Do you ever play?

By which I mean, not just relaxation. Not scrolling, reading, watching or anything passive of the like. When did you last engage in real, involved, imaginative and immersive play? You may be surprised by how long it’s truly been. We don’t tend to see play as an ‘adult pastime’. However, play, an activity which makes you lose track of time, ignite with creativity, or consider a fresh perspective, can fuel innovation, reduce stress, and enhance problem-solving skills. In the fast-paced world of work, making time for conscious play could be the key to unlocking your professional growth.

1.     How Does Play Link to Productivity?

Play is often perceived as nothing but a vessel for fun. Something that is of no serious use to productivity or innovation. This is simply not true. Play is essential for brain growth and maintenance. It stimulates the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for creativity, problem-solving, and emotional regulation. That being the case, Conscious professionals who engage in play often tend to be able to think with greater flexibility, act with better adaptability, and consider perspectives other than their own, than those who don’t play all that much.

2.     Play for Innovation

Having a brain that is used to play makes it more practised at knocking around new ideas and improves your confidence in taking risks. Indeed, play-like processes are often used in business settings, and you may not even be conscious of them. Brainstorming, creating strategy, troubleshooting and branding are all examples of playful business practice. Play outside of work can help to equip you better to engage with these processes. Brainstorming can be improved through improvisation, for example. Design and an eye for what engages customers can be bolstered through creative activities. Gaming is excellent for growing the strategic capabilities of the brain. When you’re not afraid to experiment and take risks in a playful environment, you’re more likely to carry that energy into your work.

3.     Play for Stress Reduction

Stress and burnout are something pretty much everyone comes up against these days. They are significant roadblocks to productivity. Play acts as a natural stress reliever. Of course, it does. A relaxed and endorphin filled you is a more useful you. So, make sure you really to play as hard as you work.

4.     Play at Work

Encouraging play at work isn’t as mad as it sounds. I’m not promoting soft-play areas in break rooms (although, I’m sure it’s been done). Simple changes like gamifying tasks or allowing space for creative breaks can make a huge difference. Conscious businesses are getting much better at recognising the value of play and actively encouraging conscious playful thinking to boost innovation.

5.     Make Play Part of Your Everyday

The key to benefiting from play, as with anything, is consistency. Little and often. Your brain will only learn to think and act more playfully through the maintenance of that cognitive skillset. I’d say, as far as new habits go, finding time to play isn’t the hardest habit to get into. It is perhaps one of the easiest and most pleasurable ways to grow your professional skill set.

So, make time for a creative hobby. Join a football team. Heck, schedule an hour of PlayStation time every week! Make play a regular part of your routine. The more you play, the more adaptable, innovative, and resilient you become in your work life.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Fuelling Professional Growth Through Play appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

My brain seems to get bored easily. I imagine many of us are like this. The way that I keep my enthusiasm, energy, and productivity alive is, fortunately for me, a byproduct of my chosen professionals. I am a freelancer. A writer, musician, actor, and general odd-job man for my wife’s business. This means that my brain is forever engaging with ‘the new’. New skills, places, people, routines, projects and challenges. That said, I still get stuck in ruts. I become frustrated and demotivated if I do not have something new to engage with. I grind to a mental halt if I am not discovering something new.

Our brains thrive on novelty. When we engage in fresh experiences, we activate curiosity, boost creativity, and ultimately improve focus. Discovery of the new may be the key to your exit from a stagnant place. It could be a new hobby. Perhaps you might want to try a class or a group (I work with an improvisation troupe, for example. They are all professionals dabbling in a courageous skill. They discover something new every single time they meet!). It might even be as simple as diving into a well-written book. Whatever form it takes, discovery is positive. These are some of the reasons why and ideas about where you might find discovery in your everyday.

1.     Novelty = Focus

As touched upon above, our brains like discovering things. They are wired to crave new experiences and lessons. When we try something unfamiliar we wake up dormant parts of the brain and produce dopamine. This response keeps your brain awake. Alive to the world. In a state of engagement and observation.

2.     Small Changes, Big Change

The discoveries need only be small for this mental alertness to awaken. A new workspace, perhaps, with a different view? An alternative commute. Maybe changing the way in which you start your day or switching up your morning routine can refresh your mind. Only little shifts, true, but the resulting engagement will keep your brain more alert and ready to create.

