Using mindfulness to manage stress
As marketers you have a lot on your plate. Professionally you are expected to stay up to date with new tech advances and in touch with customers, be innovative and forward thinking to drive the business forward, all with an eye to your own marketing career progression.
You juggle busy and complicated lives. Trying to manage all day to day needs of your role; never ending inboxes, daily meetings, team staff needs - essentially fighting the daily fires whilst doing your utmost to plan and strategise and handle all personal and family commitments at the same time.
And for the last year, all during a pandemic!
It is no wonder our stress levels have soared recently, so I believe this year’s Stress Awareness month is even more important to highlight than normal.
With so much to think about, it is easy to stop noticing the world around us, to lose perspective and be caught up in our own thoughts without stopping to notice how those thoughts are driving our emotions and behaviour (1).
In doing so, we lose our ability to function at our optimum performance and our effectiveness is diminished meaning that all areas of our lives, including our own wellbeing suffers. In other words, we lose touch with our own mindfulness.
MINDFULNESS IN MARKETING
Mindfulness is no longer seen as a “new age” or “trendy” with thousands of studies showing the positive impacts on the effects of stress and as a treatment for depression, and I for one am a firm believer.
Mindfulness consists of reminding yourself to take notice of your thoughts, feelings, body sensations and the world around you. It sounds simple but can actually be very difficult to achieve when your mind is already crowded. However, if you manage it regularly, the benefits for all of us, not just marketers are numerous.
For Marketers specifically, allowing your mind to calm allows you to navigate the daily noise and foster creativity, develop stronger decision-making skills, deeper insights into your target audience, and heighten your productivity.
It is not surprising therefore, that it is being seen as a competitive advantage by a number of large global companies such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Apple along with UK businesses such as Capital One, BT and the UK Parliament.
Amongst smaller companies, mindfulness is not widespread. In this case, a little research can tap you into some fantastic resources, particularly from the Stress Management Society. One of my favourites is a recent podcast from the Anxious Achiever tackling anxiety during the pandemic.
(1) Source NHS
KAREN LLOYD 7 APRIL 2021
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