We are living in difficult times. Economic uncertainty is increasing, we’re adjusting to new ways of working, and there’s a global pandemic on top of it all. With everything going on, it can be difficult to get your work done.
Simply put, the old ways of working do not work anymore. Leaders, managers, and employees need to rethink their definition of productivity. It’s no longer a simple formula of output divided by time. Yet, many of us are conditioned to focus on efficiency over effectiveness, a relic of a bygone, Industrial-era mindset.
Follow me to learn and explore three secrets you can use to achieve “Mindful Productivity.” I’m proposing we shed this idea of doing more, more, more to focus instead on doing more of the right things. Mindful Productivity is about working smarter, with more intention, and with greater effectiveness. Let’s dive in!
Secret 1: Choosing Focus
Every day, we face an almost endless list of things to get done, people to speak with, and new information to digest. This deluge leads us to feel unfocused and overwhelmed.
The tempting shortcut is to multitask our way through this onslaught. In fact, today’s culture seems to celebrate those who appear to be doing a million things at once. It’s offered and worn as a badge of honor. But science tells us a different story.
In a study conducted by Gloria Marks at UC Irvine, researchers found that it takes 23 minutes to regain our attention after an interruption. Many other researchers have studied multitasking and found that constant switching between tasks reduces our productivity and leaves us more prone to error.
With this knowledge in hand, what can we do differently in our day-to-day lives? The answer is simple, but not easy. We can develop the skill of single-tasking. While focusing on one thing at a time might feel challenging at first, over time you can relearn the skill of focus and concentration.
Put It Into Practice: Single-Tasking
- Every day, block out time in your schedule to practice focusing on one thing at a time. Aim for a 60-90 minute window of focus, but adjust as you need.
- Let your teammates (or housemates) know you’re in-the-zone so you can minimize interruptions.
- Try using a tool like Freedom to stop yourself from falling prey to distractions.
Step 2: Training Positivity
If you’ve read the news lately, I’d bet you were hard-pressed to find any positive stories on the state of the world. It can be easy to look around and only see stories of destruction, disaster, failure, and decay.
In our own lives, it can be easy to fall into the same trap and only see the negative stories around us. Scientists call this tendency to focus on the bad over the good our “negativity bias.” When you consider our evolutionary story, it makes sense. Our brains evolved in a world much different than today; we had to constantly be on the lookout for threats to our survival.
Simply becoming aware of this negativity bias is a big step. However, knowing about it is not enough. We need to dedicate time and effort towards practices that can transform our minds so that we can recognize this bias and proactively counter it.
Luckily for us, decades of research in psychology and neuroscience show us that optimism is a trainable skill, and the benefits of it are vast.
Dr. Martin Seligman, who is considered the father of positive psychology, documents many of the benefits of optimism in his bestselling book, Flourish. From improved health outcomes to increased motivation, performance, and career success, the evidence points to many positive benefits from training our optimism. Seligman recommends a practice called Three Good Things.
Put It Into Practice: Three Good Things
- Each night, write three things that went well in your day.
- Consider small things (e.g. “It was sunny on my walk to work.”) as well as big things (e.g. “We celebrated my daughter’s birthday at the park.”)
- Spend a little time reflecting on the details of this event, including how it made you feel and what you think caused this event to happen
Step 3: Charging Your Battery
I used to think that scrolling Twitter or checking my personal email constituted a decent break from work, but this isn’t true. Our brains are still active and engaged in this process, and as a result, they don’t fully recover. If you want a healthy mind, you’ve got to have a healthy body.
You probably know the essential building blocks that will charge your battery: consistent exercise, proper nutrition, and adequate rest. But many of us are unaware of the importance of taking real breaks throughout our workday.
Dr. Ernest Rossi, author of The Twenty-Minute Break, highlights the importance of what he termed the “Ultradian Performance Rhythm.” He found that humans have a biological rhythm of optimal activity and rest that runs throughout the day.
What’s the sweet spot? Dr. Rossi’s research found that we function best in concentrated work periods of approximately 60-90 minutes, followed by a 20-minute break. If we ignore our body’s need for short breaks, we deplete our energy, which can lead to burnout over time. The key lesson I’ve learned about breaks is that quality matters more than quantity.
Put It Into Practice: Take Real Breaks
- Proactively plan for breaks during your workday to allow your body and brain to rest and replenish
- Research suggests that breaks after approximately 60-90 minutes of focused effort will yield maximum benefits
- Experiment with micro-breaks of 3-5 minutes as well as longer breaks of 20-30 minutes throughout your day
Remember, Practice Makes Perfect
I’ve outlined a number of practical tools you can use to start achieving Mindful Productivity. Knowledge of these ideas is only the first step; we need to consistently practice any skill to get better at it.
I hope you’ll find at least one idea from this article to try out in your own life. Start small, treat it as an experiment, and offer yourself plenty of self-compassion along the way.
If you found these ideas interesting, then you’d probably enjoy my weekly newsletter, One Percent Wisdom, where I share one idea each week to help you work smarter and live healthier.
I’ll leave you with the wise words of Alan Cohen, “Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.”
Pick a practice, give it a go, and take it one day at a time.
Connor is a teacher, facilitator, and writer living in London. He runs a training company helping businesses rethink productivity and build resilience for the future of work. He writes articles and a weekly newsletter exploring how we can live and work with more focus and intention, and teaches people how to find sustainable productivity while improving mental and emotional well-being.
Website: connorswenson.com
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Twitter: @crswenny
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