An estimated 55 million meetings take place each day within the United States alone – it’s often assumed the more we meet, the better our productivity. But according to research from the University of Nebraska, this isn’t the case. In fact, unnecessary meetings can actually lower productivity levels and employee engagement, as well as cause extra expense and effort.
Foot on the Gas Pedal
A Harvard Medical School study, ‘Understanding the Stress Response’, compares jumping from meeting to meeting to keeping your foot on the gas-pedal of a car. As we push on forward to full-speed, eventually the engine runs out of gas and stops functioning – just as our brain and body run out of energy too.
Of course, we can often thrive off this adrenaline in an attempt to feed the need for speed, but it’s not sustainable. It lessens decision-making ability as the mind becomes increasingly scattered.
Some simple switch ups to how we schedule and start meetings can make all the difference – cue the mindful meeting.
Mindful Meetings
A mindful meeting is designed to engage the parasympathetic nervous system and create moments of calm to balance the stress of the day. The result? More effective and efficient meetings that promote well-being, while also creating better business results.
Here are three ways to lead mindful meetings:
1: Start with a mindful minute
Instead of immediately jumping into discussion, ask everyone to take a mindful minute – invite them to close their eyes or lower their gaze and focus on their breathing. As you repeat the exercise in follow-ups, try switching things up with simple breathing techniques like counting the number of breaths and extending the length of your exhale or you can listen to guided meditations together on releasing tension or balancing stress.
2: Pause for self-reflection
During the meeting, set aside a moment to stop and think through the topic at hand. You could ask your team to create notes or an illustration and after a few minutes, invite them to share ideas. This is a great way for more introverted employees to take time to fully formulate their thoughts, and format them in a way that’s more comfortable to share.
3: Schedule 45-minute meetings
Consider cutting down your one-hour catch-ups to 45-minutes. This allows valuable time post-meeting for people to reflect and absorb key takeaways, rather than hopping straight into the next one.
According to the National Institute of Health, taking time between meetings minimises information overload, and is beneficial for memory and overall comprehension.
Better Wellbeing for your Team
Taking less than five minutes to put mindful meetings into practise helps promote deeper focus, better idea generation and more meaningful work results. Consider trying any of these three meditations for your mindful minute, and let us know how it goes.
- Mindful Minute: 3 Timely Breaths Brian Lowell French 03:00
- Mindful Minute: Releasing The Tension At Work Brian Lowell French 02:00
- Relieving Stress Sean Fargo 06:00
