Do you feel like you are “Zoomed out” at the end of every working day?
Does your work creep over into your personal life because you find that there are simply not enough hours in the day?
Do you find that you are attending some meetings totally unprepared?
Do you find that you have brain strain? You are busy putting out fires and have no time for strategic planning? Is it hard to focus on some tasks?
These problems are not unique to the pandemic, but for many of us the 2020 pairing of working from home and all the daily challenges and constant change interferes with our ability to manage our working days.
Here are a few tips to help you get things back under control:
Incorporate Mindfulness into Your Day
At its most basic level mindfulness is simply being aware of your current state. It requires stillness and intention, along with deliberate efforts to acknowledge and observe distracting thoughts. We try not to get carried away by them.
When we marry mindfulness with leadership, we create the opportunity to consider what frame of mind we are bringing to our various activities. Once we understand our mental state, we are better equipped to adjust when that state is out of sync with what is needed.
If we stop and take moments of mindful reflection throughout our day, we can consider what style might work best with the interaction we are about to have and adjust accordingly. I find personally that if I just continue to run on autopilot and do not take time for mindful reflection, my conversations are not as productive and quite often there are communication issues amongst my team.
Block Out Time for Strategic Planning
If you are a strategic leader then you must allocate a good block of good quality time for planning. Brainstorming, problem solving, and reflection time are of utmost importance.
Organise Walking Meetings
You will find that you can have a more “mindful conversation” if you are in a one-on-one situation. There are no other distractions, and it is also a healthy thing to do. Get up and move!
Re-evaluate Your Meetings
Only you and your team can decide whether meetings are useful. If they are not worthwhile then remove them from the calendar. This is a fabulous way to get multiple hours of your workday back for yourself and for others.
Take Charge of Your Day and Lead by Example
When we exert the effort to design our professional lives as leaders rather than be carried along by the current of what we have always done, we become much better resources for our teams, and we are generally much happier. By doing this we are leading the way for our teams to do the same potentially unlocking far greater productivity and effectiveness when they can set up the kind of day that works best for them.
Conscious, Mindful Leaders also get much greater enjoyment out of their working life.
For more information on Mindful Leadership visit :www.mindbodyenergy.com.au