What is Mindful Productivity?

So, you have probably heard of the term 'mindful productivity' but what is it? Let's take a deeper look into what mindful productivity is and why you should implement more mindful practices into your daily working life.

What is Mindful Productivity?

Mindful productivity is the act of many things that in general make your day and the work you produce better. Mindfulness is the act of being more aware of your surroundings, what's going on and appreciating the moment, when you add this to productivity, this creates a space for being mindful of your workflow, your mood, your energy levels, the quality of your work and much more.

Mindful Productivity can be seen as the following:

Approaching work with a high-quality mindset rather than a high-quantity mindset.
Practising self-care at work, things like making sure you're hydrated, have eaten, and take breaks.
Creating a healthy work-life balance, clocking out instead of working all night and burning yourself out.
Focusing on what's important, prioritise tasks and your mental health before just churning out tons of low-quality work.

You can read more about what mindful productivity is and how to implement it into your work here.

The Benefits of Mindful Productivity

Everyone should be practising mindful productivity at work because it will overall improve the quality of your work, your mood towards working and your mental and physical health.

Now let's take a look at the benefits of mindful productivity before diving into creating a better daily routine for mindfulness.

Improves quality of work - Being more mindful of your work allows you to focus better, therefore learning improves and quality of the work you output.
Allows you to look after yourself better - Being mindful of your body and mind whilst at work helps you understand when you might need a break.
Inspires creativity - Feel more open to new ideas and test new things rather than feeling stuck in the same routine.
Better mood with yourself and the team - You'll find yourself in a more positive mood, making meetings a lot more fun.
Focus better on today not the past - Stop focusing on the thing you did wrong and start focusing on what you're doing right now.
Create a perfect flow - Gradually learn where your energy levels lie, creating a better workflow.
Less procrastination - Less need to be distracted when you're enjoying your work and have created a better routine.
Wanting to learn more and improve in your job - You'll want to expand your skills and knowledge, and you'll feel inspired to be better.
More useful breaks for energising - Feel more energised by using your breaks to move your body.

How to Include Mindfulness Into Your Daily Routine

A lot of people will get up, get ready, sit at their desks and work for a solid 8 hours. No movement, no breaks, maybe even skipping lunch. The outcome of this? Possibly poor-quality work and a huge headache.

Let's take a look at how to implement mindfulness into your daily routine to achieve better productivity.

1. Plan your breaks

Planning your breaks ahead of time means you will always make sure to actually take them. You can add your breaks to your calendar and set reminders for your breaks.

It's also a good idea to plan what you're going to do on your break, this might be going for a walk, having lunch, doing breathing exercises and more. Anything but spending your time ineffectively scrolling on your phone.

2. Exercise

Exercising gets your blood flowing and your mind ready to work, therefore improving the quality of your work. It's a good idea to get your body moving and blood flowing before you sit down and work. You can do this however you like, yoga, walking, the gym, running.

You'll find this makes a difference to your mood as well, right away.

Apps like Wakeout can help with adding some movement during the day.

3. Yoga and Breathing

Yoga is great for practising your breathing, calming the mind, and moving the body in ways you do not when you're sitting at your desk.

You can practice quick stints of yoga during your breaks, maybe midday to get your body moving.

4. Meditation

Meditation is proven to help you focus. Lots of people will implement meditation into their morning routine to help them get ready for the day ahead.

Meditation helps you release stress, unhelpful thoughts and focus the mind on the present.

5. Journaling

Journaling in the morning before work, or when you feel like you're overloaded can help you release thoughts blocking you from moving forwards.

Doing 'brain dumps' helps clear your mind, it can also spark creativity and inspire new ideas especially when you let your mind wander whilst writing.