Moira Garvey, Director and Senior Consultant, Potential Project
Moira is a teacher and has an MS in organizational behavior. She has done a lot of presentations. She started by talking about the respect she has for public librarians. She said her family benefits a lot, because her daughters used them a lot when they were younger.
Why is mindfulness so popular? Anderson Cooper said our lives are constantly distracted, but rarely we are alone with our own thoughts. We need to learn new skills to cope with this world we are living in.
She then gave the agenda of what she would talk about today.
Mindfulness Relevancy to Work
Nature of MIND and Presence
Training the mind to Incease Focus
Neuroscience and Mindfulness
Multi-tasking
Mindfulness Relevancy to Work
She showed a slide of companies that brings this concept to the workplace. Why?
Always on (phone, tablets, responding 24/7)
Information Overload
Distracted
2) Internal Process: organizations pay us for results and actions and choices effect that. Where are we paying attention? In this world, our attention is being fragmented.
THe PAID reality is taking its toll. A Dr. from Harvard (didn’t get the name) about how our minds are under siege. We have ADT (Attention Deficit Trait). This is part of our surroundings and environment.
She then showed us a quiz that said 46.9% of the time, our mind is wandering from what is happening.
Nature of the MInd
She asked us to think of something for 45 seconds, and timed us. She asked if we were able to concentrate. Most of us could not focus the entire 45 seconds.
She showed us a slide where our mind is always in the past or in the future, but rarely in the present. And what happens? We miss the present!
What does it mean to be present? It means to focus on one task. It means to tune in. One person said sometimes in the library it is hard to focus on specific questions.
What is the downside of not being present? She showed us a funny video. How many times do we drive by a familiar exit ? How we poured coffee in our cereal? It means we are somewhere else.
Presence vs. Wandering: When we are wandering, we aren’t happy. We increase our anxiety and have regret. We also increase negative thinking and our well being. If we can train our mind to be in the present, we are more focused, have better memory and more clear on what is going on.
Presence: Focusing on the task at hand. She asked us when it’s most difficult to be more present at work. I spoke with the woman next to me, and we had a nice conversation about being distracted at work. She told me that she leaves work at work, which I think a lot of people have a hard time with.
How do we become more present?
Mindfullness is the ability to know what is happening in your head at any given moment without taking the bait.
Training the Mind
Training the mind is a muscle. (if we want better biceps, we train them). We have to go to the “mental gym” once a day.
ABCD Method:
Anatomy: Put it in a place that calms down.
Breath: Breathe through and out the nose.
Count: Helps our brain stay focused.
Distractions: Being aware is the training!
We tried this exercise and then talked about the experiences. Moira said to minimize distractions we have to keep practicing.
Neuroscience and Mindfulness
Neuroplasticity: Neurons organizing and reorganizing themselves. ABCD trains our brains to refocus. It helps us “rewire” our brains.
Mindfulness Training can help reduce stress, as well as help us enhance our memory, improve our moods, as well as mental fitness.
Multitasking and Mental Effectiveness
She had us go through an exercise and it was mind-boggling. The research was astounding.
Multitasking drains our energy, kills priortizations, hampers creativity, reduces our well being.
Our brain is being rewired !
Two rules:
Practicing this is HUGE in getting our work done and managing our stress. Moira said she has these rules next to her laptop, and she sets a timer.
Mindfulness Challenge:
She said her hope is that we now have a sense of how we need to focus to manage our minds better. We need to do this on a regular basis. Start with one minute and try it for two weeks.
Moira is a teacher and has an MS in organizational behavior. She has done a lot of presentations. She started by talking about the respect she has for public librarians. She said her family benefits a lot, because her daughters used them a lot when they were younger.
Why is mindfulness so popular? Anderson Cooper said our lives are constantly distracted, but rarely we are alone with our own thoughts. We need to learn new skills to cope with this world we are living in.
She then gave the agenda of what she would talk about today.
Mindfulness Relevancy to Work
Nature of MIND and Presence
Training the mind to Incease Focus
Neuroscience and Mindfulness
Multi-tasking
Mindfulness Relevancy to Work
She showed a slide of companies that brings this concept to the workplace. Why?
- External Reality: PAID Reality
Always on (phone, tablets, responding 24/7)
Information Overload
Distracted
2) Internal Process: organizations pay us for results and actions and choices effect that. Where are we paying attention? In this world, our attention is being fragmented.
THe PAID reality is taking its toll. A Dr. from Harvard (didn’t get the name) about how our minds are under siege. We have ADT (Attention Deficit Trait). This is part of our surroundings and environment.
She then showed us a quiz that said 46.9% of the time, our mind is wandering from what is happening.
Nature of the MInd
She asked us to think of something for 45 seconds, and timed us. She asked if we were able to concentrate. Most of us could not focus the entire 45 seconds.
She showed us a slide where our mind is always in the past or in the future, but rarely in the present. And what happens? We miss the present!
What does it mean to be present? It means to focus on one task. It means to tune in. One person said sometimes in the library it is hard to focus on specific questions.
What is the downside of not being present? She showed us a funny video. How many times do we drive by a familiar exit ? How we poured coffee in our cereal? It means we are somewhere else.
Presence vs. Wandering: When we are wandering, we aren’t happy. We increase our anxiety and have regret. We also increase negative thinking and our well being. If we can train our mind to be in the present, we are more focused, have better memory and more clear on what is going on.
Presence: Focusing on the task at hand. She asked us when it’s most difficult to be more present at work. I spoke with the woman next to me, and we had a nice conversation about being distracted at work. She told me that she leaves work at work, which I think a lot of people have a hard time with.
How do we become more present?
- Be here now
- Fully present with each inhalation
- Fully present with each outbreath
Mindfullness is the ability to know what is happening in your head at any given moment without taking the bait.
- Dan Harris, ABC Nightline
Training the Mind
Training the mind is a muscle. (if we want better biceps, we train them). We have to go to the “mental gym” once a day.
ABCD Method:
Anatomy: Put it in a place that calms down.
Breath: Breathe through and out the nose.
Count: Helps our brain stay focused.
Distractions: Being aware is the training!
We tried this exercise and then talked about the experiences. Moira said to minimize distractions we have to keep practicing.
Neuroscience and Mindfulness
Neuroplasticity: Neurons organizing and reorganizing themselves. ABCD trains our brains to refocus. It helps us “rewire” our brains.
Mindfulness Training can help reduce stress, as well as help us enhance our memory, improve our moods, as well as mental fitness.
Multitasking and Mental Effectiveness
She had us go through an exercise and it was mind-boggling. The research was astounding.
Multitasking drains our energy, kills priortizations, hampers creativity, reduces our well being.
Our brain is being rewired !
Two rules:
- Focus on what you choose. Make a deliberate choice on Tuesday from 4-5 pm to focus.
- Choose distractions mindfully. (your boss needs something done in the moment).
Practicing this is HUGE in getting our work done and managing our stress. Moira said she has these rules next to her laptop, and she sets a timer.
Mindfulness Challenge:
She said her hope is that we now have a sense of how we need to focus to manage our minds better. We need to do this on a regular basis. Start with one minute and try it for two weeks.
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