Want to relax at work, or just improve your focus? Why not try meditation?
Meditation has long been a way for people to focus their minds and find a place of clarity and peace inside themselves. Although it is often used as a spiritual practice, it isn't just for new-age hippies and Buddhists. In fact, meditating during the day can help you with your job search and even improve your job performance.
When you are working hard on a project, staying focused and being able to sustain that focus without ended up exhausted and strained is a challenge. Wouldn't it be great if you could clear your mind and boost your productivity by creating a relaxed, intense, deep focus? Well, there is some scientific evidence that even taking a 5 or 10 minute break to meditate can give you all of that.
If you aren't an experienced at meditation, don't worry. You don't have to be an expert in order to reap the benefits. You don't have to wear yoga pants or roll out a special mat. You can meditate right at your desk, wearing exactly what you wore to work. Just set aside 10 minutes or so and follow these steps:
- Relax your body and mind – This is simply just being quiet and focusing your mind on something that you find relaxing. It's fairly easy, because almost all of us already know how to relax. Whatever helps you most, do that. There is no right or wrong way to do it.
- Pay attention to your thoughts – When you are sitting there, relaxed, your mind will wander. It's okay if this happens. The main thing is to just pay attention and don't pass any sort of judgment on your thoughts. This part is tricky, but with practice, you'll get better at it. Try to take a detached view of what is happening inside your brain, but don't get involved.
- Concentrate on your breathing – When I meditate, I concentrate on the way my breath feels as I inhale and exhale. Counting your breaths can help too. If I get distracted by my wandering thoughts, I just start back at one. If you don't like concentrating on your breathing, then chose something else to focus on. It could be your foot, how your fingers feel, the beat of your heart, whatever you choose. If you get distracted or realize you aren't focusing on your breathing (or whatever you decided) then gently remind yourself. This is normal and even people who have been meditating daily for their whole lives go through this every single time.
- Have a timer set – Decide in advance how long you are going to meditate and set a timer. It's a good idea to make the alarm something that won't be disruptive or jarring. Knowing that you will be alerted when your time is up makes you not have to worry, or even think about time.
If you practice this before you start working on long projects, or when you are having a stressful day, you'll see that your ability to focus, your creativity and your peace of mind will increase. Whatever you do, don't punish yourself or tell yourself that you aren't good at it and just give up. There is no bad way to meditate. Just keep practicing.
Do you meditate on a regular basis? Do you think this is something you would be willing to try? Let me know in
the comments.
By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for Administrativejobsblog. Along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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