How Mindfulness and Productivity Go Hand in Hand

When you run your own business, you’ll find that your mind is often focused on your business – how to grow it, how to run it better, how to improve sales etc. Having your business constantly on your mind isn’t actually a good thing and can often lead to stress, burnout and lower productivity levels.

How do we combat this? By practising mindfulness.

The dictionary defines mindfulness as "a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique." 
​
But what does this actually mean? And more importantly how can you use mindfulness to boost your productivity? Keep reading to find out. 

Try these 5 easy tips to help you practice mindfulness, apply it to your business and become more productive:

1. Make Time - It doesn’t need to be a lot. Just 5-10 minutes each day where you can sit in a quiet, relaxing environment where you can allow yourself to just be. Practice paying attention to the present moment, without judgement. It’s not about calming yourself or giving yourself time to think, simply recognising if/when your mind begins to wander and pulling yourself back to the present moment. You can get more help with this mindfulness technique here. Mindfulness has been hailed as a fantastic way to boost concentration and focus – key skills for any entrepreneur or business owner.
2. Take a Tech Break – Don’t allow technology to overwhelm you. Is your inbox unmanageable? Are you answering emails at all hours? Do you constantly check social media? Taking a break from technology is essential for those seeking to successfully practice mindfulness. Don’t check emails during lunch and set an out of hours auto-responder after work. Not only will this help your mindfulness practice, it’ll also allow you to unwind and relax away from work so that you can return with a fresh, clear perspective.
3. Listen – Using the techniques developed by practising mindfulness will allow you to listen to the ideas and opinions of others without judgement. Be more aware of the other person’s feelings and intentions, make note of your own thoughts but reserve them for after the person has finished talking. As a business leader, this will help to encourage fresh ideas and innovation from those around you.
4. Practice Gratefulness – Did you know that practicing gratefulness can help to make you psychologically immune to things going wrong? This can be immensely helpful for entrepreneurs and business owners used to dealing with difficult, stressful situations. Learn to recognise, acknowledge and appreciate the things (no matter how small) that you’re grateful for. Consider keeping a journal or gratitude jar to record what you’re grateful for each day. You can review it any time you’re feeling low or use it as a fantastic way of reviewing each month/year.  

“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” —Lao Tzu
​
What are you waiting for? Start your mindfulness journey today and see where it takes you.