We live in a world where you are always “busy.” Your to-do list is growing day-by-day and you wonder when it will stop. This blog post might be one of the many tabs you have opened up in your internet browser. In your head, you might be juggling all the tasks that you need to do and in what order to do them.
All of these events make it seem impossible for you to fit in some time to do nothing or meditate. It may seem counter-productive to do nothing when you have so much going on. However, doing nothing has its benefits, such as helping you feel energized and refresh, which helps you get more stuff done as a result. My goal in this post is to go over how “the art of doing nothing” (meditation) has helped me grow as a software developer.
Mental Health
Your mental health is one of the most important components for you as a software developer. You rely on your brain for the majority of your work. When I began meditating, a week or so later, I noticed my mental health was better than before.
Improves Concentration
I do not have much difficulty concentrating in an open office space environment before I began meditating, but I needed to have my headphones on at all times. Now, I am able to stay focused in an open office space without wearing headphones if the noise level is moderate. This is definitely an improvement because I know I was not able to do this before I began meditating. In addition, I find myself having an easier time entering a state of “flow” to do deep work.
Improves Memory Retention and Recall
As a software developer, I am constantly dealing with new technologies and frameworks. As you can imagine this means, I need to learn fast and retain all the new information. Meditation has definitely helped me learn at a faster rate. Combine meditation with the understanding of learning styles and you have a powerful combination.
Better Information Processing
It is easy to get lost in a conversation sometimes when it is happening between multiple people or parties at the same time. With the help of meditation, I am able to keep up with conversations more often. More importantly, I noticed, in general, I am able to process information faster.
Better Problem Solving
Shortly after I began meditating, my problem-solving capabilities improved. I do not mean with only software development related problems, but with other problems in life as well. In addition, I was more creative than I was before, which help me solve some difficult problems.
Emotional Well-Being
Aside from seeing a huge improvement with my mental health, meditation has also benefited me in regulating my emotional well-being. I was able to reduce my stress level and improve my mood as well.
Reduces Stress
By meditating for a short period each day in the morning, I am seeing positive results with my stress. Meditation reduces the grey-matter density in the areas of your brain related to anxiety and stress.
Improves Mood and Emotional Intelligence
After I began meditating, I noticed my mood was better throughout the day. Not only was my mood better, I was able to identify and manage my own emotions better. In addition, I noticed that I was better at identifying and understanding how others feel.
Health
Since I began meditating, I see positive results with my physical health as well. The most noticeable improvement is my energy level.
Increases Energy Level
I pay close attention to my energy level throughout the day ever since I began my professional career as a software developer (two years ago as of this post). What I have observed is that my energy level was low in comparison to my energy level after I make changes for my health. I began to exercise daily for a short period (10 to 20 minutes) and noticed a tremendous increase in my energy level. Then when I began meditating, I noticed my energy level was even higher. By the end of the day, I was still feeling energetic enough to enjoy my free time.
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Do you have a similar experience with meditation? Did this post make you consider trying meditation? Let me know by leaving a comment or send an email to steven@brightdevelopers.com.
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