With the rise of the Internet and the growth of mobile devices, how and where we work has shifted. We no longer need to go to work--work comes to us.
In 1971, Ray Tomlinson, who I went to high school with and became a computer engineer in Massachusetts, knocked on @ at his top row of keys, transmitting "QWERTYUIOP" from his computer to another computer sitting in the same room. And just like that, email was born. Since then, email has spread quickly. Recent studies show the average person sends and receives around 100 emails a day. At his 50th Class of 1959 high school reunion, I told Ray that I forgave him from filling up my email box every day.
Sending a message is not the same as communicating a message. For effective communication to occur, the receiver must understand what the sender intended--not just hear or read the words.
The way many organizations conduct meetings leaves much to be desired. In fact, more often than not, people find meetings to be a waste of time. A few different studies have shown that managers and executives feel somewhere between 25% and 50% of time spent in meetings to be wasted.
Effective communication can be difficult, but it doesn't have to be. With a calm, clear mind and good intentions by both parties in the communication, it can be relatively easy to ensure even difficult messages are sent, received, and understood.
The foundation of mindful communication is, as in many other aspects of life, being fully present in your interactions with other people. Only when we're fully present do we get the most out of our time together.
Most of us carry around the powerful illusion that we can pay attention to more than one thing at a time. We think we can drive a car while talking on the phone, participate in a meeting while checking emails, or engage in a conversation while writing a text message. But from a neurological perspective, we're not capable of focusing attention on two things at the same time.
The most important meetings in life don't take place in boardrooms or conference rooms. In fact, they're not work related at all. Life's most important "meetings" are the ones you share with your partner, your children, other family members, and your friends. These are the moments in which your full attention and presence are even more important and most precious. When you look back on your life, will you ever think about the meetings you had at work? Not likely.
Source: Rasmus Hougaard: One Second Ahead: Enhance Your Performance at Work with Mindfulness
Here are a few other mindfulness self-coaching books especially for career women:
When Doing It All Won't Do: A self-coaching guide for career women. (ebook edition $0.99, Workbook Edition in paperback $13.41)
Women, Know Thyself: The most important knowledge is self-knowledge. (ebook and paperback editions)
Women and Time (ebook and paperback editions)