Mindfulness: Maximize Your Productivity

Mindfulness is a state of mind that has been shown to improve depression and anxiety, it is also a major component of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) [1]. Mindfulness is not the same as our default state of awareness. In the default state, many people spend a significant amount of their life not being aware and present with their current experience. Usually, in the default state, one is often zoned out in thoughts about the past or future, daydreaming or worrying about things that cannot be controlled. 

Furthermore, in this default state, people are highly reactive and quick to make judgments. This leads to an incorrect and limited assessment of the situation or circumstances and the limited awareness can prevent one from seeing things clearly. Ultimately, the result is an increase in conflicts, anxiety, and depression [2]. Therefore, to avoid this kind of unnecessary stress and burden, it is important to develop a stable and unreactive awareness, which is much different from our default state.  

What is mindfulness?

To develop a stable, non-reactive, and relaxed state, you can practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is a state of mind in which you broaden your focus and become aware of your thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, and/or surroundings without trying to judge or interpret them. When you are in a state of mindfulness, you maintain a moment-to-moment awareness. Meaning that you are not stuck thinking about the past or the future, and rather allowing yourself to immerse in the task at hand. This involves acceptance, which means you acknowledge that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to feel or think, and allow your thoughts to come and go without following them into a story or allowing them to provoke negative emotions.

It can be very draining to be stuck in problem-solving, creating mental lists, planning, thinking negative, or intrusive thoughts. This can make you prone to anxiety and depression or exasperate symptoms [2]. With the help of mindfulness, you can learn to bring yourself back to the present moment, reconnect with yourself, and the life around you, and put an end to the effects that negative thoughts have on you. 

Being in a state of mindfulness will help develop a slow, clear, and accurate representation of the situation(s) and will allow for a more skillful response. It helps you become more present in life and allows for control over unproductive thought patterns and unhelpful reactions. Mindfulness can be practiced at any moment and anytime. 

Most importantly, mindfulness will allow you to get through your busy schedule with ease. Instead of stressing and rushing from one task to the next, you can learn to flow through even the busiest of days with a calm state of mind. This calm state of mind is important because it will enable you to complete each task with high-quality results. 

How to practice mindfulness?

1. Reconnect with your body

How does it feel to be in your body? Reconnecting with the body is an excellent way to come back to the present moment and reconnect with yourself. To do this, you can start by bringing your attention to your fingertips. Now, move them slowly and notice how you are intentionally causing this motion. Become aware of your self in your body. You can slowly move your awareness to notice the smells around you, the sensations, the sounds, sights, etc. Practicing bodily awareness can help you stay grounded and present where you are. 

2. Notice your thoughts

Next, you can practice being mindful of your thoughts. You have over 6000 thoughts a day, but how many of those are you aware of? Thoughts can have a direct impact on productivity levels and emotions. Therefore, it is crucial to notice what comes into your mind. To notice your thoughts in a mindful way, begin by setting the intention to observe whatever thoughts come to mind. When you notice a thought enter your mind, acknowledge its presence and then imagine it as a leaf falling from a tree. Let it fall easily, freely, and without pressure or judgment. Remember this visualisation throughout your day, and if a thought arises that does not need to be tended to at the moment, visualise it as a leaf falling off a tree. 

3. Setting aside overthinking time

Noticing your thoughts can be particularly beneficial when you need to focus on one task and avoid the burden of stressing about your mental to-do lists. The best way to do this is to use these tools to come back into the moment and let go of the past and the future. That includes, what you will be doing an hour from now. What you will be doing an hour from now does not concern you now, therefore, the focus should be solely on the task at hand – even if it is as simple as watering the flowers.

To help you achieve this, you can set aside time in the morning or evening to plan and structure your day. This way, you know what needs to get done and when, allowing you to fully focus on the task at hand.

4. Breathing

The breath is a powerful yet underrated tool that can bring you back to the moment and expand your awareness. To put this into practice, simply divert your attention to your breath. Then, take a few deep breaths in and out. Repeat this a few times and you will notice your body and thoughts slow down. Deep breathing will make you feel calm, and reconnect you to the moment, and increase your joy. You can learn more about box breathing and the evidence linked to it here. 

5. Brief meditation 

Another excellent method of mindfulness that connects breathing, body awareness, and open-thought monitoring is this amazing 10-minute meditation exercise. Meditation has been studied extensively and has been shown to improve cognitive ability, increase relaxation, and fight depression following only brief morning meditation sessions [17]. Sara Raymond from The Mindful Movement has developed an effective mindfulness meditation which you can try below. 

What are the benefits of mindfulness?

1. As effective as anti-depressants 

Multiple studies back the claim that mindfulness increases feelings of joy. This is because it releases a chemical called serotonin, which is one of the body’s feel-good hormones. Amazingly, a study suggests that mindfulness may be just as effective as anti-depressants in combatting depression, while also preventing relapse [3]. 

2. Anti-anxiety 

Mindfulness can give you a deep sense of calm and put you in a tranquil state, turning off the non-stop chatter of the mind that reminisces about the past, or worries about the future, pulling you back into the present moment. Allowing your mind to rest has enormous long-lasting benefits in significantly alleviating depression and anxiety symptoms [4]. Meditation has been shown to increase alpha and theta power even when not meditating allowing you to be more attentive and relaxed in your day-to-day life [5]. Alpha and theta are slow brainwaves states that produce relaxation and creativity. 

3. Rewires brain: increased cognitive function

A study by Eileen Luders and colleagues found that mindfulness can rewire the brain. They found that mindfulness increases grey matter (the stuff that makes you smart) and results in better learning, improved memory, improved emotional regulation, and greater empathy [6]. Many studies have also found that mindfulness increases overall cognitive abilities.

4. Improves relationships 

Research findings suggest that mindfulness improves relationships. It helped couples overcome hardships faster, feel a deeper connection, and increased relationship satisfaction. [7]

Overall, mindfulness is a highly beneficial practice that has been studied extensively. Its benefits are far-reaching and to list them all would require a book, not an article. Some of the additional areas where mindfulness can help you are in overcoming binge eating, obesity, body image issues, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), cognitive biases, pregnancy-related stress, binge drinking, academic performance, anger, and much more [8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16]. 

Remaining in a state of mindfulness long-term will increase your happiness, provide relaxation, improve your relationships, and rewire your brain to allow for greater cognitive performance. By making mindfulness a natural habit, you will gain greater resilience that will help you resolve conflicts with ease. You will also benefit from increased, high-quality productivity by getting through your busiest schedules with ease. 

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