Mentors Magazine: Issue 3

(MENTORSMagazine) #1
42 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 3

It's easy to think of mindfulness as some-
thing that happens only
in ideal surroundings —
meditating on a peace-
ful mountaintop, doing
yoga on the beach at
sunrise, being "in the
moment" with an Insta-
gram-ready backdrop.
But what if mindfulness
could be more of an
everyday way of life?
What if we could bring
mindfulness into the
workplace?
One of the emerging trends in management
in recent years has been the rise of mindful-
ness in the workplace. Many CEOs and exec-
utives are exploring meditation and yoga as
a way to center their minds; feel more pre-
sent in the moment, and make better deci-
sions based on deep reflection and more re-
laxed thinking.
I have a meditation practice of my own, and
I find it to be a wonderful way to help reset
myself and rest my mind after a busy day at
the office. But meditation and mindfulness
have benefits beyond the individual practi-
tioner. Mindfulness is not just about medita-
tion; it’s a movement to adopt a more hu-
man-centric philosophy on how to manage
people. Mindfulness at work is a way of rec-
ognizing and supporting people’s emotional


needs and different types of intelligence—
and if handled correct-
ly— can foster a more
stress-free, productive,
and innovative work-
force.
There are many strate-
gies that management
can employ to help fos-
ter mindfulness at work
and promote mindful-
ness practices through-
out the work day. Here
are five that have
worked for me:

Reduce Interruptions

It’s difficult to feel fully “present” and in the
moment when you’re being interrupted all
day by email, chat notifications, and
meetings. Research has shown that a typical
office worker gets only 11 minutes between
interruptions and needs an average of 25
minutes to be able to fully refocus on work
after each interruption. Too many interrup-
tions can cause stress and make it hard for
people to enter a “deep work” mode, where
they can be the most creative and truly laser
focused on solving problems.
Managers can help reduce interruptions by
giving workers permission to block out their
time and protect themselves from distrac-

By Arvin Patel, EVP and Chief Intellectual Property Officer, TiVo


Research has shown that a
typical office worker gets only
11 minutes between
interruptions and needs an
average of 25 minutes to be able
to fully refocus on work after
each interruption.
Free download pdf