Meditation for productivity is a worthwhile pursuit that many people are beginning to explore. As the world becomes increasingly chaotic, the idea of meditation appeals to the idea of a more ordered and relaxing plan. The word “meditation” in and of itself can conjure up images of far east mystics or modern day charlatans looking to emulate the gurus of foreign cultures. But the act of meditation is a simple and pleasing activity that can be put into practice without taking in all the “woo” and frankly empty promises of the holistic and alternative medicine crowd.
Divorcing the act of meditation from the trappings of new age spiritualism or the concepts of religion is easily done. Though the common identification of meditation is tied to its origins in Hindu and Buddhism, meditation can be a useful tool and this is evident through its spread through most cultures and religions alike. So the practice of meditation can be thought of as a tool useful to anybody, not a sacred rite only to be evoked by specific initiates.
You can think of meditation as defragging your old hard drive. Different techniques of meditation vary as wildly as there are practitioners, but all of them are there to refresh and focus your mind. This is why meditation for productivity is becoming increasingly popular, a clean and focused mind can be more productive. Once you incorporate meditation into your routine, you are likely to see an increase in your productivity as well as some beneficial side effects in your health both mentally and physically.
Productivity can be measured in many ways. Are your being productive in everything you do? Work, play, homelife… we could be more productive at any endeavor we put our minds to but most of us are happy enough with our leisure time. What we worry about is our competitive level at work. Times always change and recently that change has been happening faster than ever. Technology booms, workload shifts, and office society becomes more prevalent and we are exhausted trying to keep up. The competition at the workplace has been ramping up and the levels of stress are matching pace with it.
Meditation for productivity and relaxation can be a great way to lower that stress level, level the playing field, and become a moment where we can reassess our needs and desires as well as our abilities to match these requirements. Some common objections to beginning a meditation routine is that we just don’t have the time for it. Meditation can be explored in as little as a few minutes while you are waiting for the bus, waiting for the coffee to brew, or in the time it takes for your partner to get out of the shower. Once you begin to explore meditation and see the potential for it to increase your productivity you will suddenly find the time to expand your meditation routine.
Getting into a regular meditation routine will see an increase in your ability to focus on tasks, relieve your stress, sharpen your memory, and bring order and balance to a hectic schedule. When you witness how easy it is to put into practice, the appeal of meditation will only become more attractive.
How to meditate has been a question for the ages. Different groups will instruct you an different ways, but the common thread through all of them is the attention to breathing control and mindfulness. If you are not meditating for spiritual needs and only for relaxation and productivity then all you need is those two keys so you can unlock the potential benefits from spending a few moments meditating.
Breath control is deceivingly simple to begin and can prove to be challenging to master. Allowing yourself to breathe sounds like it should be easy but once you begin thinking about this automatic body activity it becomes evident that our breathing is often rushed, forced, or shallow. Breathe in naturally, breathe out naturally. Don’t force it, allow it to happen on its own. Spend a few minutes focused simply of breathing. Reading this now, it sounds like I’m crazy telling you this, but try it, see if it’s as easy as it sounds. You will see that once you begin to focus on your breathing, you have begun your meditation.
After you can allow yourself to breathe naturally, you can incorporate contemplation in your meditation and this is where the productivity comes in. Breathing relaxes your body, a focused mind will relax your brain. Think on something, perhaps a task you have in your day ahead. Don’t try to solve the problem right away, just try to think about the steps you’ll be making, the actions you will take. When your focus shifts to something else, bring your concentration back to center and begin again. This constant re-centering will train your productive mind to keep focus on the task at hand.
A good practice to incorporate in your meditation is to make the attempt to do it at the same time of day, in the same space. Taking the time to schedule this as part of your daily routine will go a long way toward your acceptance of it in your life.
It’s possible, maybe even probable, that the first few attempts at meditation will not be immediately fruitful. This is expected. Many people have trouble beginning a regimen of meditation and feel like if they are not instantly more productive it failed and they give up. Good meditation can take time to get used to. The first few attempts may be only a minute or two before your mind wanders off. The next time, you will be able to focus a little clearer. The time after that, even better. And so on until meditation begins to become natural for you and your productivity soars. After all, you didn’t learn to ride your bike on the first attempt either.
A good practice to think about specifically when you begin meditating for productivity is to keep a scratch pad and pen beside you for jotting down quick ideas. Don’t interrupt your meditation for long detailed notes, just a few words so you can expand on that inspirational spark after you are finished.
If you have an especially difficult time getting started, consider a guided meditation app. These instructional speakers will help guide you into a calming and focused meditation that will get your productivity synapses firing and get your day planned out and keep you motivated.
Meditation can be an integral part of any productive person’s day and can prove to make the difference between a chaotic life of stress or the productive and focused life you are searching for.