Are you listening? How slowing down helps us tune in.

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Are you listening? How slowing down helps us tune in.

Just this summer, I was at my doctor’s office for my annual checkup. Our visit started, as it usually does, with a series of questions about my current state of health. I sat, legs dangling from the examination table, starring absentmindedly at the posters on the wall. My doctor also sat, her back to me, as she riddled off a series of rather personal doctor-like questions. As I responded to each question, she earnestly entered my responses onto a file in her computer. Only once or twice, during that first 15 minutes of the visit, did our eyes connect for a brief moment when she turned her head slightly to confirm what I had said.

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The True Cost of Distraction

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The True Cost of Distraction

This summer, I attended a music festival where I witnessed, first-hand, the powerful impact of that the game, Pokémon Go, has had on so many. It was late at night as I left the festival, and I found myself walking through what seemed like a Pokémon epicentre (my nephew tells me it was a PokeStop, a place where both supplies and Pokémon can be found).

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Rethinking what productivity looks like at work

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Rethinking what productivity looks like at work

North Americans might be working longer hours than those in other developed countries, but we are actually lagging behind when it comes to our productivity. Culturally, we tend to associate working long hours with being effective and committed; a mindset deeply imbedded in how we approach our day-to-day work. While many of us wear our tendency to overwork as a sort of badge of honour and importance (100% guilty over here!), the harsh truth is that more time working does not necessarily equal greater productivity.

In fact, studies show that the more we work, the less effective we are. When operating from a perspective of time scarcity, we can become convinced that we need to hurry through our days, checking our list off as we go. But, when immersed in the frenzy of meetings and deadlines, we are only able to offer a small fraction of ourselves to the actual task at hand. Our attention is fragmented and our ability to focus suffers. 

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The Power of Reflection

/ Julie Murray Coaching/
The Power of Reflection

Think you don’t have time to pause and reflect? Think again.

Taking the time to pause and reflect can have a powerful impact on both how we work and how we live. Reflection comes from the Latin word reflectere, which means to bend back or turn back, and it occurs when we become conscious of, analyze, evaluate and question our experiences, assumptions, beliefs, and emotions. In order to really ‘bend back’ and be reflective, we must be prepared to slow down and consciously think about our own experiences.

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