Single Blog

At work generally there is a urgency to get things done.. asap is the mantra. There is a huge possibility of being reactive to situations and hence cause more stress.

Most of us tend to say, “I worked the whole day but I don’t really know what I did” or “Still so much of work has gone pending”. This is because while doing work our mind tends to deviate and think about something else or the next task on hand. Amidst a lot of work generally we tend to forget ourselves.

Being Mindful brings in moment-to-moment awareness of what is going on around us and the thoughts that we have. Mindful awareness of our thoughts at work will help us take the right decision between a stimulus and the actual response. By doing this efficiency improves, ability to build trust improves and helps resolve conflicts. At a work environment it is critical to be able to put the best foot forward and not get distracted. Which means awareness every minute is also critical.

Follow these 5 simple steps to take a mindful break at work

• Hydration break : Every time you drink water reflect on how things are moving at work. Try to center yourself and feel your presence at work. Keep a bottle of water on your desk, which will keep reminding you to be mindful.
• Single Task : When you start to multitask stop. Efficiency will be high only on focused single tasks at any point in time, so the moment you start to multitask take a quick one minute break and center yourself.
• Mindful Lunch : While eating your lunch, try not to enter into conversations about work and keep this time for yourself. Eat focusing on the food and you can see a rejuvenated second half of the day coming up.
• Minute before Meetings : Before entering into any meeting or conference room, center yourself outside. Try to close your eyes for a minute and prepare yourself to be more aware during the discussions. You will see the how the meetings get shorter and more effective.
• Mindful Walking : Every time you get up to walk till the printer, or to your boss, or your subordinates or to the washroom try to make it a mindfulness time. Before you get up to walk close your eyes, take deep breaths and relax yourself. Once you get up to walk keep the focus on till you reach, it might be just for few seconds but its worth converting this time for yourself.

While reaching office you might have had great plans to complete a lot of work but due to unexplained reasons you might find yourself at a crossroad by end of the day. Long days and stress can result in burnouts. Try to take these small breaks, which are just for few minutes and see the difference.