As mused above, I was shocked and inspired to look further into meditation when told that adding meditation — though it takes time to practice — would allow me to save time in work. How could that be? I can tell you now from years of experience that it is true and the magical time exchange is due to a few factors.
When we continue to pile things into our day and life without a practice like meditation (or from the musing, journaling is also a form of self-reflection that can take time to buy you time) our mind can be overwhelmed. Many studies have definitively proven that the idea of “multi-tasking” and the productivity associated with this so-called art is less desirable than we originally thought. What happens is that we spread ourselves too thin and give less poignant attention to each task along the way.
As we meditate regularly, the overwhelming advantage is that we essentially become more clear-minded and decisive because we spend time sorting through the miscellaneous parts and pieces of our lives while in meditation. This clears up the important real state of our minds so that when we are focused on work or a project, we are less distracted by the noise of the day.
With prolonged meditation practice, not only do you become more centered on the important matters in your life, but you increase your awareness of the way you work, think, and relate to the world. The more poised you are as a person translates to more efficiency all around. For example, I can work through anything that challenges my life while in meditation, and sort through the various emotions, pathways forward, and various aspects of the situation.
