Over the course of the past few years, there has been an emphasis on mindfulness principles and how they can be harnessed to help us lead less stressful lives.
Mindfulness has seen a boost in popularity in office settings in part because it can help facilitate an increase productivity on the job. Still, there are a variety of other reasons that members of the work force have explored mindfulness principles as well. They can help be a more thoughtful team member, a source of stability during chaotic shifts, and an all-around better person to work with.
Dustin Browne- a project manager well-known for his proposal writing and project management skills- found that mindfulness had a profound impact on his ability to produce quality work while remaining mentally and emotionally centered.
Here, Dustin explores the topic of mindfulness in the workplace- as well as how team members can utilize its principles to uphold a positive work environment.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a mental state where an individual is fully focused on their awareness in the moment. Typically, this involves a calm acknowledgement of one’s thoughts, feelings, and sensations in a situation.
The concept of mindfulness is a straightforward therapeutic technique, but it can certainly still be difficult to maintain in our fast-paced world.
Our workspaces are no exception. Considering the distractions and stressful situations that work can present on occasion, it is not always easy to remember to practice mindfulness. Dustin Browne argues, however, that some degree of mindfulness on the job is a necessity for mental clarity, stress management, and even task delegation.
How Can We Practice Mindfulness Professionally?
As an advocate of both mindfulness and developing techniques to protect our mental health, Dustin Browne notes that it is important to consider the utility of our methods.
For example, he realizes that- the easier it is to do something- the higher the likelihood that we do. In terms of mindfulness in our workplaces, this means that we will have more success with the practice the more we fine tune our methods to our needs.
Dustin realizes that there are many ways that we can set ourselves up to practice mindfulness professionally. The below list addresses just a few ways to uphold mindfulness principles in several areas of our daily lives for best results.
Practicing Gratitude at Work and Home
Even the most successful people will experience obstacles throughout their careers and personal lives. During periods of high stress, it can be very easy to dwell on what is going wrong and our perceived lack of ability to do anything constructive to fix the situation. This- Dustin recognizes- is a trap that we must avoid falling into.
One of the best first steps for practicing mindfulness at work is to have gratitude for your experiences and the many situations that contribute to your story. Keeping gratitude for things that are going right can be great for perspective as well as motivation.
While it may be difficult, Dustin also suggests being grateful for the obstacles that we experience as well. This is because these moments teach us important lessons regarding resilience, constitution, and determination in pursuit of our goals.
Staying present and aware in both moments of happiness and stress gives us immense perspective on how we can respond to life’s many situations. This helps us keep our best foot forward in both our professional and personal lives, ensuring that we pay attention to our responses and the factors that we can control.
Focusing on One Thing at a Time
We live in an era of constant multitasking, but experts are finding that this can come at a detriment to our individual tasks.
Many mindfulness experts suggest focusing on one task at a time within the workplace for more positive results. Reason being important tasks can slip through the cracks when they are not given proper attention and done correctly the first time around.
Dustin Browne recognizes that mindfulness can play an important role in our routines throughout the day. For example, starting mornings with a consistent routine that focuses on one thing at a time can be an excellent way to reduce stress levels before work even begins.
Allowing ourselves to focus on one thing at a time is crucial for our ability to stay present and focused in the moment. Frequently we are so worried about getting to the next thing that we do not devote the correct amount of time and energy to our tasks.
If you are a chronic multitasker in the office and considering slowing things down to give tasks more focus, try keeping an easy-to-follow schedule of your workday. This can help you visualize your routine and avoid double or triple booking throughout the day.
Keeping up with Self-Care
Self-care is when we perform actions to promote our mental, physical, and emotional health. This means that self-care can encompass many different actions, and what is considered a helpful form of self-care may vary from person to person.
Self-care’s role in mindfulness for the workplace is clear- taking care of ourselves puts us in the position to work optimally while reducing the risk of suffering from burnout.
There are many forms of self-care, whether they be physical, social, mental, emotional, or spiritual. Some of the most common, according to Dustin Browne, are activities such as taking time to enjoy our hobbies, hanging out with friends and family, sleeping and eating well, and finding healthy ways to process our emotions.
Practicing self-care is great because we can seamlessly integrate techniques into our routines while at work. For some of us, self-care in the workplace includes starting work with a nice cup of coffee or using admin time to organize our day.
For others, it may include short break times in between meetings to recenter or packing our favorite lunch.
Whatever your methods for self-care may be, know that they are essential for remaining mindful in our work environments. Individuals who feel well taken care of are more equipped to be present, mindful, and helpful while on the job.
Exploring Mindfulness Begins with Being Present!
If you simply consider mindfulness a means to an end it may negatively impact your journey and personal processes. Instead, try to view mindfulness as a part of your everyday life that may also help therapeutically.
The main goal to mindfulness is to be present and conscious in moments throughout our lives. That said, the most important step to practice mindfulness at work is to recognize why being mentally present is so important in the first place.
Maybe you want to be a better employee and teammate, find the spark in your career, or get a newfound perspective on your work. Regardless of your reasonings, the first step of the process is the same- being mentally present in the moment!
