Mindfulness is a skill ..........

mindfulness is hard ...........

The following are tips for mindfulness at work.

They may help / they may not.

A lot of folks tell me ( and I myself find ) that it’s really hard being mindful at work, even in short bursts.

·         Not judging your thoughts becomes easier with practice. Avoid logical left brain thinking, label the thoughts and pack them away.

·         Try not to judge yourself as well, don’t get cross with yourself as that will defeat the object of your mindful moments.

·         Try checking in with the body, this should distract your thoughts. Asking ‘How is the old left shoulder blade’ today may stop your mind wandering.

·         Experiment and discover which flavours of the above work for you, allowing you to continue being mindful.

The science behind mindfulness is quite basic.  Paying attention to the sole process of breathing means that you are increasing activity in the attention association are of your brain, you are concentrating rather than logically thinking.  Allegedly sitting in an upright position aides triggering positive neural circuit activity.  Breathing and focussing on that tends to switch your brain from habitual thinking to creative thinking, thinking that helps.  Over time as you utilise mindful thinking your parasympathetic nervous system is activated which should lead to a mentally clear and alert state of mind.