How to Train Your Mind: Exploring the Productivity Benefits of Meditation

by Chris Bailey

Meditation makes you more productive because it lets you earn back time. For each minute you spend meditating, you'll earn around nine minutes back, as Chris Bailey - author of The Productivity Project and Hyperfocus - will show in this candid and counter-intuitive guide to the productivity benefits of meditation.

How to Train Your Mind digs deep into the practical, tactical benefits of a meditation practice - and how to integrate a meditation ritual into your own life. In addition to calming your mind and allowing you to slow down in an overanxious world, research shows that meditation can de-stimulate your mind so you can think more clearly, procrastinate less, and be more effective at everything you do - at work and at home.

Featuring guided meditations designed to fit your busy, unpredictable schedule, How to Train Your Mind is the ideal guide for anyone looking to improve productivity without sacrificing time. While much has been written about the spiritual and intangible benefits of meditation, as far as our productivity is concerned, meditation is in a league all its own.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Self Help, Psychology, Personal Development, Meditation, Productivity

Audiobook

Published January 14, 2021

About the author

Chris Bailey is a productivity expert, and the international bestselling author of The Productivity Project, which has been published in eleven languages. His much-anticipated second book, Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction, comes out in September. Chris writes about productivity at Alifeofproductivity.com, and speaks to organizations around the globe on how they can become more productive, without hating the process.

Reviews

[Book Clubbed · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent, basic primer to meditation through a productivity lens. If you are looking to explore the spiritual aspect of meditation, find another resource. How to Train Your Mind doesn't pretend to drape itself in the mystique of meditation, the study of consciousness, or explore the variety of practices that comprise meditation.

Instead, Chris Bailey makes claims like: for every 1 minute meditating, you can get 9 minutes of productivity back! How did he get this number? Spitballing, really, if we're being honest. The cynical part of me thinks this is how a corporate boss would approach meditating. Like, hey, if we let these losers meditate for 30 minutes in the morning and give them snacks in the afternoon, we can double our profits for Q4. We can maybe even offer them meditation classes instead of a healthcare plan.

At the same time, Chris is a reasonable and decent guy who just happened to stumble across meditating in his obsessive pursuit of productivity. There is no pretense otherwise. If he convinces a certain sect of people (perhaps even me) to meditate more after listening to this, then good on him. He doesn't have to be a monk. Like every millennial, I've meditated in fits and bursts, struggling to maintain a practice. Clearing your mind and becoming detached from negative thoughts can benefit everyone, even in a whitewashed version repackaged for personality-deprived software engineers.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Free read on Audible which definitely made it worth it. The first chapter was the best. Chris Bailey makes a strong argument that meditation actually saves time in your life due to the benefits of increased productivity. Good ideas I want to remember:

Meditation trains our minds to seek out fewer distractions in the future because we get accustomed to getting by with less dopamine coursing through the brain. "A mind that is less stimulated does not crave distraction nearly as much"

"Studies show that each time we tend to a distraction that derails our focus completely, we lose 25 minutes of productivity. On average, this is how much time it takes us to get back on track and resume working on the original task we got distracted from.

Simply be aware of your mind in meditation. Krishnamurti has said: “Awareness without judgment is not only the highest form of human intelligence but also an expression of love.”

Love your mind, both by ridding yourself of any expectations you have surrounding your practice and by not judging what does arise."

[Ana Lelis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book by chance and started reading it. I didn't know what it was about, but it was a glad surprise. After listening to it for a few minutes I decided to start meditating and I've been enjoying it ever since. Great book!

[Rope · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been said that the world might be a better place if everyone had some sort of meditation practice habit. If this is true, then I would highly recommend this short audiobook as perhaps the best practical introduction to developing such a habit. No mystic wisdom. No what is the sound of one hand clapping. Just how to do it and some very practical reasons why it is worth your time. In fact the author’s main thesis is that meditation actually saves time by making us more productive. Plus, hard to beat the price of ‘free’ if you have an Audible subscription.

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio feature by Chris Bailey on meditation for productivity purposes, narrated by the author himself. He has a nice soothing voice, and it was not too long (under four hours). I am not sure about the calculations he makes on how much time you can win in productivity by meditating, it seems very overblown!

This is a very basic introduction to meditation, leaving aside spiritual aspects. It seems very useful to busy people who just need some tools to calm them down and make some sense of the chaos in their head.

For me, there was quite a lot of repetition, since I read the author's other books recently. And I already have some sort of practice in place. But always good to get some tips.

Listenable via Spotify, uploaded by pirates. 🦜

[Phoenix Perpetuale · Rating 4 out of 5]

According to Chris Bailey, meditation is a key to a happier and longer life. Life is full of engagement and satisfaction. In his book How to Train Your Mind, he represents two minutes of asserting point meditation. Having listened to Chris calming and hypnotising voice made me try meditation.

