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The Link Between Mindfulness And Productivity

ZEN-it Team

03 Dec 2023

Woman meditating at work desk

What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘Mindfulness’? Are you visualizing relaxed smiles, walks along white sandy beaches, meditation exercises surrounded by verdant green hills, happiness, contentment and sweet air all around? At first glance, this scenario seems the antithesis of productivity. Isn’t productivity all about hustling, being busy at all times, and stretching just about every minute we have in a day to achieve something ‘useful’?

 

These stereotypical ideas on Mindfulness and Productivity do not paint the whole picture. Mindfulness simply means being fully present. When we are aware of what we are doing, feeling and thinking at the present moment, we are being mindful. Personal productivity is a measure of how effective we are, in our lives. The connection between Mindfulness and Productivity seems obvious now. If we are fully present and engaged in what we are doing, we can enhance our productivity through mindfulness!

Achieving Mindfulness For Busy Professionals

Woman meditating at home

Mindfulness can be achieved by training our minds. To begin with, this can be attempted through breathing and visualization exercises, and through meditation. The more we practise Mindfulness, the more aware we become of the present moment, our breath, our thoughts and our emotions in that moment. 

 

  • The first step towards becoming more mindful is to set aside time regularly. This means stepping away from distractions, whether in the form of doom scrolling, doing busy work or prioritising tasks for others. Make this an everyday ritual, where you spend a few minutes (initially even a single minute would help!) observing your breath. 

  • Next, observe the thoughts and feelings that arise, without any judgement or inferences. 

  • In case judgments arise, let them pass, and go back to the state of just observing. 

 

No two days of mindful meditation may seem the same, and that is perfectly okay. It’s important that we are kind to ourselves on the days that we cannot focus, just as important as it is to persevere and keep the practice going. 

Advantages Of Mindfulness In Our Daily Lives

Considerable research has been done on the effect of mindfulness in our daily lives.

According to the American Psychological Association, mindful meditation reduces our propensity to ruminate, or have internal monologues that may have negative effects on our mental health. Engaging in mindful practices also allows us to focus on tasks better and have an improved working memory. 

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A study conducted by Harvard scientists found that spending 15 minutes a day, clearing our minds, can alter how our genes operate, which in turn help with lower blood pressure and aids with alleviation of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Psoriasis, Fibromyalgia and depression.

 

At Brown University, an eight-week mindfulness program was conducted for people with high blood pressure. It was found that at the end of the program, participants became more aware about their habits, including their eating habits, which in turn helped them adopt healthier habits and better life choices.

 

With growing evidence that Mindfulness can help us declutter our minds, adopt better habits and become healthier, isn’t it time that we integrate mindfulness into our daily routines? Shouldn’t we adopt mindfulness exercises for a work-life balance?

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Can Mindfulness boost daily productivity? Read our blog on this topic, here.

Being Mindfully Productive

Man spending time on social media at work

For many of us, being productive is about aligning tasks for the day and seeing these getting checked off, sometimes at the expense of our mental and physical health. Our struggle to do the best possible in all spheres of our lives can at times cost us much more than our time. It’s time to pause and think about how we spend our time on tasks and ask ourselves this - are we working hard, but forgetting to work smart?

 

To truly achieve Mindful Productivity, we need to:

  • Take time to practise Self Care and Mindfulness

  • Prioritise our tasks - not all tasks are equally important or urgent at the same time. More importantly, not all tasks need our attention! Using mindfulness techniques, we can achieve effective task management!

  • Be fully present when we are working on something. In an age where our phone dings with new messages, Inbox pings with endless emails, social media reminds us of all the fun times that we are missing out on, it can get really difficult to just do one thing with full focus. Productivity is not multitasking where we listen in on a meeting and scroll through our Inbox, but rather listening intently and spending the time doing that one task. 

Is There A Readymade Tool To Ease Your Journey Towards Mindful Productivity?

ZEN~It App Screens

You’ve come to the right place! ZEN-it helps you be mindful and effective in your lives. Start your day with a Mindfulness Practice in ZEN-it, and follow it up by keying in your tasks for the day. ZEN-it works its magic and prioritises your tasks for you. Use the Focus Time feature in ZEN-it to hold distractions at bay as you focus on your tasks, improve your focus and efficiency, be it for yourself, for work or for your family!

 

Ready to redefine Mindful Productivity? Download ZEN-it today!

FAQs

What specific mindfulness exercises does ZEN-it recommend for starting the day?

 

We believe that positive visualization exercises, that uplift your mind, will help you tackle the day effectively. Our Uplift exercises are ideal for the start of the day.

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How does ZEN-it work to enhance productivity, and what makes it unique?

 

ZEN-it is an easy life organizer app with a holistic approach towards improving productivity and achieving your goals, without the danger of burnout. ZEN-it contains both a Productivity suite of tools and a Self-Care suite that offers guided meditation, uplifting visualizations and much more!

 

How can someone track and measure their productivity improvements after incorporating mindfulness techniques recommended by ZEN-it into their daily routine?

 

ZEN-it’s Analytics window will share the number of tasks that you’ve completed, the number of hours you’ve spent focusing on tasks and the time you’ve spent on Self-care. Tracking your progress over a period of time will help you measure your rate of progress in becoming more effective!

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Ready to Redefine Productivity? Start your journey with ZEN-it today!

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