A lot of modern businesses have embraced the practice of mindfulness, and encouraged their employees to engage with it – the best example of this is Google, who have devised a mindfulness program so popular, it has a very long waitlist.
While mindfulness is a great practice to engage with, it can be hard to maintain, which is why many people choose to use a mindfulness app to help them. We spoke with one company, who provide outsourced IT support London businesses depend on, and they described why these apps are so useful. They often curate expertise from world-leading mindfulness practitioners, and have lots of great features to help you – such as push notifications to remind you to practice.
What is Mindfulness
Influenced from a few interrelated practices in the religion of Buddhism, mindfulness is the practice of focusing your attention to yourself and the present, with as much objectivity is possible. The idea is to eliminate judgement from your perception, and to learn to think and view the world in the moment.
Practicing mindfulness involves meditation and various other mental exercises to help you achieve the right mindset.
How Mindfulness Helps Work
- Focus – being able to focus your attention to the present and your own mind has lots of benefits for work. Many people struggle with getting distracted at work and letting their mind wander. But with mindfulness, you can learn techniques to notice when that it happening, and bring your mind back to your work.
- Communication – there has been research that indicates business leaders who practice mindfulness communicate with more humility – in other words, they are more open-minded, more trusting, and more transparent and honest. This are all highly valuable traits in business communication.
- Workplace Conflicts – one of the biggest barriers to productivity is when individuals disagree and can’t resolve it in a healthy way. Workplace conflicts often happen because people get too wrapped up in their own perspective. Practicing mindfulness is great for conflict resolution.
Best Mindfulness Apps
When we spoke to the IT support provider London based companies partner with, they discussed some of the different mindfulness apps they believe to be helpful for individuals looking to improve their work performance.
There are so many different tools and applications available to use – Microsoft and Google provide some great ways to improve mindfulness at work with their productivity apps and suite. If you have a Microsoft Partner that you are partnered with, they can provide your teams with expert support and guidance when using Microsoft tools. You will have your own Microsoft 365 consultant to give your teams and business the right help and support wherever you might need it when using Microsoft Solutions to improve mindfulness.
1. Aura
This app was built by meditation teachers and therapists with experience in mindfulness. It is great for individuals with busy schedules. It provides you with a new 3-minute micro-meditation each day, and also has features including a gratitude journal, mood tracking, and a library of nature sounds.
2. Breethe
The creators of this app describe it as an all-day, all-night companion that helps you manage anxiety, stress, sleep, and more. The app provides you with continually growing library of meditations, hypnotherapy, calming music and nature sounds to help you maintain a peaceful mindset throughout your day.
3. Calm
One of the most popular meditation apps for smartphone users, Calm also has a web-based app, so you can use it while you are working without having to balance using multiple devices. This premium app can help you reduce stress and anxiety, improve focus, and improve sleep quality (which will positively reflect your work).
4. Headspace
Marketed as a gym membership for the mind, this app is especially good for people wanting to build and maintain a steady meditation practice. The app is designed to be used for as little as 10 minutes a day, which a wide range of guided meditations and other narrated exercises.
5. Insight Timer
This free app features more than 4,000 guided meditations, curated from more than 1,000 meditation teachers. You can pick meditations according to different topics, such as self-compassion, stress, nature, and more. The app also features podcasts and talks that you can listen to. The app also has non-guided meditations.
