OSP Pilots Mindfulness Sessions

Your Outlook calendar is booked (or double-booked) solid, deadlines
are looming, and new projects keep rolling in. 
You spend your workday bouncing from task to task, putting out fires and
struggling to keep up.  How do you maintain your energy, productivity and focus?

Many experts say that the answer to navigating our stressful
workdays more healthfully lies in mindfulness,
or being fully present in the moment in which we find ourselves.   

Since summer 2016, employees in the Office of Sponsored
Programs have been taking part in a six-month pilot program on
mindfulness.  Every Thursday, team
members can choose to participate in activities meant to provide calm and
focus.  These guided activities rotate by
week, and include yoga, meditation, mindfulness through art, and tea
ceremonies. 

Kristy Hall, Director of Contracts in OSP and a longtime believer
in the mind-body connection, says that she saw an opportunity for the practice of
mindfulness to make a difference in the high-intensity, deadline driven environment
of sponsored programs.   

“Mindfulness is accessible to everyone,” says Hall, “and it
has great relevance in the workplace.”

With the full support of Elizabeth Adams, Assistant Vice President
for Research Administration, and the help of Patrick Wood, Office Manager of
OSP, the program has been a success with OSP staff.

 “We have learned stress
management and emotional intelligence techniques that can be used in the
workplace to better manage the effect stress has on the body, mind, and work product,”
says Tonia Cable, Grants Administrator.

Taylor Hoelscher, an accountant in OSP, agrees that the
mindfulness sessions have helped productivity, reducing fatigue of the body and
mind:  “Mindfulness teaches that it is
okay to take a minute for yourself.”

As a part of the pilot program, Wood tracks employee
response after each session, and so far, the results have been very
positive.  Participants enjoy the renewal
of focus and energy that comes from mindfulness, as well as the opportunity to
explore better ways to cope with stress.

“The mindfulness programs show a leadership investment in
the OSP staff and their commitment to our well-being, which allows us to better
serve the University and the research mission,” says Cable.

For more information on mindfulness in the workplace, check
out http://www.mindful.org/at-work/
(or ask a member of OSP to share what they’ve learned!).

How do you refresh and re-focus at work?  Taking a walk, going out for a breath of
fresh air, reading an inspirational blog? Comment below -- You might just
inspire someone else to improve their focus!