3.     Switching Off in Nature

Spending time outside is one of the most effective ways to stimulate fresh thinking. However, there is a caveat. Try to coincide such occasions with a switch-off from your technology. Letting the mind wander when taking in the outdoors helps to bring mental clarity. Whether walking through a town, city, field, or forest, the discovery of details in the world around you encourages your brain to access different areas and ways of thinking. My brain often solves problems I thought were complex with relative ease after a while spent in the open.

4.     Learning for Focus as Opposed to Knowledge

Of course, learning in itself is the process of obtaining knowledge. However, using learning as a focus exercise is a good way to pull the mind away from spiralling thoughts and aim it more specifically.

Try picking up a book about something outside your industry. Try going to a workshop, or attempting a creative skill like painting or learning an instrument. The brain practices adaptability, and therefore, gets better at it. It’s also great for improving attention span and information retention.

5.     A Good Habit

The key to maintaining focus through novelty is to make discovering the new a habit. Set a goal to try one new thing each week (or month, if a week seems like too much. That new thing could be a new podcast, a different coffee order, or an unfamiliar workout. By intentionally seeking out small changes, you train your brain to stay curious and engaged, ultimately leading to better focus in all areas of life. So, step outside your routine, try something new, and watch your focus flourish.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post The Power of Trying Something New: Discovering to Enhance Focus appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Doing nothing. Or rather, doing things that are ‘not work’ often feels like an indulgence to me. I believe we live in a world that is all about constant grind all the time. I’m not sure that is good for us.

But I’m here to explore the idea that ‘doing nothing’ (slash ‘doing something for your own pleasure’) is actually a highly productive, necessary and positive thing to do. Enjoying the spoils of life not only helps you in other areas of your life, but it’s also, is it not, what life is actually about.

So, here are a few things you might wish to do, that might feel frivolous or ‘time-wastey’, that are actually very nourishing and helpful indeed.

1.     Gaming

I was pretty anti-gaming for a long time. I was always led to believe, in my youth, that games were mind-rotting things. Then, a few years ago, I became briefly bedridden after some surgery. I bought a console so that I had something fun to do, and I’ve never looked back.

Gaming allows you to interact with new worlds and ideas. It allows you to create. It allows you to connect with others. It also helps to exercise the parts of our brains used for play. A part that adults tend to use less. Add to that the problem-solving and hand-eye coordination practice it gives you, and you have a hobby that is very productive indeed.

2.     Cooking

I’m never happier than when cooking. What might seem like a dull necessity is actually more productive (beyond feeding yourself) than you might think. Cooking requires timing, patience, fine motor skills, creativity and problem-solving. Sure, it’s good not to cook once in a while, but cooking from scratch is not just a badge of honour… it’s a way of exercising a multitude of skills and brain functions.

3.     Exercise

We know exercise is good for us. But, if you’re anything like me, you still find yourself justifying it as if it is an extra-curricular, non-necessary activity. However, despite those voices in my head, I know my two gym sessions a week are non-negotiable. Not only does it keep my body in good working order (less easy than it was in my 20s), it is vital for my mental health. It gives me time away from my other worries, but also helps me not to blow issues that I have been spiralling about out of proportion.

4.     Doodling

I have a four-year-old. And so, I doodle while he colours in mermaids, dragons and princesses quite often. Doodling is very calming. It allows your mind to wander. I also think is distracts one from the stresses and strains of adult life in a very gentle way. I’ve untangled many thoughts with very little effort while doodling.

5.     Actually Doing Nothing

I haven’t been on holiday in a long time. My favourite holidays are beach holidays. Sun, sea, swimming pool, cocktails… you know the kind. But it isn’t the frozen beer glasses, local food, or sun-kissed beaches that I pine for the most when dreaming of a holiday.

I always go back to a moment from a holiday in Corfu about ten years ago. I had just arrived, and the first thing I did was lie on a Lilo and stare up at the clear blue sky. I hadn’t intended to, but I ended up staring at the sky for about three hours. As I drifted, palm trees would slip in and out of my view. Other than that, all I had was my thoughts. It felt like my brain completely reset. When I got up for dinner a few hours later, I felt more alive and refreshed than I had done in years. It was, perhaps, the most productive idleness I had ever experienced.

