Mindfulness at Work?

How can Meditative states help your work?

Shifting our frame of mind can help us to problem solve more effectively, efficiently, as well as intuitively.

Allowing answers to instinctively come to mind by simply being patient with yourself and the universe to guide your thoughts through meditative states/frames of mind while consciously, purposefully, and quietly observing and ‘taking’ notes — literally and/or figuratively.

If you think you can pause to take a quick note without interrupting the process, I encourage you to do so, or you can wait until ’the end’ and immediately afterwards write down all you recall — you might just be surprised at not only how much you recall, but also how much is useful or will lead to other useful thoughts and/or solutions.

In my recent article, ‘Sitting’ with the Difficult Questions: The Art of Meditation or simply, Mindfulness & Awareness, I talk about movement meditation and how, much like good leadership, meditation is allowing for things to play out while we observe. Observing ourselves and our thoughts without micromanaging.

In recent history, meditation has been gaining more and more awareness, attention, and even scientific inquiry.

According to Headspace, an app and science blog geared towards making meditation a part of every-day life, “meditating at work can reduce stress and frustration, while also boosting focus, compassion, energy, and productivity.”

Interestingly, Healthline reviewed Headspace in their article 2022 Headspace Review: How Does It Stack Up?, and even compared them to Calm, another app like Headspace, in the article Headspace vs. Calm: How Do These Meditation Apps Compare? In each article the author lists studies performed by both organizations as well as other sources revealing the many benefits of meditation and mindfulness including “that the app is beneficial for mental, emotional, and social health. A 2018 study found a 14 to 28 percent reduction in stress after 10 days of using Headspace, while an earlier study showed the app improved focus by 27 percent.”

Increasing Productivity through Meditation?

You might be thinking, okay I have heard about the many supposed benefits of meditation, but what does that have to do with work? Why should I care about finding ways to incorporate meditation at work for myself and/or my colleagues/employees?

Well, first of all, meditation has been shown to have a positive effect on reducing high stress levels, that alone can effect our everyday lives and relationships, both of which affect work directly and indirectly; however, meditation also affects our productivity and levels of happiness… In fact this articleThe Association between Meditation Practice and Job Performance: A Cross-Sectional Study through the use of World Health Organization’s (WHO) “Health and Work Performance Questionnaire (HPQ) was used to measure subjective job performance”, they were able to find that “meditation practice was the strongest predictor of HPQ (β = .108, p < .001); thus, it appears that frequent meditation practice was associated with increased performance.

In addition, physical activity at work (β = 0.069, p = .005) and physical activity at leisure time (β = 0.071, p = .004) were also positively predictive of HPQ.” In addition, they concluded that “it is possible that the effects of meditation on job performance reflect improved cognitive and non-cognitive functioning that result from the biological changes associated with meditation. Indeed, neuroscience research has indicated that the mental processes used during meditation practice affect the brain, autonomic nervous system, and endocrine system [26]. These biological changes may result in improved cognitive and non-cognitive functioning in individuals who practice meditation; this, in turn, results in better job performance.”

As if that wasn’t enough, they stated that “our findings indicate that meditation practice may have positive effects on enhancing multiple dimensions of job performance, including work engagement, subjective job performance, and job satisfaction; these associations are independent of an individual’s demographic characteristics and behavioral risk factors.”

In the book, Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty, he describes a study ( which sadly I have as an audiobook so I cannot easily reference it specifically) in which monks brainwaves were measured while meditating, and I believe this is the study and a fascinating read (I pasted it below)!

In the above article Zoran Josipovic, who was the research scientist (and also happens to be an adjunct professor at New York University) stated that “one thing that meditation does for those who practice it a lot is that it cultivates attentional skills, [and] that those harnessed skills can help lead to a more tranquil and happier way of being.”

As you might know yourself or from reading my other articles, Dr. Andrew Weil is a big proponent of meditation and mindfulness as well as conscious breathing. He himself practices daily, and in his audiobook Dr Andrew Weil’s Guide to Optimum Health, he discusses the benefits of deep breathing and meditation in detail as well as walks you through his practice/technique of 4–7–8 breath.

Also, in his Audiobook (which I have not fully completed yet), The Andrew Weil Audio Collection, Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing (Meditation for optimal Health with Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D.), he and Jon talk about the many benefits of meditation, breathing, and once again lead you through practices for both.

Once you start researching, you will find a great wealth of information available thanks to the increased interest around the world and specifically the science community that starts to deepen our understanding and appreciation for this ancient modality. If you are able to commence your own practice, I am sure you will notice many benefits within yourself and the many aspects of your life including work and concentrated productivity.

In his excellent article Science Says Meditation Will Make You More Productive, Jari Roomer speaks to his own experience with meditation and states “meditation trains you to become more aware of your thoughts, emotions and actions. And this, in turn, leads to much better decision making. Instead of constantly operating on autopilot, you have the presence and awareness to make deliberate decisions and work with intent.”

I know my sensitivity with meditation, as well as my experiences and practice, are evolving as I develop my relationship with myself, and I encourage you to give it a try. I know it is a challenging and potentially frustrating skill to try and develop, but take your time, be patient, and just enjoy being with yourself.

Thank you for reading and good luck in your meditation journey and practice 🙏🏼

With Love, Light, and Blessings ❤

Your Idealistic HolisticNerd ~ ❤ Mind ❤ Body ❤ Spirit/Soul ❤ ~

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