• Mindfulness Techniques For The Busy Entrepreneur At Work
• Mindfulness Techniques For The Busy Entrepreneurs
• Mindfulness Techniques For The Busy Entrepreneur Activities
• Mindfulness Techniques For The Busy Entrepreneur Development
• Mindfulness Techniques For The Busy Entrepreneur Definition
• Mindfulness Techniques For The Busy Entrepreneurship

The Power of Mindfulness Techniques to keep you on track December 15, 2015 When I’m busy (and lets face it, these days it feels like all the time) I’m often guilty of letting manic, racing thoughts overload my poor frazzled brain, never giving it a chance to properly slow down and be in the moment. One of the quickest ways to reduce stress and increase mindfulness is a quick walk, says Blair Thomas, co-founder of eMerchantBroker. Even if it's just for five minutes, walking can help you clear.

• End the stigma, Start a conversation. Mental health is an important factor in maintaining personal and professional wellbeing. Despite the rise in advocacy for mental health resources, the conversation of mental health is often seen as taboo within the financial sector.
• This is great for people with busy lives, jobs, and family commitments—but it also means you have to take responsibility for structuring your time and doing the work. Other courses have weekly assignments, sometimes even monitored or graded by an instructor, along with class chat sessions, feedback opportunities, and other ways to have a full.

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The life of an entrepreneur is often riddled with anxiety, stress, lack of sleep, and an overdose of caffeine. While a fast-paced environment and hard-working attitude are often what leads an entrepreneur to success, over time, it can be the very thing that causes burnout.

Mindfulness Techniques For The Busy Entrepreneur At Work

A growing trend amongst entrepreneurs is the practice of meditation. Listening to interviews with notable entrepreneurs such as Tim Ferriss and Kevin Rose, I have been hearing more and more how successful founders are relying on the benefits of meditation to keep them grounded in the midst of an often chaotic environment.

Why Meditation is Good for Entrepreneurs

I used to think that meditation was simply for people that lived outside of Western culture, or had a strange spiritual belief system that didn’t jive much with my own. Upon further research, it turns out that meditation doesn’t have to be a spiritual experience at all (although it is for some), but simply an exercise of the mind to clear thought patterns, focus on a specific word or idea (called a mantra), or simply to observe the thoughts that come to mind when it is relaxed.

Mindfulness Techniques For The Busy Entrepreneurs

To many who practice meditation, the focus is on achieving calmness, and a sense of inner balance. This benefit comes from meditation’s ability to train the mind to let go of things that it cannot control, leading to what has been called a “liberated” or “enlightened” life.

For entrepreneurs, meditation can bring about the following benefits:

1. Relaxed State of Mind - By spending even 10 minutes in meditation each day, the entrepreneur experiences a brief moment where the demands of the day are put on hold.
2. Greater Confidence - By being still and removing distractions, the entrepreneur often gains a deeper perspective that removes the negativity that can be a barrier to self-confidence. Enabling them to take more risks and move forward where others are paralyzed by fear and doubt.
3. Reduced Stress - Negative stress is often a byproduct of juggling too much and not taking any time-outs to gain perspective. The discipline of regular meditation forces the entrepreneur to give the mind a “power-nap”, refreshing it to handle the demands of the day.
4. Increased Creativity - Creativity isn’t just for artists, every successful entrepreneur needs to conjure up creative solutions on a regular basis. By starting the day with a prepared mind, the entrepreneur is better equipped to think outside of the box, or let their mind wander towards solutions that might not have come to mind when their stress levels are elevated.

Like physical exercise, the practice of meditation is ironic in that while it takes up some time from your day, in the greater scheme of things it adds time to your day by allowing you to be more efficient and productive with the rest of your day.