Doing nothing is great. We should do it more. How often do we really let our minds wander these days?

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post How to Be Productive While Doing Nothing appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Expanding your skills has always been a part of career progression. However, one might argue, that for the sake of one’s resilience and wellbeing in today’s world of work, this is more important than ever. Indeed, it is a good idea to not only skill up in your current area, but to consider how you might diversify what skills you have, outside of the traditional sphere of your industry.

It is also worth saying that yes, skill building may be necessary for your professional life, but it also has a number of personal benefits. In the coming paragraphs, I’ll be highlighting how it can benefit both parts of you life…

1.     Creativity Unleashed

It is easy to arrive at adulthood and convince yourself that your brain works in a certain way and that there are no other angles from which you can look at things or solve problems. In fact, what many people find, is that when they learn something new, even if it is something they are learning for pleasure or to invest in their personal wellbeing, is that teaches their brain to come at problems from different directions, enabling them to think both more broadly and more creatively. This happens most dramatically when the person in question takes on a new skill that is completely out of their normal spheres of interest.

2.     Personal Pride and Worth

It is easy to get stuck in a rut. Often, people convince themselves that they are fine where they are. They do so for so long that when the question of taking a risk, learning something new, or leaping a hurdle to move up in the workplace comes along, their low self-esteem tells them that it’s too scary, or that they do not have the capacity to do it. This is where one really needs to take a deep breath, ignore the voices, and leap into something new. The sense of worth and achievement we get from gaining new skills is enormous. When we are children, we feel this all the time, and it feels amazing. But it doesn’t happen so often as adults, and we forget this feeling. The feeling of achievement. The feeling of worth. Regular learning opportunities will ensure that you feel this sense of achievement much more often.

3.     Money

Of course, when it comes to the workplace, financial gain is always a good incentive to learn and diversify your skills. However, even if getting promoted or financially rewarded is not your goal when perusing new avenues, you would be surprised how often these innocently obtained skills make you a more desirable employee.

4.     Opportunity

As alluded to in the previous paragraph, new skills often open unexpected doors. I am a freelancer, and have often been taken on for a job that required a specific skillset. During the said job, it would be discovered that I can also provide other services, which has led to me being employed by the same people again, but in a different role, making use of those different skills. Learning always pays off.

5.     New Relationships

We don’t meet as many new people when we grow up. If you work in a single workplace, you will probably not be used to encountering fresh faces and new opinions on a regular basis. Learning environments put us among new people on a regular basis, making our exposure to different backgrounds and ideas broader. This is an important and underrated consequence of perusing new skills; the broadening of horizons, and the unexpected new connections that we make. Meeting, and connecting with, new people are skills. Skills that are very valuable throughout many workplaces and industries.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Reasons to Add to Your Workplace Skills appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Listen, I love food. Christmas is a nightmare for me. If you put it in front of me, I will eat it, whether that be a single roast potato or the entire contents of the local cheesemongers. I do not believe food to be medicine, nor do I think I should admonish myself for indulging. However, when the new year comes, I do like to shift my food-based attention to a more conscious and mindful approach. I know what foods energise me physically and mentally, and so, I try to refocus my diet to include more of that stuff.

What stuff? Well, this stuff…

1.     Bananas

The reserve of many a fitness fanatic, bananas are one of the best sources for slow-release energy. They also contain a large dose of potassium. Potassium protects the body against muscle wastage, the risk of stroke and lowers blood pressure, all good things. But, perhaps most importantly, it regulates the balance of fluids and acidity in the body and controls electrical movement in the muscles and organs – keeping the whole body running efficiently and economically.

2.     Beans

Beans are a good place to start. They are a double whammy; excellent for both body and mind. They are high in protein, fibre and iron, and low in fat and carbohydrate. They are a great alternative to processed carbohydrates such as bread and pasta; providing you with an abundance of slow release energy without the bloating and weight gain that sometimes comes with grain-based products. Beans also help to lower cholesterol; improving blood flow and therefore improving brain function. They will make it easier to focus, to learn and to be mindful. One variety, the black bean, offers a little something extra; magnesium. This element has been proven to improve the efficiency of the mind and can even help reverse the effects of degenerative brain conditions such as Alzheimer’s.

