Mental health experts recommend meditation as a great tool to reduce stress in the workplace. However, many of us think of meditation at work as of something simply unmanageable.
You’re supposed to learn how to meditate at work with hectic office floors, tight deadlines, busy meetings, and a bunch of loud coworkers? How would you react if your barista decides to meditate while you’re waiting for your coffee??
For many people, the busy workplace environment makes it impossible to even think of meditation.
Yet, meditation doesn’t always require a lot of time. Meditation is the time we spend in a quiet reflection of our thoughts. It can be done on our way to and from work, between the phone calls or before the staff meetings. The key to meditation is to stay present and attentive to your thoughts with the aim of relaxation. And this can be achieved in only a few seconds or minutes.
Be Mindful while meditating at work
A great way to stay well-balanced, relaxed, and productive at work is mindful meditation. Mindfulness is a form of meditation where we are intensively aware of the present moment and our thoughts without judgment or interpretation.
An important part of mindful meditation is breathing. Take a break to practice a mindful breathing. Find a comfortable spot, close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply. Focus on your inhale and exhale until you feel relaxed. Only a few minutes of deep breathing technique will make a big change in your busy morning.
Furthermore, try to reduce the noise pollution at work by wearing the noise cancelling headphones. According to U.S. Department of Labor, around twenty-two millions of workers in the United States are exposed to potentially harmful noise at workplace every year.
The noise canceling headphones can keep the environment noise out and help you concentrate on meditating – quiet surroundings will help you figure out how to meditate at work.
Indulge in Nature
On my lunchtime, I usually go out, sit on the ground, take my shoes off, turn my face to the sun, and just be. This has been my Zen for years now that keeps me going through the hectic work days calm, organized, and productive.
When the weather permits, spend your lunch break outside. Lunchtime can be a great time for your mid-day meditation at work. Find a quiet spot outside of your office, or even better, go to a nearby park. Surround yourself with the lush greenery and let your whole body absorb the sunlight.
Imagine that you are bathing in the sunbeams that fill you with energy and life. Sit on the ground, rest your back on the tree trunk and run your fingers through the grass. Feel connected to the Earth, sun and the sky.
However, if for some reason you cannot afford to spend your lunchtime outside, create the mini oasis right there in your office. If possible, make a small garden with materials from nature around your table. Bring in small rocks, seashells, driftwood and potted plants.
Download the soothing sounds of a nature app. Sounds such as bird’s song, summer rain or ocean waves will help you feel surrounded with peace and calmness, clear your thoughts and focus on meditating. Your indoor garden will have a calming effect and it will help you relax at work.
Lunchtime meditation in such surroundings will improve your mood, boost your concentration and increase your productivity. In addition, surrounding yourself with nature at work will improve your resilience to stress and help you stay content.
Be Grateful
Take a moment to give a gratitude. This is a form of meditation as well. Science has proved that practicing gratitude has numerous benefits. Gratefulness can help us experience more positive emotions, express more kindness, be more productive and more resilient. In addition, expressing gratitude can significantly boost our optimism and strengthen our immune system. Astonishingly, research proved that gratefulness can literally re-wire our brain.
So, take a moment during your work day to give a gratitude. Be grateful for the potted plants at your office desk that provide the oxygen and help you relax. Or for the sunshine that lifts your spirits, a friendly colleague that popped by your desk for a small chat or a mug of warm coffee that boosts your energy in the morning. All of these things, you’ll notice, can help you when you’re trying to learn how to meditate at work.
Remember that every small thing counts. Being mindful of the positive things in your life will help you stay productive, happy and mentally fit and makes meditation at work much easier.
Use Positive Affirmations
Similarly to gratefulness, positive affirmations can have a positive effect on our mind and body. Practice positive affirmations at work. Take a moment to write a list of things you want to improve at work and include positive statements for each of them. Feel inspired with what you want to change and let your intuition speak.
Post a list around your office or your cubicle and go through them often. This will increase your awareness and boost your productivity at work.
Positive affirmations are particularly helpful if you are dealing with the problem in the office because it allows the deeper solutions you mind may come up with to emerge to the surface of your consciousness.
Get up from your desk to meditate and refocus
Make small breaks and get up from your table. Don’t ask your colleague to grab something for you so you don’t have to leave your desk. Walk over to the copy machine or a water fountain instead. Go to the bathroom, even if you don’t actually need to go. It’s a great way to relieve the tension when the situation at work becomes too overwhelming.
This doesn’t mean you should pop into the restroom every fifteen minutes. But two or three short mediating sessions a day in the silence of the bathroom won’t hurt. Making some extra time is pivotal when trying to learn how to meditate at work.
Related Article: If you’re having trouble finding time to meditate, check out this post!
Practicing meditation at work allows you to be more productive and inspired to create better solutions. Moreover, once you make out how to meditate at work, it is most likely that you’ll realize that your workspace has greatly improved. Finally, mediation at work will help you reduce stress and fatigue, build better team relations, and stay focused and effective. And above all, stay mentally fit.