How to Implement Mindfulness In The Workplace

When stress stacks up at work, practicing mindfulness can help you bring more calmness and focus to your day. Mindfulness is simply being aware of your surroundings, thoughts and emotions. You can practice being mindful anywhere — whether you’re preparing for a client meeting or about to make some cold calls.

Meighan Newhouse, co-founder and CEO of Inspirant Group, says mindfulness is an especially helpful antidote in these unpredictable times.

It can help both leaders and employees be more present in their work and in better alignment with their feelings.

Anyone can learn to become more mindful. Like anything else, it just takes practice. Here we share some of Newhouse’s top tips for implementing mindfulness at work.

Just breathe. When you’re worried about something, take deep breaths. This can lower your blood pressure, decrease stress and even improve your mood. Newhouse says when you actively focus on your breathing, you reduce outside distractions and calm your mind. This makes it an effective way to curb burnout at work.

Be a better listener. In other words, don’t formulate your responses while the other person is speaking. Just listen to understand. You’ll benefit from letting go of any internal noise and creating space and openness to process what co-workers are trying to communicate to you, Newhouse says.

Take short breaks. If you’ve been working on something for a long stretch of time, step away from your work for a moment. Even just five minutes can help reset the mind and body. Even better, Newhouse says, if you can step outside and focus on the sights, sounds and scents around you.

Don’t multitask. It may seem like you have a million things on your to-do list, but only focus on one task at a time. Allow yourself to be fully present in your meetings and activities. This is because the mind functions best when it’s focused on a single task, Newhouse says.

Practicing mindfulness at work can open the door to increased creativity, renewed energy and greater clarity. Instead of working from a state of perpetual busyness, try incorporating more mindfulness into your day. You just might be surprised at the outcome.