[00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of Success in Mind. Today, we're going to talk about the intersection between mindfulness and productivity. And how can mindfulness help us to become more productive, more efficient, and get more done? Well, let's talk about it.
You're listening to Success in Mind, the show for high performing leaders, changemakers, and entrepreneurs ready to take your life and business to the next level. If you're ready for whole life success, keep listening.
In our fast paced world, the quest for productivity often leads us down a path of trying to do more in less time. But what if the secret to productivity isn't about doing more, but rather about being more present with what we do? And this is where mindfulness comes in. So to help us unpack this, I'm going to share some insights and bring some stories [00:01:00] from people who have integrated mindfulness into their daily routines with remarkable results.
But first, let's start with the basics. Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present and engaged with whatever we're doing, free from distractions and judgment. At its core, it's about self awareness, awareness of our thoughts, our emotions, and the environment around us. Now, you might be wondering, how does this relate to productivity?
How can this help me be more productive? And it might even seem counterintuitive to take time away from focusing on all the things you want to get done to be mindful when what you want to be is productive. Well, when we're mindful, our concentration improves, we reduce stress, which is a huge productivity killer, and we make fewer mistakes.
Mindfulness [00:02:00] allows us to enter a state often referred to as the flow state where work doesn't just get done. It gets done well and easily. So let's talk about how to practice mindfulness to boost your productivity. So first up, it's about starting your day right. Now many successful individuals swear by a morning routine that includes at least a few minutes of mindfulness meditation.
This sets the tone for a focused and calm day. Now I have a very short routine that you can do in just a few minutes. Every morning, it's what I do, I swear by it, and it's going to help you get your mind focused, to energize your body, and to get you into that right state of mind to be productive, efficient, and effective.
And I'm going to link it for you in the show notes. You just have to listen to it in the morning, [00:03:00] follow along, and it's going to help you get there. So make sure you check out that link. But another way of practicing mindfulness that might not be as obvious as a morning routine or a meditation is being mindful during meetings.
You know, I think that often we think that a mindfulness practice has to be something we carve time out for. Another thing to add to your to do list, like adding in meditation or adding in some breath work into the day. But what about being mindful of the things we're doing as we're doing them? Can you be more mindful during your meetings?
Instead of planning your response, or thinking about your to do list, or thinking about what you're going to do after the meeting, or thinking about how boring and redundant this meeting is, what if you could just slow down and truly listen? This helps to improve [00:04:00] relationships with your colleagues, your networking partners, your team, your clients, and it often leads to more innovative ideas and solutions.
But let's not forget about those mindfulness breaks, because those are important. Breaks are crucial. Take time every day to step away from your desk, go for a walk, practice some deep breathing, or do a short mindfulness exercise. Now, let's stop here for a moment and talk about these breaks, because I can hear the objections right now.
I can hear your thoughts, thinking. I don't have time to step away from my desk. That would be nice if I could go for a walk in the middle of my workday, but I don't have time for that. And I'm not just telling you to take one break. I'm telling you to take several breaks. Every hour and a half to two hours, you need a break.
And before you freak out thinking, I can't possibly do that. I have [00:05:00] so much to get done. You'll be more productive. Our brains work on a cycle. Just like your sleep cycle, when you go to sleep at night, and you've probably heard of the sleep cycles we go through, where we go through stages of deep sleep and REM sleep.
Well, we also go through similar cycles during the day. It's our work rest cycle. Your brain can focus on focused, detailed work for about 90 to 120 minutes, and then you need a break. And that break allows your brain to file away everything you've just consumed, all the content, all the input channels that have been going in, all the processing you've been doing.
It allows your brain to organize this information, file it away, and make better connections for later. So this break isn't just about you stepping away from the computer to stretch your legs, which is important. [00:06:00] It's not about just taking a break for the sake of taking a break. It's about giving your mind a rest.
So that when you come back for your next work cycle, your brain is refreshed, it's wired, it's ready to go. It's like giving your brain a little shot of espresso so that you will be more focused and more productive in your next work interval. And if you don't want to take my word for this.
There are tons of studies on this, that people who work nonstop all day, their productivity wanes throughout the day. They might start very productive, and throughout the day, their output actually slows down. The quality of their work diminishes. And by the end of the day, they are done. But if you take breaks every 90 to 120 minutes You take a five to 20 minute break and you turn off all those input channels.
So you step away from the computer. You don't read something. You're not scrolling on social media. [00:07:00] You step away from the screens entirely and you're not going to read a book in this break either. And you go for a walk or you do a meditation or some breathing or even just close your eyes for five minutes and relax.
You will be much more productive during your work cycles. And if you don't believe me, Just try it. Test it out and see what happens. Now, as I mentioned, there are many successful people who talk about incorporating mindfulness into their day to help them be more successful.
My favorite one is Albert Einstein, who famously used self hypnosis to help him come up with a lot of his concepts and ideas and theories. In fact, he attributed self hypnosis to coming up with his theory of relativity. His very famous E equals MC squared came out of one of these self hypnosis sessions.
