Adapted from “Mindfulness, Work, and You!”~ Dr. Elisha Goldstein

In today’s workplace, the atmosphere is often hectic if not frenetic. We are overwhelmed with task-oriented pressures to do, to complete, and to achieve. We often have to deliver results with fewer resources, work longer hours, and enjoy less personal time for any genuine restorative balance. As a result, we struggle with issues of attention, focus, relationships, as well as other health and general well-being concerns. When routinely experiencing an elevated sense of personal dis-ease, we typically experience lower job satisfaction, morale, and productivity.

Job stress and burnout continues to be a pervasive and costly problem endemic to all American workplaces. It costs companies and organizations billions of dollars each year in health-care related expenses, as well as lost work time. However, stress and stressful events are unavoidable. They are part of the flowing and changing nature of things. Unexpectancy and uncertainty are inevitable, but our perception of these events can be regulated by how we attend and relate to them.

Mindfulness practice can be a very effective tool in helping us to self-regulate our mental and physical reactions to stress through attention and awareness training. Here, we cultivate our capacity to remain focused and concentrated on the present and less time with dwelling in the past or trying to anticipate the future. The task at hand, or the person before us should be given our undivided attention. A divided mind typically results in a loss of detail, quality, efficiency, and time.

Mindfulness training is a sound antidote for workplace distraction, distress, and inefficiency. At its core is “attention management”. Some published benefits include stress-reduction, increased clarity of mind; improved complex problem- solving & decision-making; enhanced leadership; heightened emotional intelligence; enhanced immune-response, etc. We start by paying attention openly and objectively, on purpose, and in the present moment. We recognize that thoughts, emotions, sensations, and perceptions are all interrelated with our potential stress reaction. We use awareness to discover the nature of our “reactionary force”… the streams of thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations that condition these predominantly autonomic responses. Mindful awareness interrupts our stress cycles before they increase out of control and carry us down stream. Here are some simple tips on how to practice mindfulness at work (Dr. Elisha Goldstein):

•   As the workday begins, slightly slow down as you walk to the car, check in with your body and notice any tension. Gently relax your sense of being and try to soften it as best you can.

•   Trying driving to work a little slower today and let red lights be reminders to take “pause” to just notice your breathing.

•   As you walk to the office, breathe in and out with every three steps. Notice the sensation of walking, it took you over a year to learn how to do this.

•   If you sit at a desk, take a few ( “deep belly”) breaths before checking the computer for emails or updates- relax your awareness as best you can.

•   If possible, maybe once a week, eat by yourself in silence, eat slightly slower and really tune into the sense of taste while eating.

•   When walking back to the car from work, practice the same way you walked to your car.

•   No need to ‘rush’ home to ‘relax’, drive slightly slower and experiment with new radio stations, maybe reflect on what you actually did that day. What was positive, what was stuff you would like to do better?

•   When getting home, if you have a family, take a few minutes in the car and keep your breath company, notice if your body is tense, and if so, try to soften those muscles by breathing in and out of them, with awareness, and just letting them be.

May the energy and light of mindfulness open your mind and heart with moment-to-moment awareness.

Comments