Are you Making Time for Mindfulness?

As business owners, we all know the pressure of being the driving force behind a business, let alone keeping a business afloat during lockdown.

It can be a stressful experience, and this can have an impact on your wellbeing.

A tired, stressed and anxious owner is not an effective owner – so there’s an increasing need to focus on mental health and to bring elements of mindfulness, meditation and contemplation into your day. And, investing in employee wellbeing is good for the bottom line too, according to new research by Xero.

Bringing mindfulness into your work

The outmoded, ‘we work hard, and we play hard’ ideology used to be the norm in many business environments. But as times have changed, and awareness of the impact of work-related stress has risen, we’ve begun to refocus on a healthier kind of strategy.

As the owner, you have a responsibility to look after the wellbeing of your team too. Recent news stories about toxic ‘cultures of fear’ at well-known companies shows that employees can often be suffering in silence, unaware of the impact on their health.

So, what can you do to focus more clearly on wellbeing? And how do you bring a more sympathetic and empathetic approach to your management style?

Look at ways to reduce your stress, turn down the pressure and refocus your thoughts on mindfulness:

• Get educated about mindfulness – read up around mindfulness and wellbeing, so you understand the benefits of taking time out to contemplate your thoughts. Knowing what you’re signing up for will help you to appreciate the value of mindfulness and its place in a busy work environment.
• Improve your work/life balance – if you are working from home, try to work reasonable hours. When working from home it’s easy to lose the definition between work time and person time. Pushing yourself to the limit, by working long hours with no breaks, will ultimately lead to burnout and mental health issues. So, redress the balance now and achieve a positive impact.
• Schedule time for mindfulness – to make a positive difference to your stress levels, you need to make time for mindfulness and other activities that will help you relax. Book time in your diary for some form of contemplation (or exercise) so this becomes a key part of your daily or weekly routine.
• Talk to your staff about mindfulness – a focus on positive mental health must be communicated through the whole business. Share your core values with your team and allow them the time and resources to try out mindfulness, yoga or meditation. These initiatives will only work once employees have bought into the concepts.
• Build mindfulness into your company culture – a happy team is a more productive team. With mindfulness and positive wellbeing built into your company’s culture, you set the foundations for creating a team who love their jobs, and love working for you.

Think about updating your approach to wellbeing

If you’re feeling like the pressures of your business and the pandemic are getting on top of you, now’s the time to act.

Switch to a more mindful approach to your work regime and aim for this core value to be replicated throughout your company – so the whole team benefits from this proactive change.