The meeting leader is saying something about something. Project goals? Uh, synergy? You’re (sort of) trying to listen, but you’re preoccupied with the fact that this guy scheduled a two-hour meeting three hours before your deadline, which — by the way — you’re bound to miss at this point. And then what? Oh, you know: Your boss will be ticked, think you’re an idiot who can’t manage time and subconsciously add you to her “Fire When Ready” list.
After this meeting — from which you retained absolutely nothing — you have to jump into turbo mode to finish that report in an hour. And how productive are you going to be if your mind is racing through Doomsday scenarios and dozens of expletives cursing that guy who had the nerve to schedule a 3 p.m. meeting?
You may miss the deadline in this scenario, but don’t miss the point: Continuous mind chatter can wreak havoc if you don’t control it. Thoughts will careen through your head like race cars on a track, bound to crash. Practicing mindfulness is like pumping the breaks. It helps you stop and observe the thoughts racing through your head. ( My boss is actually pretty understanding). It helps you see more options. ( Maybe I could request a deadline extension.) It helps you listen. ( I can actually learn from what this meeting leader is saying.) And it helps you de-stress and be more productive. ( I’m focused on knocking out this report.)
So how do you become more mindful? “Mindfulness is a basic human capability that we all have,” says Barry Boyce, editor-in-chief of Mindful magazine and Mindful.org. “Mindfulness practices cultivate that basic ability that we have. It’s the ability to be fully present, attending to what’s happening in the moment, deeply engaged and yet at peace.”
How to practice mindfulness in the workplace:
Visualize your best self. Scott Eblin, author of “Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative,” suggests picturing “the best version of yourself.” Think about the situations in the last several months when time flew by — when you were “super engaged in those moments.” How would you describe yourself at those times? Maybe you were clear headed, calm and confident. “Usually you’re going to see some common denominators in those experiences,” Eblin says. “That’s you at your best.”
Next, think about what you need to do to be your best self. Eblin gives this example of using visualization before an important meeting or conversation. Think: “If this conversation is really a success, what happens at the end? What does the other person know, think, do, feel or believe?” he says. “That’s the picture, so how do you need to show up to make that likely?”
Ultimately, he says, you’re “visualizing success and visualizing how you need to show up for success.” It’s much harder to show up as that best version of you — whether it’s when you’re compassionate or energetic, decisive or measured — if you don’t take a few minutes to think about what that looks like. “It’s like the GPS app on your smartphone,” he says. “If you enter a destination, you’re more likely to get there.”
Notice your breath. Stress — like that caused by your stupid deadline — can trigger a “fight or flight” response. “You don’t show up at your best when you’re in ‘fight or flight,'” Eblin says. “Especially on a sustained basis.” Mindfulness can trigger the opposite response, “rest and digest,” he says, which counterbalances the stress and frustration of that “fight or flight” mode.
Rhythmic, repetitive motion, like deep breathing, can trigger the “rest and digest” response, Eblin says. But many people get this seemingly simple task wrong. “They’re breathing really shallow breaths from their chests, which doesn’t do anything other than keep you alive,” he says. To actually activate the “rest and digest” response, take a deep breath from your stomach. “Put your hand on your belly. If your hand is moving up and down, you’re doing it right,” Eblin says.
Get moving. “Just getting up and moving helps bring you back to you and your best self,” Eblin says, pointing out that movement triggers the same “rest and digest” response. This U.S. News Careers article includes tips for moving more at work, but simply walking for five or 10 minutes will help, Eblin says. He points to a personal example when he feels stuck while writing: “I could sit at the computer and try to grind it out for the next hour and write something crappy,” he says. “Or I could take a 15-minute walk, come back and knock it out in 20 minutes.”
Try a body scan. Find a quiet place, and set aside five to 10 minutes. Then observe how every body part feels, one at a time, moving slowly from your feet up to your head, Boyce says. As you do this exercise, acknowledge thoughts as they come up — ugh, that deadline — but “don’t judge your thoughts one way or another,” Boyce says. Note the thought, and then return your focus back to your breath and body.
Janice Marturano, founder and director of Institute for Mindful Leadership, has written about this exercise in her book, “Finding the Space to Lead.” She describes the body scan exercise in-depth in this Mindful.org article.
And what to do if you’re struggling to be mindful:
Take baby steps. “If you get 5 percent better this week at being more mindful, 5 percent doesn’t sound like much,” Eblin says. “But if you got 5 percent better every week for a month, you’d be 20 percent more mindful.” He likens this progress to practicing and practicing and practicing a difficult yoga pose until one day — whoa, your feet are off the ground and you’re actually doing it!
Find support. “Get a meditation buddy,” Boyce says.”Someone else who is similarly motivated.” You could also search for online resources and local medication sessions , he adds.
Be nice. Don’t beat yourself up if you have a hard time being mindful, Boyce says. “The most important advice of all is to be kind to yourself.”
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How to Be More Mindful at Work originally appeared on usnews.com