How to practice mindfulness throughout your work day – Research

You probably know the feeling: You arrive at the office with a clear plan and then, in what feels like a moment, you’re headed home. Nine or 10 hours have passed, but you’ve accomplished only a few of your priorities. Research shows that people spend almost 47% of their waking hours thinking about something other […]

You probably know the feeling: You arrive at the office with a clear plan and then, in what feels like a moment, you’re headed home. Nine or 10 hours have passed, but you’ve accomplished only a few of your priorities. Research shows that people spend almost 47% of their waking hours thinking about something other than what they’re doing. In other words, many of us operate on autopilot.
The good news is you can train your brain to focus better by using mindfulness exercises. Based on our experience with thousands of leaders in over 250 organizations, here are some guidelines.
First, start your day right. Researchers have found that we release the most stress hormones within minutes after waking. Why? Because thinking of the day ahead triggers our fight-or-flight instinct. Instead, when you wake up, spend two minutes in bed simply noticing your breath. As thoughts pop up, let them go and return to your breath.
Next, when you get to the office, take 10 minutes for a short mindfulness practice. Close your eyes, relax and sit upright. Focus on your breath. To stay focused, count silently at each exhalation. Any time you start to get distracted, release the distraction by returning to your breath. Most important, allow yourself to enjoy this time.
Once you start working, mindfulness can help increase your effectiveness. Two skills define mindfulness: focus and awareness. Focus is the ability to concentrate on what you’re doing, while awareness is the ability to recognize and release unnecessary distractions. Mindfulness in action is a great alternative to the illusory practice of multitasking. It also helps increase effectiveness, decrease mistakes and even enhance creativity.
To better understand the power of focus and awareness, consider email addiction. Emails have a way of seducing our attention because completing small, quickly accomplished tasks releases dopamine, a pleasurable hormone. Instead, apply mindfulness when opening your inbox. Focus on what is important and maintain awareness of what is noise. To get a better start to your day, avoid checking your email first thing. Doing so will help you sidestep distractions and short-term problems during a period of exceptional focus and creativity.
As the day progresses, mindfulness can help you lead shorter, more effective meetings. To avoid entering a meeting with a wandering mind, take two minutes to practice mindfulness. Then, if possible, end the meeting five minutes before the hour in order to allow all participants a mindful transition to their next meeting.
Mindfulness can also help you stay sharp. After lunch, set a timer to ring every hour. When it rings, stop and do one minute of mindfulness practice. These breaks will help keep you from resorting to autopilot and lapsing into action addiction.
Finally, as the day ends and you start your commute, apply mindfulness. For at least 10 minutes, turn off your phone, shut off the radio and simply be. Attend to your breath. Doing so will allow you to release stress so you can return home and be fully present.
(Rasmus Hougaard is the founder and managing director of The Potential Project, a global provider of corporate mindfulness solutions. Jacqueline Carter is a partner with The Potential Project.)
Distributed by The New York Times