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Marieke van Vugt

Mindfulness and productivity at work

Mindfulness and productivity at work image adapted from thehomeopathiccoach.com

I have somewhat of an interest in trying to make my work as efficiently as possible, so I can spend more time meditating and doing other things. I guess it's a casualty incurred from having lived in the US for many years. Anyway, a technique I have recently been experimenting with is the pomodoro technique in combination with the well-known meditation advice of practising short sessions, many times over. The idea of a pomodoro is a period of 25 minutes you devote to a single task with a clear goal, followed by a few minutes break. After this you are ready for another pomodoro. By breaking up your day like that in small chunks, you are motivated to really focus on one task, and feel like you have accomplished something rather than wasting your whole day doing everything and nothing. I then realized this was a perfect chance to bring meditation in the workday: every time you accomplish a pomodoro, you simply drop in for one minute, do whatever you need to do, and get ready for your next pomodoro. No chance to forget your next meditation session. Such brief meditation sessions are surprisingly powerful because they renew your focus, clarity and calm. Normally I always forget to take these brief meditation breaks, but in this way they happen naturally--they are part of the schedule! So the productivity gurus of today are reinventing what meditators have known for a long time.




Comments   

 
0 # Francesca Verri Gove 2011-04-12 14:33
Fantastic advice! As a professional organizer (www.verriorganized.com), I often suggest to people who are looking for more focus at work, to give their mind a break. It really does help to refocus, calm the mind, give you more clarity for the next task at hand. Thanks for this great post!
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0 # Dee 2011-04-12 19:07
thanks for that I shall give it a go. sounds like a plan
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0 # Mimi 2011-04-13 01:45
Thanks for this! Will do a pomodoro tomorrow.
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0 # odile 2011-04-13 13:41
great I was naturally doing it sometimes by intuition, now I will do it more often with more awareness. many thanks.
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