Should I Meditate For Better Productivity?

Meditation improves productivity more efficiently than any other practice. Any different personal development strategy entirely unmatches the time and energy that meditation requires compared to the benefits one experiences.

Why Do People Meditate?

There are a variety of reasons people are motivated to meditate, spanning from the extremely practical and grounded immediate life benefits, to the more esoteric evolution of the sense of self. Even though we are collectively waking up to the ideas of a more balanced life and the importance of more self-love, there still exists a notion that meditation is somehow only associated with spiritual "seekers" or that it is some problematic process to attain. This could not be further from the truth. Meditation is incredibly practical, and someone needs absolutely no particular spiritual dogma to experience the benefits. Other benefits, like increased productivity, are perhaps the most drastic.

The Simple Answer Is Yes

To answer the question posed as the title of this post, yes, if your goal is to increase your productivity, meditation is the place to start. It can be a foundational part of the productivity-increasing experience. One of the fantastic misconceptions around meditation is that we meditate to accomplish something. In the case of someone who desires to increase their productivity and is choosing to meditate to do that, there exists a paradox that must be resolved through release. As we go into meditation, we are attempting to deeply experience the core of who we are. This is NOT done, however, is thinking about being more productive. The process can simply be that we set our intention BEFORE for the meditation, but do not bring that intention into our thoughts DURING the meditation. We let it go and trust the process and fall backward into our intuition. There are innumerable studies showing the effects of a particular type of meditation—focused visualizations—on increased productivity outcomes. The analytical brain cannot escape this truth.

Intention Of Productivity

Once we begin to surrender to the calming sense of self, we can remain here as long as our mind desires it. Think about productivity as how efficiently you can translate your thoughts into real things in your reality. Let that be the accurate measurement of productivity. If this is the case, we can use our intuition to see how important it is to keep our minds clean and bright. Meditation does this, specifically during the portion of meditation where we are "trying" to meditate as silence is desired in breathing into a meditation, thoughts flood into that void. Allowing those to be seen, heard, felt, and released frequently IS the process of clearing out the mind so that you can focus on what you want to do.

What Else Does Meditation Do?

Meditation also builds confidence. Confidence in your INTERNAL abilities to master the mind will be reflected in you as confidence in your EXTERNAL abilities to execute at a higher level. Perceiving yourself as progressing—as clearing—CANNOT HELP but be reflected in your physical self. You will feel more accomplished, more precise, healthy, and focused, even if you do not yet know what to focus upon. Your productivity will be increased in some way because as you clear out thoughts and beliefs that you are holding in your mind subconsciously, you are strengthening your relationship with your total self. The aspects of yourself—what we sometimes call the subconscious—are more empowered to act on your conscious behalf and, therefore, bring to your situations where the effort required for a particular outcome will be reduced.

Now What?

Integrating meditation into your personal and professional development strategy is very much about balancing soft-heartedness and discipline. There are easily perceived as opposing forces but are counterparts in the journey. You cannot be fully accepting and loving and kind to yourself without restraint. Discipline and commitment in your life make it EASIER to get things done and makes your efforts more effective. This discipline will become a rigid inner dictatorship without the balance of being soft within your heart's experience. There is nothing that your creativity repels more than being forced to do something that it does not want to do, something that feels like an infringement upon its free will.