Text, email and social media is never more than a few swipes away. And, then there is the constant flood of notifications to ensure we never forget this fact. However, being more plugged-in than ever has made us more disconnected than ever. This slip from mindfulness is especially prevalent in our ability to retain new information. Consequently, employers need to start focusing on training mindfulness to ensure tangible business impact and return on investment (ROI).
1. Stop Before Starting Training Mindfulness
We naturally tend to want to shift from task to task as quickly as possible, because it feels more productive. However, these instantaneous shifts prevent us from fully engaging in the moment, and we end up never being fully in gear to operate to the best of our abilities. Ask employees to take a minute or two to enter a state of mindfulness before starting training. In order to do this, employees should:
- Save and close any open projects, documents, applications and browsers.
- Sit back with hands at rest wherever is comfortable
- Close eyes
- Take three full breaths – inhale to the count of three, pause, and then exhale to the count of three
- Return to normal breathing
- Bring awareness to bodily presence, functions and feelings
- Open eyes
After learners have opened their eyes, they should ask themselves some basic questions to touch bases with their mental and bodily state to address things that could enhance or block the learning process. Ask learners to explore how they’re feeling – emotionally and physically. This type of focused mindfulness forces learners to physically stop so that their minds can disengage and refocus on the present moment.
2. Reduce Distractions
In order for employees to remain in a state of mindfulness to absorb training, they need to learn how to avoid distractions. Distractions fragment focus and cause interruptions that can permanently derail the learning process. Here are some tips and tricks for employees to start amping up their focus and turning down distractions
3. Increase Training Mindfulness with Emotional Intelligence
Mindfulness requires a certain amount of self-awareness. It’s impossible to address emotions and mental barriers that are blocking learners from engaging and retaining training materials if they can’t identify them. Consequently, it’s critical to raise the emotional intelligence, or EQ, of your organization. Not only does EQ help employees identify and manage their own emotions but those around them to help your organization run smoother and more efficiently overall throughout training and beyond. Here are some practical methods to begin raising your organizational EQ efficiently and effectively to ensure that your learners have the skills necessary to approach training in a state of mindfulness for optimal retention.
4. Expand Training Mindfulness with Microlearning
The longer the training session, the harder it is to maintain mindfulness and focus. Consequently, online training providers like KnowledgeCity are shifting to a microlearning format where learners can get information in small chunks that fit easily into their schedules and attention-spans. Instead of having employees sit through hours-, or even days-, long training sessions, parcel it out into a series of smaller sessions that include interactive elements to keep attention at an optimal level at all times.
