Mindfulness @ Work
What is Mindfulness? Why is it something worth considering in a working environment? Isn’t this the latest fad? Just some of the questions that I am asked on a regular basis.
Have you heard the phrase “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.” Well, that is what happens to most of us. Humans are creatures of habit and as such we tend to repeat the same actions again and again. What is perplexing is that we repeat the actions even if they were unsuccessful. Using Mindfulness techniques will help you break out of repeating the same actions without really thinking about them.
Firstly, let’s look at what Mindfulness is. There are many variations and lots of ways to practice Mindfulness, but the basic explanation is “being able to live in the present, being able to fully appreciate what is happening around you and in your mind at any given point in time, and make decisions on the facts presented to you.” If you want to experience the power of Mindfulness the next time you have a meal try focusing on each mouthful that you eat, explore the texture, the taste, and how each mouthful makes you feel. Make sure you have finished before you look at your plate for the next mouthful. The result is that you really enjoy your meal and really taste and enjoy it for, probably, the first time in a long time.
We have between 40,000 and 60,000 thoughts every day the clear majority of which are based in the past. To cope with so many thoughts the brain passes most decisions to the sub-conscious. Therefore, there are occasions when we have driven home we wonder how we got there. While we were thinking of the pressing daily activities which occupied the frontal lobe of our brain, the sub-conscious took over the driving of the car. The only time we would have realised what was happening would be if something unusual had happened or something that needed our attention has suddenly become apparent.
The same process happens in our daily life. If we have a decision to make the sub-conscious checks to see if we have had to make a similar decision in the past and if we have then the same decision is made. If we haven’t come across the situation before the decision is passed to the conscious part of the brain and we reason what would be the best course of action.
In addition, our belief system is also helping us pass judgement. This is something that we learnt from our community, parents, teachers and peers and we assess any decision we make against what we believe to be true. But is our view of the world always right? Can other people have a different view of the world which is just as legitimate as ours? In today’s business environment leaders are expected to work with people from different cultures and up to 5 generations each of these will have a different view of numerous subjects and each view would be legitimate.
Mindfulness is making every decision as if was the first time you had to make that decision. It is being aware that you are about to make an “automatic decision” and then reassessing the facts to ensure you are making the correct decision at that moment.
Obviously, it is not possible to use mindfulness in every decision we make. Do I take milk in my coffee? What coffee should I have? Do I take sugar in my coffee? What size cup should I use? What colour should the cup be? But there are decisions we make every day which would benefit from assessing all the facts without referring to past decisions.
But how do we practice Mindfulness? There are two things you need to do. The first is to choose which areas you want to practice the technique and the second is to commit to use Mindfulness. In order to choose the areas you would like to focus on write your daily tasks down. In it’s simplest form this would be a “To Do List”. This list will have tasks and actions that you need to take today. Which of these are important and would have the greatest impact on your company’s or your goals? Put a star against all the tasks and actions that would have a significant impact. Now when you are looking to decide on an action start by looking at all the facts. As an example, are you preparing a report that will be sent to senior management? When was the last time you really looked at the report and assessed the impact? Do you gather the same data and statistics and update them? Or do you take a deeper look at what you are writing? Are you writing too much information or too little? Where do you get your data from, are there other areas that you could access data? Are you presenting your report without any bias? Can you justify the bias in your report?
There are a lot of people who use To Do lists to help them prioritise their daily tasks. This is a great method to ensure you don’t forget what tasks you have yet to complete. The issue is that To Do lists are just that – a list. How important is each task to you, your team or your company? Is it helping you to move to your goal? Very few people write down and commit to their goals, it is about 1%. What is extraordinary is that most of the very successful people use some sort of goal methodology. So, if you want to be successful the obvious thing is to start writing your goals down. Once your goals are written down break them down into smaller tasks, then break down those tasks to subtasks. The subtasks should be no more than 60 minutes in length and preferably around 30 minutes. Why does this help in Mindfulness? Because then you can focus on that individual task or subtask and know that it is helping you drive to your goal. Many people talk about multi-tasking but that is a myth. You can only give your full attention to one task at a time. Whilst the sub-conscious part of your mind will work on tasks it is only capable of repeating past actions and decisions. That is why so many people are running on autopilot.
Mindfulness is a conscious decision to look at every day tasks in a different way. One of the ways to teach yourself to use Mindfulness and “be in the moment” is to meditate. That does not mean locking yourself away in a retreat for years and searching for the meaning of life, you just need 10 minutes a day. There are many gurus who can teach you how to meditate and get the best from your experience. However, if you are new to meditation there is a basic process that you can use. There are just three steps:
1. Sit upright is a chair. Posture is good when you start to meditate
2. Close your eyes. This lets you shut out the outside world
3. Focus on your breathing. Just breath in and out and focus on each breath. Your mind will begin to wander, let it, but then bring it back to your breathing.
When you start it would be advisable to use an app to let you know when 10 minutes are up. However, once you are more experienced you will be able to set a time in your mind and you will start to “come out” of your mediation at that time. It is amazing how this simple process will help reduce stress and anxiety.
Mindfulness is not a fad or something new it has been used by many civilisations throughout history. It is away of connecting with how you are feeling in the present and will help you make far better decisions, achieve your goals and be far more productive.