3.     Tea

We do love tea. The good news is that it is more than just a comforting hot drink. The anti-oxidants found in tea improve mood, focus and memory; all things that are quite useful when it comes to matters of the mind. A lovely brew with your next mindfulness mediation might be just the thing to take it to the next level!

4.     Avocados

The ultimate food of fashion! Everything about this food benefits the brain in some way. Healthy blood flow is contributed to by its high levels of monounsaturated fat (that’s the ‘good fat’ everyone is talking about)! And as we know, healthy blood flow = healthy mind. Blood pressure also goes down, and protection against cognitive decline is reinforced.

5.     Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are one of the most nutritionally rich and diverse vegetables around. They contain, among other things, iron, calcium, selenium, and Vitamins A, B and C. Although they do not directly contribute towards the health of your mind, they are dense with all the good stuff your body needs to function with energy and proficiency; strengthening the immune system in particular.

6.     Green Stuff

Pretty much without exception, if it is green, then it is good. Your spinach, your broccoli, your kale, apples, spring greens and grapes are all fantastic for healthy brain function. As well as the abundance of vitamins provided by the green stuff, they are also essential in the forming of new cells all over the body; essential for the growth and development of mind and body.

7.     ‘Naughty Food’

Vitamin crammed, iron stuffed, and fibre rich foods are all very well, and all extremely important. However, sometimes, after a long day, all your mind is telling you to do is order a pizza. We know that pizza, or curry, or fried chicken, or whatever your culinary ‘poison’ happens to be, is full of stuff that doesn’t really benefit your health in any way. But sometimes, if what your brain is asking for is comfort, then you need not to give yourself a hard time about it. If happiness is enjoying a glorified cheese on toast some days, then do it! You can always do a few extra miles on the treadmill or eat broccoli for breakfast!

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 3 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Eating Mindfully – Super Food appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

There are places that help me to be productive and there are places that don’t. For example, my productivity is at its best when I work out in the world… in a café or library or something. This is because I work from home, and often find getting to task so close to my relaxation space (my desk is in the living room, not far from the sofa and TV) is far too distracting. I’m more likely to scroll here as well. Being somewhere with less distraction and that, in effect, I am paying to be in some way, helps me to use my time productively.

Knowing what works for you personally is worth being conscious of. My perfect productivity environment will not be perfect for everyone, that said, my go-to tips and techniques are pretty universal. They are worth a try if you are in a rut, even if they don’t work 100% of the time.

1.     Phone Jail

My phone has driven me mad this past year. With so little to do, I felt extremely conscious of how drawn I was to it. so much time was wasted on doing so little because of that phone!

Now don’t get me wrong, phones are brilliant. But they are also a real drain. When working I have taken to locking my phone in a drawer. Out of sight out of mind. When I do this, not only am I more productive, but I feel so much freer and clear-headed. Find a place for your phone to quarantine. You won’t regret it!

2.     A Lovely Set of Headphones

When working from home distraction is rife! One of the best things to do it invest in a pair of good quality headphones, that dumb down or even eliminate any external distracting noise. For me, even if nothing is playing through them, it helps me to narrow my world down to include just the task in hand.

3.     Audio Ambience

I find that I like to have some kind of noise when I am working. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it makes the world seem less still, or perhaps it feels less lonely? But what I do know, is that it helps me to block out other distractions. Music, I find, is too interesting… I find myself flicking through tracks or singing along. White noise, meditation music or classical ambience make for excellent workmates. This type of ambience relaxes and focuses you at the same time. For example, I am currently listening to a playlist of rainfall, and am absolutely sailing through this article!

4.     A Diary: The Old-Fashioned Kind

I went back to keeping a paper diary last year. Of course, it being 2020, the diary did not end up as full as I had hoped. That being said, it ended up being an extremely valuable tool.

As brilliant as digital calendars are, there is something a little disconnected (ironically) about them. He connection between what you are writing and your cognitive focus on the content seems to be stronger when written by hand. There is also something precious about a diary, something personal. It is something I long to utilise, as opposed to the calendar on my phone which feels very clinical; something which I have no particular love for.

My diary contains creative thoughts, emotions, financial plans, to do lists, appointments, and pictures; it truly is an external hard drive for my brain, somewhere to keep thoughts when you don’t seem to have space left. I recommend you try it!

