Meditate your way to better productivity

At the start of one hectic day, Gandhi is reputed to have said, “I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one.” Contained in that counterintuitive argument is the reason for pursuing the practice of mindfulness – but also the reason we don’t.

When people are asked to consider the value of mindfulness or meditation for their well-being, which is what most courses promise, they see it as an extra, something they lack time for. But when they see it as a way to improve productivity – spend time on mindfulness to save time in our busy lives – they are more intrigued.

Rasmus Hougaard, a workplace mindfulness consultant who divides his time between New York and Denmark, has encountered this resistance, and so pushes meditation – a state of heightened attention to our thoughts and feelings – for the value it provides in sharpening our focus and effectiveness more broadly at work. And he finds Gandhi’s observation true in his own life. Read More…

Meditate your way to better productivity