Common Types of Meditation

There is no one way to meditate. In fact, a quick search on Google will unearth hundreds of different schools of meditation. For the most part, however, they can be divided into one of two main categories:

1. Focused Attention Meditation - In this type of meditation, the mind seeks to focus on a single object, thought, word, or even simply the breaths that are taken. The goal is to clear out everything from the mind that is not a part of this focus. Sometimes the objects of focus have meaning, while other times words are repeated over and over (such as “om”), and have no meaning other than being a mystic syllable to focus on.
2. Open Monitoring Meditation - As opposed to having a focus during meditation, the open monitoring method simply observes whatever thoughts pass through the mind during this time of meditation, letting go of any judgement or attachment to these thoughts. This practice encourages a lack of reaction to thoughts and stimuli, which in turn builds the ability to have more control over reactions outside of meditation.

Some types of meditation, known as “guided meditation”, have a teacher or guide that instruct the individual in what to focus on, or when to allow time for open monitoring. This is a great place for many entrepreneurs to start as it requires no research or practice before starting.

Simple Steps to Begin Meditating Today

While some forms of meditation are only taught in paid classes (such as Transcendental Meditation), many forms of meditation take little to no preparation at all. Here are a few basic steps to begin meditating:

1. Find a Comfortable Position - This can be sitting on the ground, upright in a chair, or even lying on the ground (although you want to ensure you don’t fall asleep). While certain types of meditation lend better to particular sitting positions due to breathing techniques, the beginner simply needs to be able to relax comfortably.
2. Listen to a Guided Meditation - These are available as apps for your smart phone, as youtube videos, or audio downloads. Check out the resources section at the end of this post for specific resources.
3. Be Patient - The first few times may feel a little awkward. However, just like physical exercise, the benefits come with consistency.
4. Slowly Increase Time - You can’t expect to go a 30 minute session on your first one without letting your mind wander. That is why many meditation teachers suggest you start with a short amount of time and gradually increase it.

Resources

Guided Meditation on YouTube

• Guided Meditation Sleep: Delta Waves, Deep Sleep, Inner Peace
• Breathing Guided Imagery Meditation
• 10-Minute Meditation for Anxiety

Mobile Applications

• Buddhify (iOS & Android)
• Stop, Breathe & Think (iOS)
• The Mindfulness App (iOS & Android)

Biofeedback Hardwear

This is perhaps the most interesting item to feature as a resource, but a $299 bluetooth headband called a Muse can detect brain activity, and provides auditory feedback into your headphones, training you to develop effective meditation techniques. Entrepreneurs like Pat Flynn are big proponents of the tool. Pat recently wrote concerning his regular use of the Muse:

When I’m working I can actually catch myself getting off-thought and get back on track faster, and I feel a lot more focused during my work too, especially while writing. -Pat Flynn

While a $299 accessory is not necessary to realize the benefits of meditating, for those of us who love biofeedback and new technology, the Muse is worth a look.

Conclusion

According to the American Psychological Association, even a minor amount of short-lived stress can make an impact on your health (both physical and mental). While entrepreneurs often feel that they need to “go go go” in order to be successful, taking the time out of the day to practice meditation has been a proven, effective method for increasing your productivity throughout the day, providing appropriate perspective, and training to react appropriately to stressors that are inevitable throughout the day.

22/07/2019

Don’t you just love city life? It’s vibrant, fun and exciting. There’s always something going on - pride festivities, food and music festivals, restaurant openings - not to mention all those work opportunities to immerse yourself in. It’s the place to be.

It can become overwhelming at times trying to be everywhere and do everything. Hold fire, you don’t need to move into a lodge in the middle of nowhere just yet. Taking time to do simple mindfulness exercises is an easy-peasy way to keep calm and centered, even when your to do list seems endless. You’ve got this! *punches air*

What is mindfulness?

We hear the word a lot, but it can be difficult to understand what it actually is. The official definition is, ‘‘The quality or state of being conscious or aware of something’’. It’s all about being present and concentrating on what you’re doing. Let’s face it - something which is hard to do in such a fast-paced world.

Moda health and wellbeing

Moda is literally all about health and wellness, we live and breathe it. We think it’s vital that all our residents have time to reconnect and chill – hello 24-hr resident gym.

Even the on-site team are Mental Health First Aid trained, because we want every single one of our residents to feel that they have someone to turn to. We’ve got your back.