5.     A Chair

Discomfort makes it extremely hard to work well. The 21st century contains many more people with back problems than the century before, largely because of bad posture from sitting at desks. A decent ergonomic chair might be worth the investment just to be able to work in comfort and concentrate without being distracted by a clicking neck or an aching back. A wise investment to encourage daily resilience.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 4 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post My Go-To Accessories for Productivity appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Anxiety is out in the open. It’s something that we, as a society, are much more aware of, something we talk about, and something I think it’d fair to say most of us experience at least from time to time. Anxiety manifests itself in a number of ways and does not feel the same to everyone, but I think it is fair to state that it can really get in the way of living a productive life.

My workdays and weeks are periodically stunted by rising anxiety, and I feel it for a number of reasons; overwhelmed at the amount I need to get done, imposter syndrome, tasks that confuse me to the point where I’m afraid to complete them incorrectly, and, of course, the distraction of whatever other issues are happening in my wider life. I have no doubt that most of you reading this will find some of those triggers familiar.

Dealing with anxiety is a big job. It takes weeks, months, and years of consistent self-work. The thing is, when you feel it rising in your chest and need it gone so you can crack on with your day, it’s tricky to squeeze in ‘years of self-work’! So, here are a few techniques and tricks that I find useful when battling an anxious day at work…

1.     Short Bursts of Work

If I can’t strap into a task for a long period of time (by which I mean, something like an entire morning of consistent work… like about four hours), I break my day up into very short bursts of around half an hour. This means I only have to dig deep for a short while before a period of rest. It also helps me to break down tasks into bitesize, half an hour chunks (and goals) which, in turn, prevents me from getting too overwhelmed by the entire body of work for the day.

2.     Be Productive During Mini-Breaks

When I break between short bursts, it helps to engage with something productive. I am lucky enough to work from home, and so, when I break, I will get a small chore done. The washing up, some meal prep, running the vacuum round and putting laundry away are some of my go-to’s. If you are working in a specific workplace, maybe go and make a drink, organise your desk or workspace, or run an errand. Whatever it is, make sure it is something removed from your work.

3.     Get Distance from the Task

Distance from a project is something that really helps me. As a writer, sometimes I just can’t think of the next thing to write. Sometimes I stare at a blank screen for ages as my imagination shuts down. What helps is to spend some time away from it, as very often, my subconscious brain will have come up with an easy solution to my problem while I’ve been focusing on something else for a few hours. But what do you do with those few hours? Well, you may be able to do some project switching.

4.     Project Switching

If, like me, you often have multiple tasks running at the same time, you may find it helpful, instead of doing them one after the other, to switch between projects. I will often be writing on more than one project at a time so that, if one project comes to a dead end or I am starting to feel anxious about what comes next, I can switch to the other and be productive on something else for a while. This means that I am always moving forward, even if it is not always on the same task.

5.     Meditate/Clear Your Head

If none of these are working… if your brain is just too scattered… if all you can think about is that sharp panicked feeling in your chest… then it might be time to just go and shut everything down for a moment. Go outside. Get some fresh air. Have a walk. Grab a coffee. Engage with the world outside the reality of your work. Engage with nature. Engage with another person (or a dog) in the park. Clear your head. Return to factory settings and try again in a bit.

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 4 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Tips for Quashing Rising Anxiety at Work appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

In times of stress, when you have a lot on your plate, a lot to get done before the day is out, the natural tendency is to speed up to cram it all in. However, this is not always the most productive way to hit your goals.

The issue with speeding up is that often when we do this, details get missed, the brain struggles to tackle multiple things at once at the speed you are trying to go, and the results are often below your personal standards. Not only that, but you don’t feel great by the end of it.

Counterintuitively, it is often more productive, and certainly more mindful, to slow down in order to be productive. When we are stressed about cramming stuff in, that stress is just another thing that helps to clog up your mind and stop you from working with clarity and resilience. Here’s why slowing down is sometimes the best option, and how to implement de-acceleration and rest for ultimate and timely productivity.

1.     One Thing at A Time

When we are trying to get a hundred things done, multi-taking can often seem like the best option. The thing is, though, each task still requires the same amount of energy as if you decided to do the things on your list one after another. The only difference is that your mind is trying to be in several places at once. By moving through your to-do list one thing at a time, you are living in the moment, and dedicating all your concentration to a single thing. Try to put all other tasks out of your mind. Complete each task without the distraction and noise of other tasks and thoughts for better clarity, concentration, and quality in your finish.

