Master your mind, manage stress and boost your productivity! Mindfulness at Work For Dummies provides essential guidance for employees at all levels of an organization who are seeking more focus and clarity in their work. It explains how mindfulness can help employers wishing to implement mindful practices into the workplace, and provides leaders and mentors within an organization with the tools they need to become more effective leaders and coaches. The audio download contains guided mindfulness exercises and meditations suited to workplace scenarios, a core feature of mindfulness programmes. Mindfulness at Work For Dummies includes: An introduction to mindfulness, and how it can help improve working behaviour An explanation of how the brain retains new mindful working patterns… with a bit of practice! Useful tips on incorporating mindfulness into your working day How organisations can benefit from implementing mindful approaches to work Guidance for leaders on how mindfulness can help develop their leadership qualities

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1 About This Book 2 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 3 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 4 Part I: Getting Started with Mindfulness at Work 5 Chapter 1: Exploring Mindfulness in the Workplace 7 Becoming More Mindful at Work 7 Clarifying what mindfulness is 8 Taking a look at the background 8 Recognising what mindfulness isn’t 11 Finding Out Why Your Brain Needs Mindfulness 14 Evolving from lizard to spaceman 15 Discovering your brain’s hidden rules 16 Recognising that you are what you think 17 Exploring your brain at work 19 Starting Your Mindful Journey 23 Being mindful at work yourself 24 Overcoming common challenges 25 Creating a mindful workplace 26 Living the dream: Mindfulness at work 27 Chapter 2: Exploring the Benefits of Mindfulness in the Workplace 29 Discovering the Benefits for Employees 29 Increased mental resilience 29 Improved relationships 32 Honed mental clarity and focus 34 Mindful leadership 36 Looking at the Organisational Benefits of Mindfulness 38 Happier, more engaged employees 39 Greater creativity 41 Increased productivity 43 Improved decision making 45 Reducing staff turnover 47 Chapter 3: Applying Mindfulness in the Workplace 49 Gaining Perspective in the Modern-Day Workplace 49 Engaging with a VUCA world 50 Applying mindfulness in changing times 51 Employing mindfulness for new ways of working 53 Building resilience 54 Adjusting Your Mental Mindset 56 Focusing on the present moment 57 Treating thoughts as mental processes 58 Approaching rather than avoiding difficulties 60 Rewiring Your Brain 62 Getting to grips with the science of mindfulness 62 Resculpting your brain to make you more productive at work 63 Using mindfulness to increase your present-moment circuitry 64 Developing Mindfulness at Work 65 Examining intentions and attitudes 66 Remembering that practice makes perfect 69 Experimenting with mindfulness in the workplace lab 70 Acting ethically for the organisation and its people 71 Living life mindfully 72 Part II: Working with Mindfulness 75 Chapter 4: Practising Mindfulness Day to Day 77 Starting the Day Mindfully 78 Making time for mindfulness 79 Integrating mindfulness into your morning routine 81 Travelling Mindfully 82 Driving with intent 83 Thinking about trains, planes and mindfulness 84 Walking mindfully 87 Taking Mindful Pauses 88 Pausing at your desk 89 Enjoying water cooler moments 90 Waking up and smelling the coffee 90 Ending Your Day Mindfully 91 Managing energy and sleep 91 Following a mindful evening routine 92 Using mindful exercises 93 Appreciating the good 94 Chapter 5: Boosting your Mental Resilience 97 Recognising the Need for Resilience at Work 98 The modern day stress epidemic 98 Understanding fight or flight 99 Mindful Working to Enhance Resilience 100 Managing multiple, conflicting demands 100 Grouping tasks 104 Dealing with distractions 104 Mindfully managing your emotions 105 Trying the ‘Managing emotions mindfully’ exercise 107 Dealing with difficult people 108 Mindful Ways to Maintain Peak Performance 110 Maintaining peak performance 110 Using mindfulness to enhance productivity 112 Being in the moment 112 Being Kind to Yourself 113 