How Practicing Mindfulness Can Boost Your Time Management, Productivity, and Efficiency
Are you constantly on the go, juggling your busy household, family, and online business? Trust me, I know how overwhelming that can be. I get it I’m just like you, and when you have busy kids, being mindful of where and how you spend your time is essential. I love a day when I fall into bed, gleaming from sticking to a schedule and knocking my to-do list out of the park. The downside to this – you’re always focused on getting everything done and never really taking the time to stop, breathe and enjoy your family. In any case, that can be me.
Practice mindfulness in time management.
Since the conversation happened the other night during bible study with my ladies, it’s pretty fresh in my mind. We are currently studying Ecclesiastes from the LoveGodGreatly Bible Study if you are interested.
We never know where our conversation will lead. That night it happened to lead us to a time and where we spent our time and did not get everything done at the end of the day that we hoped. It seems I’m not the only one with days of frustration looking back and wondering what did I even do today.
Pause when this happens and mindfully reflect on where you spent your time. Not with the negative thoughts to roast yourself with could haves and should haves, but for where you replaced those action items with meaningful connections. Connection to your family and friends.
Giving yourself grace and practicing mindfulness in time management. Likely, you did more than you thought; it may not have been the things on the list. It happens.
When I plan out my day with a list of things to do and by attaching a timeframe for when it will get done, I’m the most productive and relaxed. Mindfully thinking through how long it will take and if it truly deserves time on my calendar.
How to replace the hustle and bustle
Well, friend, I wish I had a magic answer when managing our time, but our minds may think differently; the common ground we have is how the hustle an bustle leaves us feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Since we have a lot going on in our lives, practicing mindfulness with our time takes discipline.
You see, practicing mindfulness in your everyday life is the secret sauce to boosting your focus, reducing your stress levels, and getting more of the right stuff done.
When planning your day, ensure you have blocks of time that aren’t jam-packed. Giving your mind space to enjoy the simple moments you’ll miss when they are gone. Trust me, this is coming from a mama that is about to be an empty nester.
This means you can stay on task and complete your work more efficiently when you are focused.
Plus, when you're not bogged down by stress and anxiety, you'll have more mental energy to devote to your tasks, which can increase your productivity and efficiency.
As an added benefit, practicing mindfulness can help you gain clarity and make more confident choices if you struggle with making decisions. So, take a deep breath and give mindfulness a try! You might be surprised how much it can improve your time management skills.
At first, I questioned the whole Practice of Mindfulness as a productivity tool.
I’m guessing that you’ve heard of practicing mindfulness. My introduction came shortly after my career change from a traveling sale rep to an online business owner. This shift in my career had me take a step back to look at the effects of all the go, go, go. Because frankly, at that time, I was exhausted and mentally drained.
Probably, like you, I was not Goggling mindfulness. The problem I was trying to solve was how to be more efficient and productive. Interestingly enough, mindfulness continues to come up.
I don’t know about you, but at first, I questioned: practice mindfulness in order to be productive. You see, practicing mindfulness only brought to mind people sitting on pillows for hours with their eyes closed and chanting. I sure as heck did not have time for that productivity tip.
What I discovered instead, this does not have to be spending hours in a meditation position and chanting to reap the benefits. It’s like a mini vacation for your brain so that every second you’re awake isn’t focused on getting everything done.
Still, me wondering how does it make me productive?
According to Dr. John Ullmen, mindfulness must be examined in two words. Mind Fullness – a mind fully present and engaged.
Surely, I’m not the only one that manages time and productivity better when I am present and engaged in the activity.
What is mindfulness?
If you google mindfulness, it comes up with several great websites. Mayo Clinic has a nice post on What is mindfulness?
Mayo Clinic defines mindfulness as the act of being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling at every moment — without interpretation or judgment. They say that spending too much time planning, problem-solving, daydreaming, or thinking negative or random thoughts can be draining. Not sure about you, but I can relate to the draining piece.
How to Incorporate Mindfulness into Your Time Management Strategy
Let me ask, are you ready to start practicing mindfulness for better time management?
Yay! Since this comes out on a planning Sunday Funday, here are some simple steps you use to practice mindfulness with your time management.
First, you must set clear priorities and one goal you’re working towards this month or this quarter.
It’s essential to know why we do what we do and what we are working towards in your life and business by setting your goals.
Then, create a schedule that works for you and stick to it as much as possible. A key to this is to have open spaces of time that allow you to move things around in your schedule. Just in case one of your littles would have extra snuggle time with you.
This can help you avoid distractions and stay on task. Speaking of distractions, it's a good idea to eliminate as many as possible, whether that means turning off your phone or working in a quiet space.
Don't forget to take regular breaks and recharge, too – this can help you stay energized and focused. A quick walk, anyone?
Finally, incorporating mindfulness exercises into your day can help you stay present and centered, making all the difference when managing your time effectively.
Start with Mindful Exercises
If you’d like to see how mindfulness affects your time management in productive, check out mindful exercises and find something that works for you.
From my research, here is a blog post from Alfred James on mindfulness exercises.
Try these tips and see how they work for you and your time management.
