As a franchisee, there are plenty of tasks that require your attention and energy on a constant basis. Not to mention anything of the responsibility on one’s shoulders for yourself and others.
All this and more can be draining and daunting to deal with on a daily basis.
This is where mindfulness comes in to aid you in your busy daily schedule and enhance your routine and well-being.
Let’s explore in detail how incorporating mindful practices can increase your focus and productivity, and help you manage the chaos, so you stay grounded and calm even through difficult times.
What is Mindfulness?
Being mindful essentially means being aware: of your thoughts, feelings, and your surroundings. Mindfulness is a practice of bringing your attention fully to the present while also not judging yourself or your experiences.
It can be incorporated into many daily activities in order to enhance your day and provide focus and calmness.
How Mindfulness Enhances Focus & Productivity?
Introducing mindfulness to your daily routine can increase the likelihood of you hitting your goal, meeting your deadlines, and finding the right solutions when you need them the most.
For example, one of the biggest problems regarding getting things done is the distraction of the mind. Living a more mindful-focused lifestyle can solve that by returning you to the present moment and what needs to be done.
Practising mindfulness for productivity and planning and scheduling all duties and responsibilities can also significantly reduce the stuff you worry about. This leads not only to more efficient work days but also less anxiety and can even improve sleep.
By learning to be more present in the moment, we let go of lots of things that bother or distract us, which increases our ability to focus and solve problems.
Ultimately, mindfulness is a tool, a set of techniques, and it’s as effective as how well you use it.
However, before starting to make changes, it’s essential to first analyse what exactly is hampering your productivity and efficiency.
Maybe you do long hours, and you feel burned out? Maybe you can’t seem to focus on the most important tasks, or you’re trying to do too much on your own without having to rely on your employees’ aid.
You see, staying present with yourself gives you answers, and being mindful means listening to them. Once you know what’s the core issue, you can then take informed steps to better address it and resolve it.
This will surely ease your load and make you much more productive and efficient as a franchisee.
Create a Habit of Daily Meditation
Probably the most famous mindfulness habit, it is as ancient as it is effective. It is part of the routine of many successful people in all kinds of professions.
It’s particularly useful for demanding and high-stress environments, as it centres the mind and makes you calmer.
Yet, many people feel that meditating is not for them, either because they’ve never tried it or because they feel they can’t sit still with their thoughts.
The good news is that even if you’re sceptical, meditation can still work for you if you let it. You just gotta commit to doing it a week and see what happens.
If you are lucky enough to have a fantastic garden nearby where you can spend 15 minutes a day meditating, it’d be even better.
Sit in a comfortable position where you will not be interrupted, close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Acknowledge any incoming thoughts or feelings, and just let them go without judgment as you exhale.
Do this for at least 10 minutes while maintaining focus on your breathing.
That’s it!
You will open your eyes feeling refreshed, and your mind rejuvenated.
Have a Shutdown Ritual
One of the ways to significantly decrease stress is to have a clear-cut end between your workday and non-working hours. So, creating a shutdown ritual can be an excellent mindfulness practice to do just that.
You see, lots of garden franchise owners believe that finishing things up after working hours doesn’t take that much toll. The truth is, it does. The cognitive draining it takes to do that task adds up over time, leading to diminished productivity and even burnout.
That’s why it’s essential to set clear working and non-working hours and have a shutdown ritual to accompany the two phases of your day.
15-30 minutes before your working day ends, go over how the day went for you. Finish up any small tasks, answer your last email for the day, and plan for tomorrow.
At the end, have a ritual like tidying your desk (or desktop), and once done, say the magic words: shutdown complete, working day over, or some other thing you like.
The important thing is that once you do that, from then on, you’re forbidden to take work with you home. Thus, you can spend your non-working hours better either with family and friends and/or taking care of yourself and recharging.
Avoid Burnouts
In today’s culture of working hard and for long hours, it’s easy to feel pressure to do more just to stay a step ahead of the competition.
That’s all good, provided that you have a strong support system, but for the most part, it’s the number one reason why so many people experience burnout.
Lots of successful franchisers realise sooner or later that they need a strong self-care game if they are to support their hard-working style and achieve satisfying results.
This means achieving a better work-life balance and taking their downtime just as seriously as their working hours.
One of the best ways to avoid burnout is to have a recharging hobby.
Whether you start going to the gym, take up swimming, join a book club, or decide to create your own fantastic outdoor garden, it can all serve to revitalise you after a hard day’s work.
In the end, managing stress and having many recharging routines can do wonders to support your work life so you create sustainable and productive habits in the long term.
Conclusion
By now, you learned why mindfulness is an important part of having a more healthy work-life balance. It’s an invaluable practice that can add lots of support to your busy daily schedule, making you a more productive and less stressed franchisee.
Remember, it’s ultimately how well you use this tool. Make small changes first, and then reap the rewards that having more mindfulness in your life provides over time.
