  |  Cape Town

March 23 2021

The average person spends a third of their life working, a third sleeping, and the remaining third of their time recreationally. This equates to 8 hours working, 8 hours sleeping, and 8 hours for yourself to spend it as you wish, which gives a total of 24 hours. If a third of your time is spent in a constant state of worry and stress, it can lead to chronic stress and other major health problems down the road, such as depression, heart problems, anxiety, weight gain, and so on.

So how do you go from a state of merely surviving, to a state of thriving in the workplace? I believe the answer lies in mindful meditation. Mindful meditation is also highly respected in the scientific community as an effective way to fight anxiety, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve sleep, and lower stress levels. All essentials to help in the workplace these days.

What exactly is mindfulness meditation?

Simply put, mindfulness is about focusing your awareness and attention on the present moment and accepting it without judgment. Meditation is nothing new, and it doesn’t require anything special that you don’t already have currently. There’s nowhere to go, no special tools to own, and no time of the day that’s required to be mindful. There really is nothing to lose, but everything to gain by finding clarity, stillness, and calm during a chaotic day at work.

Why be mindful at work?

While there is no way to completely eliminate stress and busyness from the workplace, more businesses, both small and large, are recognizing the importance of holistic, evidence-based practices to improve the wellness of employees and make the corporate environment less “toxic”.

Global companies such as Apple, Google, and Nike are some of the most well-known brands already embracing mindfulness in the workplace due to the numerous benefits it provides. If you or your company has not yet adopted this movement, you can start to implement stress reduction practices of your own and meditate at work almost immediately.

Simple Ways to Being More Mindful at Work

 

Start Your Day With Mindful Meditation

To practice mindfulness meditation it’s recommended to first find a quiet area to sit down. You can start by sitting in an upright and relaxed position and focus on your breathing. Listen to the feeling, the sound, your chest expanding, and contracting. Try and keep your negative thoughts and distractions at bay and without judgment, but also take notice of your distractions to gently bring your attention back to your breathing. Focus on 3 intervals of 90 seconds each. After a few days of practicing you’ll start to feel calmer and more focused throughout the day.

Create a Distraction-Free Environment

Clearing the immediate space around you helps to de-stress your working day by being more organised and less cluttered. But decluttering your workspace doesn’t just mean your desk and drawers. Also take the time to declutter your workflows, which means the processes you use regularly and even your attitudes to problem-solving.

Without these small daily distractions holding you back, your productivity increases, your daily frustrations are fewer and you’ll feel even more positive about starting and ending your workday.

Try Short Mindfulness Exercises At Your Desk

Short bursts of meditation, along with journaling and reflecting on your day in the morning, afternoon, and before you leave the office can be very effective. The best part is that it can be performed at your desk.

Be Present In Conversations

No one likes speaking to someone if they feel like the other person is not actively listening or paying attention. By being more present and taking an active role in conversations, you’ll build more trust, openness, and respect with the other person.

Be a Single-Tasker

Many people view the “ability to multitask” as a strength, and it’s even become a requirement in some workplaces. The truth is that many people cant truly concentrate or focus on multiple things at once. Task switching can be disruptive, time-consuming, and prone to more mistakes.

Instead of juggling many different tasks at once, try to work on one task at a time. By giving yourself permission to focus, on just one thing, you’ll deliver the task faster, more accurately, and you won’t feel so overwhelmed with your workload.

I’m Anneke Kirsten, a Cape Town therapist and Counselling Psychologist (MA Counseliing Psychology) and an Accredited Integrative Enneagram Practitioner with a special interest in Mindfulness, Emotional Intelligence and Leadership training.

At TOP MIND, we provide individuals and organisations with the tools to better understand, measure, and solve internal issues and build high-performing teams. We use psychological principles to solve problems in the workplace and improve employee wellbeing.