2.     Overwhelmed? Take a Break

If everything seems too much, take a break. Even ten minutes of decompression, ten minutes outside the eye of the storm, can help you to see things more clearly. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found myself staring at a blank document that needs to be full by the end of the day. I’ll be looking at it, trying to solve the next problem, and not only is the solution illuding me, but my head is also full of the stress and panic of the fact that I’m running out of time. I know, in a case like this, that being away for a few minutes, and doing something else, making some tea, for example, will do me good. In this state, I’m better off coming back in ten minutes ready to hit the ground running, than staring at the blank document for hours in a state of stress.

3.     Carve Out Time for Planning

If there is too much going on in your head to see a way to complete all tasks quickly, dip out, lay all your tasks out on the table, and come up with a plan. It may simply be deciding an order in which to do things and how much time you predict will need to be dedicated to them. This, for me at least, takes the stress of wondering whether I’ll manage to get everything done away, as I have already confirmed it is possible because I have planned and time-managed it all. Be mindful that the stress of the unknown can have a real impact on your focus. Therefore, remove that stress with some simple planning.

4.     When Does Your Brain Work Best?

I often find myself working at the end of the day and finding that my brain has pretty much turned to mush. I have no new ideas, I can’t string a decent sentence together, and I can barely type a word correctly. This is when I know that there is no use trying to do any more. This is because I am at my best first thing in the morning. Something that would take me three hours at 7pm will usually take me one hour at 5am the next day. So, if the deadline allows, that is what I do. I get up early as opposed to working late. It’s just more productive! Be mindful of what time of day and in what environment you are at your best.

5.     Breathe

It wouldn’t be a Conscious Professional post about stress relief, if I didn’t remind you that, if all else fails, take a moment to concentrate on your breath and clear your mind. Nice and slow, in and out, as deep as you can. It never fails to calm things down!

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 4 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Learn To Meditate With Neil In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.

2. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Coaching Partnership or Professional Wellbeing Appointment is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil Seligman here.

3. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Slow Down to Speed Up appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

Preston Wickersham, Start-Up Mentor

Introducing Async

Asynchronous work describes a method of progressing shared projects and tasks where collaborators are unable to communicate live.

With the majority of hybrid teams working across multiple time zones and locations, you will not always be present or even online for an in-person chat, handover, or conflab, so asynchronous work is a necessary feature.

Given the time lag and potential impossibility of asking a quick follow-up question – documenting everything clearly and concisely becomes asynchronous (async) priority number one!

According to GitLab there are lots of reasons why employees love async. These are the six most cited by employees:

Benefits of Async

1. Provides Autonomy Empowerment & Agency
2. Increases Efficiency & Productivity
3. Increases Inclusivity
4. Alleviates Stress & Supports Mental Health
5. Encourages Thoughtfulness & Intentionality
6. Bridges The Knowledge Gap

How To Make It Work?

Being apart from your colleague(s) when you are communicating with them creates opportunities as well as challenges. We all know about voicemail, voice notes, looms, and recorded meetings, but do we always think about the experience of our async colleague when creating these?

Here’s a checklist for ensuring that async messages are fit for purpose:

Asynchronous Communication Checklist

Format

Is this the best format for them to receive this info? Written? Audio? Video?

Context

Have I provided sufficient context for them to understand the task?

Clarity

Read, watch, or listen back: Does it make sense?

Tone

Tone is tricky – have I adjusted for negativity bias?

Resources

What resources will they need to complete this? Check they have access.

Searchability

Have I documented and shared this message in a way that can be found easily later?

And if you found this topic interesting – your team might enjoy our brand new course from The Conscious Professional – Essential Skills for Hybrid Workers which includes sections on hybrid teamwork, overcoming conflict, hybrid meetings, time management, and digital wellbeing!

By Neil Seligman

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 4 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Access Free Live Meditations & Energy Transmissions

Inside our private Facebook Group, where Neil leads live weekly community events. Join now for free.

2. Learn To Meditate With Neil Seligman In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.  

3. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Conscious Coaching Partnership is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil here.

4. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post How To Work Well Asynchronously appeared first on The Conscious Professional.

