Productivity

Hi, and welcome to day one of the Headspace Productivity Pack. So, whereas with many of the themes, it can sometimes be hard to think how mindfulness can be applied to the theme. Obviously, meditation wasn't designed to help with productivity, but it's no surprise that it helps. So, really when we're talking about productivity in this sense, we're talking about efficiency. If you're more interested in sort of creative output, then you might like to check out the Creativity Pack. But in this context it's about how do we apply sustained attention with clear intention. So if we go into something half-hearted, there is no surprise if the result isn't quite as we'd like it to be. Equally, if we're unable to apply, sort of focus our attention to the task. Well, the mind can only be in one place at one time. And if it doesn't have our complete attention, then there's gonna be something missing, something lacking. And then of course it's possible to apply focus for just very short bursts of time. But really we wanna be productive in every area of our life, and over a sustained period of time. So we're also gonna learn how to apply sustained effort. So for this, we're gonna use a noting technique. I'll be giving you some practical tips, as well, over the next 10 days to help with your productivity. But all you need to do right now is to sit back and just take a moment to get comfortable. We're gonna begin in the usual way. So we're going to start with the eyes open. A nice soft focus, just aware of the space around you. And then, when you're ready, just taking some nice, big, deep breaths. Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And with that next out breath, just allowing the eyes to close, and just feeling the weight of the body pressed down against the seat or the floor beneath you. Feeling the weight of the feet or the legs against the floor. The hands and the arms just resting on the legs. And just taking a few moments just to settle into the space around you, perhaps noticing any sounds. And now, just shifting that attention back to the body. Noticing how the body feels right now. First, in a very general way. And then starting at the top of the head, just scanning down through the body. Evenly scanning down, not getting stuck in any one area. Just noticing which parts of the body feel comfortable, relaxed, and at ease. And then at the same time, noticing any areas of tension. And you may have already noticed as you scan down, that movement of breath in the body. It's that rising and falling sensation. So everybody feels it in a different place. It doesn't matter where you feel that movement, but just noticing where in the body you feel that most clearly. And as you continue to...