Discovering the Neuroscience of Kindness and compassion 115 Rewiring your brain 116 Last, but by no means least 116 Chapter 6: Discovering Mindfulness At Work Training 117 Introducing MAWT 117 Getting ready 118 Identifying the outcomes you desire 118 Considering alternatives to self-study 119 MAWT Part 1: Core Training 119 Preparing for MAWT 120 Week 1: Understanding mindfulness at work 122 Week 2: Working with the body in mind 132 Chapter 7: Applying Mindfulness At Work Training 143 Continuing Your Mindfulness at Work Training (MAWT) 143 Week 3: Mindful communication at work 144 Week 4: Mindfully working with difficult people and strong emotions 151 Week 5: Mindful working in times of change 159 Post-Course Summary 166 Chapter 8: Practising Mindfulness in the Digital Age 169 Choosing When to Use Technology 169 Recognising the pros and cons of technology 170 Rebalancing your use of technology 170 Communicating Mindfully 174 Emailing mindfully 176 Phoning mindfully 178 Using a smart phone mindfully 179 Engaging with social media mindfully 181 Writing mindfully 181 Using Technology Mindfully 183 Focusing on one task 183 Discovering technology that enhances focus 184 Part III: Mindfulness for Organisations 187 Chapter 9: Improving Team Performance with Mindfulness 189 Identifying and Harnessing Team Dynamics 189 Understanding team dynamics 190 Managing team dynamics mindfully 192 Improving Team Performance 194 Recognising what’s important 194 Introducing Mindfulness to Your Team 197 Keeping your eye on the goal 198 Staying focused using mindfulness 199 Enhancing Internal and External Business Relationships 199 Becoming mindfully ready for anything 200 Being in the meeting 201 Boosting Team Morale 202 Improving morale with mindfulness 203 Focusing team effort with mindfulness 204 Improving team relationships with mindfulness 205 Chapter 10: Using Mindfulness to Assist Different Business Functions 207 Mindfulness for Human Resources 207 Managing downsizing and redundancies mindfully 208 Dealing with discipline and grievances mindfully 210 Increasing employee engagement 211 Applying some techniques 211 Mindfulness for Occupational Health 213 Improving staff well-being with mindfulness 214 Tackling stress with mindfulness 214 Reducing sickness absence with mindfulness 215 Mindfulness for Learning and Organisational Development 216 Improving learning with mindfulness 216 Introducing mindful practices into the workplace 219 Mindfulness for Service Delivery and Customer Service 219 Maintaining customer focus 220 Dealing with customer feedback mindfully 221 Communicating mindfully with customers 222 Mindfulness for Marketing and PR 222 Communicating powerfully 223 Keeping in tune with consumer and cultural trends 223 Improving responsiveness 224 Chapter 11: Integrating Mindfulness with Coaching 225 Discovering Mindful Coaching 225 Seeing mindfulness as a coaching toolbox 227 Applying mindfulness in coaching 229 Introducing Practical Ways to Integrate Mindfulness into Coaching 230 Increasing insight and clarity 231 Overcoming self-doubt 233 Coaching Team Members in Being Mindful 235 Integrating mindfulness into your team coaching 236 Overcoming barriers to mindfulness 237 Rolling Out Mindfulness through Coaching 238 Dealing with individuals 238 Working with teams 240 Involving the whole organisation 240 Chapter 12: Commissioning Mindfulness Training in the Workplace 243 Bringing Mindfulness Training to Work 243 Starting with the end in mind 243 Choosing from the menu of possibilities 244 Building in evaluation 246 Considering options for introductions and pilots 247 Taking care of the practicalities 248 Working in partnership and managing expectations 250 Identifying follow-up strategies 250 Making Sense of the Different Approaches to Teaching Workplace Mindfulness 251 Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) 251 Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) 252 Mindfulness At Work Training (MAWT) 254 Search Inside Yourself (SIY) 254 Hiring an Experienced Mindfulness Practitioner 255 Checking out credentials 255 Clarifying organisational experience 257 Judging compatibility 257 Agreeing on what’s possible 258 Hiring a Mindfulness Coach 258 Identifying the benefits of mindfulness coaching 258 Choosing the