Meditation is a practice that dates back thousands of years. It is a simple and powerful practice that can improve both your focus and productivity as well as give you a much-needed energy boost.
Oftentimes we find ourselves spiraling and having difficulty to focus on the task at hand. Luckily, meditation is one of the best practices for helping with just that. Now, you may be thinking that sitting still with your eyes closed for a couple of minutes a day is easy, but trust us, it is a lot more challenging than you think.
Whether you are working from home or going into the office, it may be difficult to separate your personal and work lives from each other, while also trying to remain productive, focussed, and positive. Regardless of your emotional strength and mental acuity, at the end of the day, you are only human.
Mentally and physically, you can only do so much before you're going to need to take a break to recuperate yourself. Below, you can discover 5 ways meditation can help you stay focused and more productive.
1) Meditation Increases Focus And Concentration
One of the more prominent benefits of including meditation in your everyday routine is the ability for it to improve your focus.
Meditation gives you the opportunity to focus on one thing at a time, shutting out any distraction and focusing on just being.
When you are practicing meditation, the focus of attention is a large portion of the practice. By performing this every day for at least 5 minutes, it will help you keep on track of your tasks, responsibilities and help reduce the external distractions surrounding you.
2) Reduces Anxiety And Stress
Being in control of your emotions is one of the greatest skills you can teach yourself. Stress and anxiety are two of the most common mental health issues that people face on a daily basis.
Whether it is work-related or everyday stress, stress inhibits your ability to be productive which can lead to panic attacks, breakdowns, and a serious lack of enjoyment in everyday things.
Health issues are not only caused by poor diet or smoking a packet of cigarettes a day, it also comes from stress and anxiety. Dealing with these disorders every day can lead to stomach ulcers, migraines, high blood pressure, depression, and heart disease and those are just the tip of the iceberg.
Meditation is a powerful way to help regulate and control your stresses. It trains your body how to release negative emotions and how to stay in control. By meditating regularly, our minds become less “me-focused” and more logical.
By staying in control you are allowing yourself to think rationally, focus on what you can control and not what you cannot and it allows for greater productivity levels.
Meditation appears to have multiple positive health benefits too. To name a few, meditation gives you more energy, slows down the aging process, improves immune function, and reduces any pain you may be experiencing.
3) Improves The Decision Making Process
This is something we all struggle with from time to time. Meditation has been known to improve your ability to think clearly and strengthen the brain, which in turn helps you to make decisions with more ease and rationality.
Despite it helping you improve your ability to make work-related decisions, it will also help you make positive decisions regarding yourself and your health. Instead of taking your lunch break to watch Netflix or scroll through your phone, meditation allows you to separate yourself from work for much-needed “you time”.
4) Allows You To switch Off And Be Present
Taking time for yourself can often be difficult to recognize when your life is constantly on fast forward. By bringing meditation into your schedule, it can help bring structure and boundaries for yourself.
Meditation gives you the opportunity to just focus on being with yourself. Feeling every breath and appreciating the body that does so much for you every day. It gives you time to step away from your computer screen and take a break from reality.
Meditating is a beautiful act of mindfulness that many swear by. All it takes is 5 minutes of silence, seated to lying down to begin your journey to greater focus and productivity.
5) Improves Creativity
If you are finding yourself not being as creative as you once were, meditation will help clear your mind of distraction allowing room for creativity and problem-solving.
It also allows you to be more open-minded and accepting of new ideas, perspectives and opinions. Giving an opportunity for every perception to be thought about prior to making a decision.
Having a clear line of thought will help declutter your mind of those that are irrelevant and only focus on those that are necessary.
Conclusion
With the want to change and having the dedication to make the change, practicing meditation can be a life-changing experience for you.
There are many different styles of meditating, that range from breath control to internal reflection and observation. Finding what works for you and what you prefer will help keep the practice of meditation consistent and enjoyable.
If you are unsure where to begin, guided meditations are always a good starting point. The key is to be consistent in order to see change. Show up for yourself and you will reap the benefits of this effective mindfulness practice.