Now, self hypnosis, meditation, breathwork, all of [00:08:00] that is a part of mindfulness. So if you're listening now and you're thinking, well, self hypnosis, I don't know how to do that. That is okay. Meditation is a form of mindfulness. Breathwork is a form of mindfulness. Even just taking a moment right now to become aware of what is it you're thinking.
What are you feeling? What do you see? What do you hear? Can you smell? All just asking yourself those questions brings you into your body and helps you to become more mindful of your current situation. But if you're thinking, well, that's Albert Einstein, Teri. That's not me. I don't know that this would work for me or help me be more productive well, I'm going to give you some more examples. Jeff Weiner The CEO of LinkedIn. He says that meditation is an important part of his morning routine and that pausing and reflecting on situations helps him to strategize and work proactively towards long term goals.
In fact, he was quoted as saying, [00:09:00] part of the key to time management is carving out time to think as opposed to constantly reacting. So think about it. If you are struggling with time management, maybe A little mindfulness in your day will help you become more proactive, help you to get control of your time.
Arianna Huffington, co founder of Huffington Post and Thrive Global. She uses meditation in her mornings every day. And she says, once I'm awake, I take a minute to breathe deeply, be grateful, and set my intention for the day. Then I do 20 to 30 minutes of meditation and 30 minutes on my stationary bike.
On days when I'm home, I also practice yoga most mornings. So very successful woman and she is taking time in her day to meditate, to be mindful, to be grateful, to set her intentions, to exercise, to move her body. Oprah Winfrey. Uses meditation [00:10:00] and she says meditation is about getting still enough to know the difference between the voice and you.
It's a heightened state of being that lets whatever you're doing be your best life from moment to astonishing moment.
Lady Gaga uses meditation and says meditation really improves my mental health and reminds me it's important to stay calm so I can feel safe in my body. I mean I could go on and on but I think you're getting the point. That. really successful people are using these tools and practicing mindfulness.
And so maybe, just maybe, it can help you too.
But let's talk more about some of the benefits of this. So what are you going to get if you intentionally carve out this time during your day to practice some mindfulness moments? Mindfulness is going to help you improve your focus and concentration. [00:11:00] Mindfulness trains your brain to focus on the present, reducing tendencies towards distractions, and MIND LIMITED.
We have lots of distractions around us these days, don't we? So doing things like meditation improves your ability to concentrate on tasks for longer periods without your attention wavering. This is important for tackling complex or demanding projects efficiently. It reduces stress. High stress levels can impede your productivity by affecting your ability to think clearly and work effectively.
It also helps you to manage your emotions and your reactions to challenging situations. By lowering your stress, mindfulness helps maintain mental clarity and energy and improves decision making and problem solving. Enhanced emotional intelligence. Mindfulness enhances self awareness and empathy, which are key components [00:12:00] to emotional intelligence.
And if you want to be a leader in today's business world, you need to have empathy. Higher emotional intelligence has been known to help us manage interpersonal relationships at work more effectively, leading to improved communication and collaboration. And this not only makes for a better work environment, but it also helps streamline workflow and reduce conflict.
Better resilience. Resilience is crucial in a workplace to handle setbacks and challenges. Mindfulness strengthens your resilience by improving your ability to bounce back from difficulties quickly. And this means less downtime after setbacks and more consistent performance. So if you're worried about taking time out of your day to practice mindfulness.
This could be the key to preventing you from burnout later on. which might mean a lot more time off, a lot longer than a 5 to 20 minute break in the day. [00:13:00] It improves memory. Regular mindfulness practices have been shown to improve memory retention. And a good memory can significantly boost your productivity because it reduces the time needed to reacquaint yourself or to remind yourself of the details of a task after you get interrupted.
It helps to streamline your workflow. In fact, I remember working with a client several years ago who, if he got distracted from a task, it was hard for him to get back on task. But through some mindfulness practices, he found that was happening less and less. And overall, it just improves your wellbeing.
So when you are healthier mentally and physically, you're also more productive. Mindfulness is not only going to help you to reduce your stress, But it's going to help improve your overall well being, which also leads to fewer sick days, greater stamina, and a more positive outlook on work. So if you're not sold yet, I don't [00:14:00] know what is going to do it for you because this really, to me, is the key to being more productive, more efficient, more effective.
So as we wrap up today's episode, mindfulness into your daily routine. And this, again, this is not about adding just another task to the day. It's about enhancing your approach to the tasks you already have, making you more effective as a leader, as a business owner, as a change maker. So I want to hear from you.
I want to know what mindfulness practice are you going to adopt into your life to help you become more proactive, to help you be more effective in everything you do throughout the day. Let me know. Drop me a message on Instagram at TheTeriHolland or you can send me an email. Or reach out to me on any social media channel, because I would love to hear from you.
So thank you for tuning in to Success In Mind. I hope today's episode [00:15:00] inspires you to slow down, be present, and see how much more productive and focused you can be.
All right, have a great week, my friends, and I will see you again soon. Bye for now.