right coach 259 Mindfulness Pilot Checklist 259 Part IV: Leading with Mindfulness 261 Chapter 13: Thriving on the Challenges of Leadership 263 Thriving Rather Than Surviving 265 Three ways to lead and thrive 266 Being a More Mindful Leader 267 Authentic leadership 267 Resonant leadership 269 Mindful leadership 270 Practising Mindful Leadership 270 Creating a positive and inspiring workplace culture 274 Coping with Stress and Pressure by Building Resilience 275 Maintaining peak performance 276 Implementing mindful strategies for rejuvenation 276 Chapter 14: Leading without Boundaries 279 Creating the Space to Lead 279 Seeing the bigger picture 280 Making time to be yourself 282 Being good to yourself 284 Managing your time and energy 284 Enhancing Leadership Creativity 287 Thinking without boundaries 287 Tapping into your intuition 289 Managing Complexity with Simplicity 289 Recognising that the past is history and tomorrow is a mystery 290 Working mindfully with your brain 291 Maintaining clarity and focus 293 Chapter 15: Leading People, Change and Strategy 295 Leading Mindfully when Change is the Norm 295 Meeting modern-day challenges with mindful solutions 296 Developing new change strategies 296 Embedding change individually and organisationally 297 Creating Strategies that Allow the Organisation to Flourish 299 Identifying organisational culture 299 Creating a collective vision for the future 301 Developing strategies mindfully 303 Embedding new values and behaviours 305 Creating a More Mindful Organisation 307 Remembering that looking beyond the bottom line is good for the bottom line 307 The Return On Investment (ROI) of mindfulness 308 Mindfully improving employee engagement and retention 310 Part V: The Part of Tens 313 Chapter 16: Ten Ways to Be More Mindful at Work 315 Be Consciously Present 315 Use Short Mindful Exercises at Work 316 Be a Single-Tasker 316 Use Mindful Reminders 317 Slow Down To Speed Up 318 Make Stress Your Friend 319 Feel Gratitude 319 Cultivate Humility 320 Accept What You Can’t Change 321 Adopt a Growth Mindset 322 Chapter 17: Ten Ways to Improve Your Brain with Mindfulness 325 Increase the Strength of Your Brain 326 Alter the Structure of Your Brain 326 Improve Your Ability to Learn 327 Gain More Cognitive Control 327 Improve Your Health and Well-Being without Going to the Gym! 328 Live Life with Less Fear 329 Make Yourself Happier 330 Regulate Your Emotions More Effectively 331 Improve Your Life without Even Trying 331 Improve Your Attention Span 332 Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Mindfully Manage Work Pressures 333 Mindfully Coping with Inappropriate Work Demands 333 Mindfully Dealing with a Lack of Control over Your Work 334 Mindfully Managing a Lack of, or Inappropriate, Support 335 Mindfully Managing Difficult Working Relationships 336 Mindfully Gaining Clarity about Your Job Role 337 Mindfully Navigating the Bumpy Road of Frequent Organisational Change 337 Mindfully Dealing with Difficult One-to-One Meetings 338 Mindfully Coping with the Threat of Redundancy 339 Mindfully Coping with Redundancy Survivor Syndrome 339 Using Mindfulness to Reduce Stress 340 Chapter 19: Ten Ways to be Mindful in a Minute 341 Start Your Day with an Energising, Mindful Shower 341 Begin with a Mindful Moment 342 Enjoy a Mindful Coffee 343 Use your Phone to Become More Mindful 344 Eat Lunch Mindfully 344 Be Mindful of Sounds 345 Appreciate the Good 346 Notice the Interplay between Your Thoughts, Emotions and Physiology 347 Become More Body Aware 347 Move Mindfully 347 Chapter 20: About Ten Resources for Further Study 349 Whizzing through Websites 349 Mindfulnet.org 349 Mindful.org 350 ShamashAlidina.com 350 Benefitting from Books 350 MBSR 351 MBCT 351 Other books worth a read 351 Practising with Audios 352 Reading Up on the Research 352 Accessing Apps 353 Locating Training Providers 354 Mindfulness at Work Training 354 The Mindfulness Exchange 354 Mindfulness Works 354 Identifying Universities and Management Schools Utilising Mindfulness 355 Reflecting on Retreats 355 Training to be a Mindfulness Teacher 356 Part VI: The Appendixes 357 Appendix A: Answers to Learning Check Questions 359 Week 1 Learning Check 359 Week 2 Learning Check 360 Appendix B: Summary of Research 361 Index 365