When we think of mindfulness, we’re quick to avoid equating it with our offices. We’re a generation that is built on and thrives off technological advances and social media interaction. We’re constantly looking for new ways to make ourselves more efficient, and in the past we’ve placed that responsibility on technological developments. If our inbox is cluttered, we download an extension to sort through and prioritize our emails. If our calendar is so booked that finding open time slots is a hassle, we send people a link to look through our calendar and book themselves a time that we have open.
But recently we’ve seen a new wave of mindfulness in the workplace, and it’s a type of mindfulness we fully support at Something Social. Instead of finding new ways to enhance your experience online, we do our best to unplug and appreciate the productivity that comes from being offline. Between all the different ways to stay connected, it’s so easy to lose sight of focus, goals, and productivity.
However, we also know it’s easier said than done. Since we know how taking a step back from being online helps us as a team, we want to share our tips with you.
Weekly Team Meetings
These are the foundation of our core values at Something Social. We meet weekly to discuss major team goals, updates on clients, new initiatives, and more. While it may seem really easy to do all of this while also being on your laptop and phone, we make sure we don’t waste this time by fully focusing on the conversation. We leave our laptops and phones at our desks. Oftentimes, we’ll also take a few moments to discuss personal goals as well as professional, which helps us tie our work to our personal growth.
Ironically, one of the things that most helps us stay mindful is a piece of technology – the Bamboo Folio. The Folio lets us write meeting notes and ideas with a pen on any paper and then save the work as a digital file with the touch of a button. Once it’s digitized, you can access the notes from anywhere, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting your favorite notebook at home! You can also convert your handwritten notes to text from your phone with the Inkspace app (no retyping needed!) and of course, you can update your saved notes at any time.
Goal Development
As mentioned above, we like to take time to discuss our goals as a team. We’re big believers in supporting personal development, because we know that employees are not just robots programmed to churn out work. We’re the best versions of ourselves when we’re supported by our surroundings.
Team Outings
While it’s great to unplug during meetings and team discussions in the office, we also place a high value on team bonding activities outside of the office. When you know you can rely on your team outside of the office, it’s easier to know you can rely on them inside of the office as well. It’s also a great chance for you to put the phones away and learn about different ways to connect without a screen involved. You’ll be triggering a new side of creativity your brain may have turned off in front of the computer.
For more information on Mindful Meetings and how to have them, visit Bamboo’s website. You can also learn more about the Bamboo Folio here.
Written by our Founder + Creative Director, Calli Cholodenko.
We want to hear about how you get mindful in and out of the office. Tweet us @somethingsocial or tag us on Instagram- @somethingsocial and use #MindfulMeetings.
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