You know all about why multitasking is bad and meditation is good. Here’s the cognitive case for why slower might be better.
Whatever mix of foreboding, cautious optimism, denial, and indifference with which you greet the prospect of your job being handed over to robots in the future, one thing remains broadly true in the present: Many of us are working longer and harder despite huge advances in technology.
It’s no surprise that . . . the “meditation and mindfulness industry raked in nearly $1 billion” last year. Virtually everyone wants to slow down.
But individual workers aren’t necessarily getting more productive; by and large, they’ve just being asked to do more and more — and there comes a point of diminishing returns, no matter what digital tools are available to help. The U.S. Department of Labor recently reported that productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, actually declined at a 3% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2015, the biggest drop since the first quarter of 2014. And then there are the costs to physical and mental health, with some studies putting those who work more than 55 hours a week at higher risk for a stroke, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and depression.
So it’s no surprise that, according to a Forbes report, the “meditation and mindfulness industry raked in nearly $1 billion” last year. Virtually everyone wants to slow down. Here’s why slowing your pace can actually help you work smarter — and even become more productive.
Read the full article @ faisalhoque.com.
Originally published at Fast Company.
[Photo: Flickr user Gastón Gaiduk]
Serial entrepreneur Faisal Hoque is the founder of Shadoka, which enables entrepreneurship, growth, and social impact. He is the author of Everything Connects: How to Transform and Lead in the Age of Creativity, Innovation, and Sustainability (McGraw-Hill) and other books. Use the Everything Connectsleadership app for free.
Copyright (C) 2016 by Faisal Hoque. All rights reserved.