Have you ever been to a situation where you reached office, opens your inbox and find that the pile of your pending jobs have just gone few more centimeters up (few feet high will be very much of an exaggeration). Suddenly you feel mix of despair and boredom and makes you drag yourself to end of day somehow without actually doing anything to bring down the pile?
See if you can identify with any of below standard responses.
A) Never (Do actually such stuff happen?)
B) Yes, Occasionally. (Say 1 or 2 days in 3-4 month period)
C) Yes, quite often
Response Interpretations:
A) Liar Liar
B) Pretty Natural, don't bother
C) If it's not other personal issues contributing to your workplace lethargy, and if you aren't totally dissatisfied with your current workplace and is desperately looking for a change, then read along. It might be time to practice mindfulness at the workplace.
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| The Thought Baloons |
Practicing mindfulness can be helpful to counter workload related stress, lethargy and boredom at work, and to make everyday more enjoyable and lively is to practice mindfulness.
Like with any other practice, this demands dedication and commitment to bring out benefits.
How to be mindful?
1. Start bursting your thought baloons
There is a little voice inside our head, or the 'inner speech'. It plays a key role in human consciousness. This can manifest as thought generation (this is particularly helpful) and mind wandering (gotcha). First and the Biggest step is to be aware of this mind wandering, about that little person who keeps chatting sitting inside your head.
Instead of letting that voice distract you, get a tight hold of it. Keep wandering within limits
Start pricking those unnecessary thought baloons and make it a habit.
2. Slow down and Practice being "in the moment".
Avoid rushing to things and deliberately slow yourself down for better clarity and awareness.
Instead of mentally rehearsing or planning the next hour's or next days agenda, instead of plan about your meeting with your boss, be in the moment, pay all your attention to the work you are doing. Pay attention to subtle details of it and finish it off with perfection.
Being in the moment means being mindfully aware of what is going on right here and now.
3. Engage in active listening and avoid unnecessary chatter
Talking consumes energy. Period.
Avoid unnecessary talks to the extent possible.
Practice active listening and DO listen more than you speak.
There are many hurdles at every work place that is beyond control, but by better utilizing the assets available at your disposal, you can better manage your office ambiance.
There is a 10 minute TED talk by Matt Killingsworth worth listening. Link here
Image Credits:Pixabay.com
Image Credits:Pixabay.com
Sony Paul Peter, +Sony Palachodan, Olam Agro India Private Limited.
