When we think of meditation, we may think of relaxation, breathing, and emptying the mind of stressful thoughts. It may be surprising to learn that the act of quiet meditation increases mental acuity and makes us more productive at work. Instead of meditation emptying our minds, it actually helps fill them with improved concentration and creativity.
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Psychology Today reports on a plethora of benefits from including meditation in your routine. Decreasing stress is one, and improving physical health is another. Some of the benefits, however, are directly related to work productivity.
Improved Attention
A study published in 2007 found that after three months of intensive meditation (“intensive” may mean daily) test subjects were able to notice and pay attention to more stimuli than before. This means if you implement a daily meditation regime, it may help you pay closer attention to more detail which may greatly help your productivity at work.
A Sharper Memory
A report of another experiment published in 2011 compared the effects of meditation, body relaxation techniques, and mindfulness training on the ability to multitask. (Mindfulness training has to do with being in the here and now.) Of the three groups, the meditation group is the only one that enjoyed greater productivity with work tasks. While they did not necessarily learn to multitask, this group’s memory skills did improve. They also increased their ability to focus on a task for a longer period of time, and increased attention.
A Better Brain
Psychology Today reports that meditation even helps to increase gray matter in our brains. This helps us think better and increases our attention spans.
Whether you make time to meditate once per day or once per week, it won’t hurt and it may help you in many ways, including doing better at work.
Tell Us What You Think
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I didn’t really associate “productivity” with “meditation” before reading this. Meditation just seemed like one of those procrastination tools easy to claim on lazy days. Now I know how to make meditation work for me AND my productivity levels.
Once per week doesn’t really bring you all those benefits. Once per day does, even if you meditate for only a few minutes. Integrating meditative activities into your daily life increases those benefits even more. 1 minute 7 days per week is much much much better than 7 minutes once per week. Source: I’ve been practicing for 26 years.