It can also be handy to know simple exercises you can do on the go as and when you feel you need it. You know, when you’re having one of those days and your head is buzzing with thoughts. Keep reading for expert tips on how anyone, yes YOU, can incorporate mindfulness into their daily routine.

We’re all giving it a whirl at Moda HQ…

1. Be present with one object around you

Ever notice instead of ticking things off your list you’re constantly adding more? This can prevent us from really embracing and appreciating the now.

We chatted with Briana Borten, a successful entrepreneur in holistic wellness. Her top tip is to take some time in your day, even just be a minute or two, to find one object around you and become tuned in to that object. Notice its shape, texture, the way the light hits it. The idea behind this is that what’s in front of you is far more real than all those busy thoughts in your head.

Hot tip - Try doing it with nature as it’s a little easier and more relaxing.

2. Stop multitasking and focus on one task at a time

Put your hand up if you’re guilty of this.

Everyone at Moda *hands up*.

It’s so easily done, especially now most of us have mobile phones, laptops, work phones etc. One moment you’re working on a project next minute you’re answering an email or in a meeting. You know how it is…

Therapist and Yoga Teacher, Lisa West Wellness, urges us to stop multitasking and to focus on every task individually – delegate if you must. This can work in normal life too, she says. ‘‘If you’re chopping veg for dinner, chop them and concentrate on that. Don’t stop to read an incoming message or to watch the news. If you’re brushing your teeth, try to focus on just that and not doing other parts of your evening routine.

When we choose to slow down, the brain engages and is able to focus more.

Mindfulness Techniques For The Busy Entrepreneur Activities

3. Take time to really enjoy your food

When practising mindfulness, experts often advise to tune into your senses. One of the best senses, in our opinion, is taste (of course, duh).

Rather than rushing through your lunch hour to go finish that presentation you’re working on. Take time to really enjoy every single bite. This goes back to staying present in the moment and embracing the now. Think about how tasty the food is. The textures, all those flavours… we promise it will make you feel calmer and more productive when you return to work.

Mindfulness Techniques For The Busy Entrepreneur Development

Also, make lunch a work-free zone if possible – *out of office set – ‘busy getting my zen on’*.

4. Do whatever you're doing, but a little...bit...slower...

Ever feel anxious in the morning?

Your morning routine impacts your mindset for the day more than you realise. For a lot of freelancers, avoiding the stressful morning and evening commute is a huge plus for working for yourself. If the morning rush is stressing you out, wake up a little earlier so you can have a slower start to the day.

Mindfulness Techniques For The Busy Entrepreneur Definition

Trying to focus on getting that big project finished?

Really think about every single word you’re typing and let only that fill your mind. This can be difficult when working in an office and a lot of hustle and bustle going on… but, if you can do it at work then you can do it anywhere!

5. Unplug technology and disconnect from social media

Ever turned on the tracker on your phone which lets you know how much time you’ve spent on social media? It’s eye opening. *hands cover face*

We love social media – it keeps us connected, lets us share hilarious memes and our most memorable moments. Yet, when we’re already multitasking so much in our daily lives, it can add to those pressures of feeling constantly on. You know?

To gain a greater sense of mindfulness, try ‘black out’ evenings on a regular basis where you put your phone on ‘do not disturb’ or air-plane mode and do something unrelated to technology. Just think of all those notifications when you turn it back on.

Easy things you can do right now to be more mindful

• Look at the clock and watch the second hand go around for one minute whilst breathing deeply – this can help you to focus on the now and go slower
• Run the hot tap and put your hands under the water for one minute focusing on the temperature and feel of the water
• Close your eyes and massage your ear lobes taking ten very deep breaths as you do
• Choose a colour and then open a book and focus on the colour within the book as your turn the pages
• Picture a traffic light and the lights changing colours very slowly

Thank you to Hannah Hardy-Jones, founder of personal development app The Kite Program, for the above tips.

Do you feel calmer already just by reading this? Feel free to share with any hard-working and busy bee colleagues.

Mindfulness Techniques For The Busy Entrepreneurship

Head over to the wellness section to discover more on how Moda takes care of their residents health and wellbeing.