If you use them consistently, the amazing, inspiring mindfulness and productivity quotes we discussed in the last blog post should motivate you to put your best foot forward at work.
Unfortunately, being mindful and effective at work is not always easy; it’s particularly challenging if you have a difficult boss.
When habituated, mindfulness can help you become the apple of your boss’s eye such that he/she acknowledges your effort and gives you the promotion you have been eyeing for quite some time.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss the various ways that mindfulness can help you become your boss’s favorite:
#1: Mindfulness can help you get to work on time
Reporting to work late is one habit no boss is happy with. If you turn up to work late a few times, your boss may spare you, but if that becomes habitual, your boss won’t be happy.
If you dig deeper into the issue, you will realize the lack of mindfulness may be one of the reasons why you report to work late.
How is that so, you might wonder?
Well, when you are not mindful, you become forgetful, distracted, stressed, upset, and inattentive. Being in these states can keep you from completing tasks on time, getting to bed early and waking up early so that you can leave for work on time.
When you become “the employee who rarely gets to get to work on time,” you become a target for your boss’s wrath. Incorporating mindfulness into your everyday life can help turn things around.
How is that?
Well, being mindful can help diminish mind wandering. This can, in turn, help you complete tasks promptly, pack for work at the right time, sleep well and on time, and wake up early the next day, prepared to give the day your best.
When your boss sees you making this consistent effort, rest assured that he or she will have no bone to pick with you, just compliments and accolades.
#2: It can help you become more focused and attentive in meetings and tasks
One clear sign of inattentive team members, especially in a meeting, is fidgeting: fidgeting with their pens, constantly checking their phone screens, fiddling with their watch, hair, and hands, and looking elsewhere while a supervisor is explaining a point.
If that’s how you behave during meetings or when tending to work tasks, your boss may probably have noticed it if they are observant.
This may probably explain why they seem to “to have it out for you.”
Your employer wants attentive, focused, and energetic employees who pay attention to their work, process details effectively, and implement whatever instructions or guidelines have been given.
If you start practicing mindfulness and doing things mindfully, you can be that employee.
If you are mindful during meetings and when interacting with your superiors, you are likely to capture everything they want to be done and be able to do it exactly as wanted. You are also unlikely to miss important details in emails, documents, verbal or phone conversations with colleagues, bosses, clients, investors, etc. This can ultimately give you an edge over many other people.
#3: Mindfulness can help you beat procrastination
The opposite of mindfulness is forgetfulness. When you’re forgetful, you concern yourself with the past and future, instead of the present. For most of us, forgetfulness is our default state of functioning, particularly when we have tough tasks with which to deal.
Every time you get an important responsibility, you may postpone it out of feeling overwhelmed and out of fear of failure. Postponing vital work tasks is a surefire way to get on your boss’s “hit and hate list.”
Mindfulness changes that:
When you nurture mindfulness, it becomes easier to control your negative thoughts, to live in the here and now, and to get started with important tasks immediately, instead of overthinking and then postponing it.
When you’re mindful, it helps you beat procrastination and work effectively. This can greatly help you garner your boss’s admiration.
#4: It can improve your productivity by helping you manage distractions
Nothing upsets a boss more than a distracted employee. If your superior becomes aware that you sneak out for a smoke every hour, or finds you watching videos on YouTube or Facebook instead of focusing on urgent work, he/she is likely to be disappointed with you and probably lash out at you.
The tendency to give in to your distractions becomes quite strong if you haven’t trained yourself to live in the moment and focus on the present, one moment at a time. Distractions are probably part of the reason why you hardly focus on your work and why your productivity is at such a lackluster level.
If you work on building a mindful state of mind, you will find it easy to battle distractions because mindfulness helps you realize what matters and enables you to focus on it. Enhanced awareness and focus improve your engagement and work performance, and gradually, your productivity.
If your boss sees you working hard and contributing positively to the organization’s success, they will not mind recommending you for a promotion.
#5: Mindfulness can help you manage stress and enjoy your work
Work can be stressful at times. However, this does not mean that you let the stress get to you to a point of making you to live a miserable life. But if you don’t do something about the stress, it can indeed get to you and make it hard for you to keep going.
This may make you to slip into negative thinking and the habit of incessantly worrying about what-ifs, many of which may never happen. When you work while in this state of mind, you find your work annoying and lose interest in it. All that may end up affecting your productivity negatively.
By slowly building and increasing your level of mindfulness, it becomes easier to live in the present and focus on one thing at a time. Living in the present can, in turn, help you to become more involved in your tasks, perform them attentively and well, and enjoy them better.
Additionally, living in the moment can help you eliminate unnecessary worries, which may, in turn, leave you feeling happier. And when you are happier, this improves your wellbeing, which helps you enjoy your work life more and prove yourself a valuable team member.
Moreover, as discussed many times in the books written by me, mindfulness allows you to seize the moment, do what matters, and better understand your priorities.
These abilities help you tend to tasks effectively and efficiently. When you complete your work on time and to the highest standard possible, your boss will have nothing but praise for you. The more the praise, the higher the likelihood that your boss will not have any problem recommending you for a promotion.
To experience these benefits, you need to integrate mindfulness into your work life.
In my book – How To Be Mindful Of Thoughts: Steps To Achieving Mindfulness And Living In The Moment (Buddha on the Inside Book 3), I discuss various other approaches you can use to increase mindfulness. Get your copy and see your productivity at work increase rapidly.
Written with beginners in mind, It will teach you:
- The basics of mindfulness, including what it really is, what it entails, how it works and more
- Why you need to nurture mindfulness
- How mindfulness and leadership coexist
- How to transform your life with different mindfulness techniques
- How to observe your thoughts, manage your emotions and feel good with mindfulness-based meditative techniques
- How to make mindfulness part of your everyday life to derive all its benefits
…And so much more!