31
february 2016yogajournal.com- Pay attention fully to
whatever is in front of you.
Our hyper-connected digital culture not only
celebrates multitasking, but virtually makes
it impossible not to multitask at all moments
of the day. Why? Multitasking is, in effect,
another way of describing the state of dis-
traction. When we “multitask,” we aren’t
actually doing multiple things at once; we
are quickly shuffling between multiple
things, and engaging in what Linda Stone, a
former tech executive who is now a thought
leader on the human relationship to technol-
ogy, calls “continuous partial attention.” The
term basically refers to those times when we
scatter our attention across many assign-
ments and activities, leaving us feeling not
only unproductive but also unfulfilled.
The answer to the epidemic of continu-
ous partial attention is simple, though not
necessarily easy: Concentrate on one thing
at a time, even if it means taking several
breaks while working on the task—and
make your break a true one and not time
spent checking off another item on your
to-do list. The breaks are to step back from
the activity we might be too caught up in.
If we simply breathe, we can then renew
our activity with more perspective. “One-
pointed attention” restores our energy,
because we have more interest and curiosity
about our experience, and more concentra-
tion for the work we are doing. It also
dispels boredom because things are more
interesting when we actually notice them.
The end result: Our sense of satisfaction on
the job increases because we are connecting
fully to what is happening rather than just
waiting for something better to come along.- Emphasize the importance
of compassion, connection,
and communication.
A great way to find meaning at work is
through connection with coworkers, cus-
tomers, or clients instead of with our job
title or position. Over time, we’ve been
losing these valuable connections, which can
negatively impact our job satisfaction and
performance, according to recent research.
For instance, just after Real Happiness
at Work came out, I had an inspiring conver-
sation with a woman who fields customer
complaints. When I asked her about her job,
she told me, to my surprise, that she loves
everybody who calls in. “By the time they
get to me,” she explained, “I know they’ve
talked to several people and are immensely
frustrated. I acknowledge that I can’t always
help them, but I’m always honest.” Above
all, this woman committed herself to really
caring about each person she spoke to and
to being respectful instead of annoyed.
As she told me about her job, this wom-
an was radiant. Who knows how far that is
from the job of her dreams, but she brought
something to it—a personal connection to
others—that made it meaningful to her.
Meaning is a lofty and expansive con-
cept, but is most accessible to us when
we can be available to it in each moment.
That’s where mindfulness and compassion
come in, providing us with a sense of
connection with our experiences, with
ourselves and others, and with our values
and our sense of purpose. And that con-
nection is portable, available to us when-
ever we need it—at work and beyond.Sharon Salzberg is a meditation teacher,
New York Times best-selling author, and a
co-founder of Insight Meditation Society in
Barre, Massachusetts.WORLD’S MOST AWARD-WINNING
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