For most people, delivering a public speech is at least a reasonably big deal. Even if you are somebody who is used to doing such a thing, there are still feelings of anticipation attached.

Public speaking is something that many of us will have to perform at some point, yet rarely do we have any kind of training for it. Whether it is a best man’s speech at a wedding, an introductory speech at a conference, or a pitch at a meeting… it is often the case that one is left to one’s own devices when working out how to put together and deliver the goods!

Of course, public speeches are varied in tone, importance, and function. But all instances of public speaking can be helped along by the same set of guidelines. Here are our big tips for calming you in the face of a public speech and making it the best speech it can be.

WRITING THE SPEECH

1.     Don’t Overstuff It

The tendency can be, especially if you are new to speech writing, to try and express every idea that comes through your head. Even now, as somebody who writes for a living, I always have many more ideas than will end up in the finished speech, and sometimes struggle to whittle them down.

A speech must have clarity, and therefore needs to move towards a single goal within a limited theme. The best way to do this is to bullet-point all of your ideas before writing. Once this is done, decide which ideas are the most important, ensuring that all of them help you to move towards the same conclusion or theme.

2.     Tell A Story

All good speeches have a story to them… or a ‘journey’ if you prefer. Once you have your bulleted ideas, try and order them into a satisfying sequence, preferably with each leading neatly onto the next. Be mindful of that old trope; every story has a beginning a middle and an end.

3.     Make It Relatable

Audiences connect best with a speech when they feel that they can relate to it. There are many ways you can do this. One is to focus on an issue that you know your audience already cares about. Another is to regale them with relevant personal experiences within the speech. Relatability, the idea that the Venn diagram of you and your audience overlaps at some point, is the key to connecting to your audience.

4.     Use Your Own Voice

If you are not a natural creative writer, you may find that you write in quite a formal way. In academic education, this is what everybody learns, and so is the default style for some. However, it seems to be mindful of the fact that this style, when spoken out loud, is not especially endearing. It does not reflect natural speech. My best advice is to write how you speak… even if it feels a bit odd grammatically. This will also help your delivery, as the words will feel more comfortable to speak.

DELIVERING THE SPEECH

1.     Breathe

You might not get nervous in these kinds of situations… but I think it’s fair to say most people do, even if it’s just a little bit. Know that, whatever happens, you can always fall back on the breath. When preparing to go on for your speech, focusing on the breath will steady your pulse. During the speech, should you stumble or panic, you can always focus on the breath for a moment to calm and reset yourself.

2.     Clear Your Head

The breath is also a great tool to help you clear your head. Clearing your head before a speech is a really good idea. Not only does it prevent you from spiralling into all of the possible things that could go wrong during your speech, but it also focuses you on the moment. And if a successful speech requires anything for success, it is the ability to be in the moment.

Focus on the breath. There is nothing more you can do to prepare now. There is no use in worrying. Focus on the breath. Steady yourself. What will be will be.

3.     Don’t Rush

As an actor, when I am confronted with new text or feel unprepared, I still rush. And when I rush, I stumble, or my diction goes out of the window. We often don’t notice we are rushing and worry that it will seem oddly slow if we slow down. Experience tells me that this is unlikely to be the case. Be mindful of pacing yourself early on. Slow down consciously. Because once you have done this for a few moments and found your footing, the nerves will go, and a natural rhythm should appear.

4.     Don’t Let Your Audience Throw You Off

You will predict how an audience will react. But the fact is, you don’t really know what reaction you will get. Audiences are unpredictable. So, if you say something you think will get a laugh, and it doesn’t, don’t let it throw you off. Because if you get thrown off, it can be hard to recover. Try to prepare your speech as if you will have no reaction at all. It is better to be surprised by getting a reaction you didn’t prepare for than be disappointed by not getting the reaction you thought you surely would!

By Chris Thomson

P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 4 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:

1. Access Free Live Meditations & Energy Transmissions

Inside our private Facebook Group, The Conscious Professional Mindful Community where Neil leads live weekly community events. Join now for free.

2. Learn To Meditate With Neil Seligman In Just 10 Days!

Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.  

3. Work With Neil One-To-One

See if a Conscious Coaching Partnership is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil here.

4. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business

See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.

The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.

The post Tips on Public Speaking: Writing and Delivery appeared first on The Conscious Professional.