Use Meditation to Increase Productivity With These Easy Tips

Trying to get everything done before the end of the day seems to be something of a challenge. In fact, in 2021 an article by The Guardian found that, after Covid, homeworkers were working on average 2 more hours a day and dealing with a larger workload.

Once considered a mythical practice, meditation to increase productivity amongst industry leaders is now commonplace. So how can Meditation transform your productivity for the better?

Meditation can help you become more productive at work by reducing procrastination, improving focus, and transforming your brain to accomplish all this easier. And all this by spending at least 5 minutes a day focusing on the present moment.

Slow down to speed up

It sounds counterproductive, but spending more time not working makes us more productive.

We all hear that taking regular breaks at work improves productivity, but what we do on those breaks can be transformative.

In a highly competitive market, it makes sense for people looking to retain jobs to innovate and find ways to get an edge. Whether it’s a promotion, the end-of-year bonus, or gaining the respect of your peers, we’re all looking to do more each day. 

But this is counterproductive.

We are increasingly working harder to stay productive, and as a result, are likely to become extremely stressed. The more stressed our minds become, the less productive we are, and in most cases, we begin to become exhausted and hate our place of work.

Improve productivity with meditation.

Regularly practicing meditation will increase productivity. It doesn’t have to be long sessions either; five to ten minutes a day is enough to notice the benefits.

What is mindfulness meditation and how can it be used to be more productive?

The foundation of meditation is being aware and focusing on the present moment. It helps to develop a clear mind and can lead to a calm life, and a greater appreciation of experiences.

Left alone, our minds will tend to spend most of their energy and focus ruminating about the past, or worrying about the future. Both are important mechanisms of the mind to assess past events and to navigate future challenges. But when this out-of-present thinking dominates our minds, we spend less of our focus on the task at hand.

The simplest exercise in mindfulness meditation is to focus on the breath.

Procrastinate Less

One of the benefits of meditation is that it reduces mental wandering and procrastination. The less your mind wanders, the better you become at focusing on your work and being less distracted and more productive.

Because meditation can improve concentration, improve mental discipline, and help with making better decisions, it also reduces how many mistakes we make.

It’s important to meditate regularly as the mind will slide back into the old behaviors. The less we procrastinate, the more we find time in our day, we make better decisions, and we feel less stressed.

Better focus

Meditation is one of the most efficient and effective ways to improve concentration.

By meditating you learn to resist being hijacked by your thoughts by focusing on one object or sensation, such as your breath. Once you become more proficient in the practice, you’ll begin to notice a significant improvement in your ability to focus on one thing.

This has been validated by the scientific community where meditation can help to strengthen our prefrontal cortex and improve the ability to concentrate. Therefore, neurologically, you can stay focused for longer without distraction.

Better decision-making

Meditation improves our awareness of how we are feeling at any given moment.

This helps us to make more intelligent decisions that are not based on ungrounded fears and confusing emotions. With better awareness, we are less likely to go on autopilot, so we are able to act and make decisions in a more efficient manner.

Stronger Self-Discipline

Through the practice of regular meditation, you will cultivate stronger self-discipline in all areas of your life. Better self-discipline improves productivity and focus and also leads to other positive behaviors such as a better diet and more exercise.

Meditation ‘Strengthens’ Your Prefrontal Cortex

Meditation increases the activity in the prefrontal cortex and improves cognitive function. Your brain cells will therefore start firing more easily. This is very important as the prefrontal cranial cortex is responsible for many of our executive functions including planning, including planning, and self-regulation.

How to start to meditate

Meditation is often thought of as a mystical practice, but the reality is far simpler. The aim is simply to have an awareness of the present moment. Most practices involve focusing on your breaths as this is something you can always focus on where ever you are.

Once you start focusing on your breaths, you notice thoughts and emotions rise and try to take over your attention. This is the natural behavior of the mind, to run free from idea to idea. The goal is to notice when this happens and come back to the present moment using your breath.

Key takeaway

Our minds are wired to ruminate about the past and worry about the future. By practicing meditation we can train our brains to focus on the task at hand for longer, and be more resistant to distractions.

Will you start meditation to help become more productive? Let me know in the comments.