[Matias Myllyrinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This piece would have made a great article. Sadly it quickly becomes repetitive, and by that I mean it repeats the same point over and over again. Repeating itself. Did I tell you this repetitive book repeated itself? Cause you know it kind of says the same thing over and over again by repeating itself ina a repetitive manner. Besides the repetition which is mind numbing to a point of trance it has a few good points about the benefits of mindfulness and meditation, but did I mention they are repeated?

[Niklas Heer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book links productivity and meditation together. The author explains the various benefits of mediation, but the audiobook also includes short 2-minute mediation sessions to get a feel for it.
For me, it helps me get back into my mediation habit.
I can recommend this book to every knowledge worker or person interested in meditation.

[Katherine Bond · Rating 5 out of 5]

What you need to understand is I'm a productivity fanatic. It's a survival thing for ADD. In unproductive periods, I watch many entertaining videos and become enraged about many sobering events, ending my days with a head full of buzz and a gnawing in my stomach.

In more productive periods, I work from prioritized lists and make a time plan on one side of my planner and a time use log on the other. (Yes, I did log "clean dresser" this morning.)
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But often my writing suffers from all the noise in my head.
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I'd like to say that this practice I've started is because I want to be spiritually enlightened. It's a thing I've meant to do regularly for years. But what got me to do it was this audiobook that told me I'd get nine minutes of focused time back for every minute I meditated.

So as of this week, I am a meditator. Friends, it is glorious! I had no idea how fascinating my breath can be. I'm being as simple as possible: no mantras, no special prayers--just returning to my breath. I set a stopwatch rather than a timer, and I come out when I feel like it. I'm up to 18 minutes. (30 minutes is said to be the point of diminishing return, so far as productivity is concerned.) The thoughts arrive, I feel a little tug of anxiety (sometimes) and I escort them out and return to my breath. It's like a vacation.
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This week, my book revision has felt nearly effortless. This may be a fluke, but I think there's something to it. It's still slower than I'd like, but it's not like a pile of rocks I have to lift.
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[Sphoorthi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this on Audible. I would recommend if you really want to understand how meditation affects your productivity and how can you use it as a tool.

If there is one thing I learned while listening- reading/listening to books is my productivity booster.

[Keely · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this quick and dirty Audible Original, clocking in at just slightly over three hours, productivity expert Chris Bailey makes a compelling case for establishing a meditation practice in order to become more productive. Along the way, he also goes through the nuts and bolts of how to start meditating and even leads a few short guided meditations to help you put what you're learning into practice. Bailey also shares strategies for making a new meditation habit stick.

I thought this was time well-spent. As business/self-help writers go, Bailey is refreshingly self-deprecating and humorous. Listening the him for three hours is no struggle at all. And I came away ready to give meditation a try. If Bailey is right, then I stand to gain a lot in terms of my capacity to focus and produce, especially as a knowledge worker in a highly creative job.

[Charity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and easy listen, but poignant on the statistics on studies on why studying the productivity habits of others isn't helpful, rather focusing on what systems you need to update and change for yourself is more practical and leads to increased change and productivity on a personal level. Highly recommend for those that focus on a lifestyle of learning and continual proactive lifestyle change.

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The part about overthinking gave me a lot to think about. Trying not to think about it too much though.

[Priya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great guide for anyone wanting to start meditation in their daily life. It shows how meditation boosts productivity, handles stress, and eases anxiety without preaching religion. Though it could use more variety, it's still a decent read. The book focuses on linking meditation to productivity and how it helps save time efficiently.

[Pallavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars
RTC

Happy Reading!

[Mihaela C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so impressed.

[Madeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

The entire book: meditate. It’s good for you.
Just do it two minutes a day.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meditation. How people perceive this is wildly different. Some think of buddhist monks. Some think of hippies. Some think of spiritual people in a contemplative mood. With the people I hang around, I bet most of them do not see meditation in a positive light. I really didn't see it in that great of a light before starting this book.

But I learned that meditation really is not religious (or it doesn't have to be) and it's not psychedelic or anything weird like that. It's really just practicing focusing.

In short, meditation is focusing on your breath. And when your mind wanders (which it will), to reign it back in.

The productivity benefits of meditation, according to the author, are amazing. But, like anything, too much and you enter the law of decreasing returns. Optimal meditation for productivity benefits, Bailey says, is 30 minutes.

I'm going to start trying to do a little meditation. I think it's really cool. I feel like I need to give it a good shot before I throw up my hands. Because this book wasn't super long, it was a good introduction for me.

[Kamael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the perfect length for what it is trying to achieve. If you're someone who struggles to find the spiritual connection in meditation, then this is a wonderful listen to explore the productivity connection. It's only available via audio.

[Gregg · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is nothing new in this book. I do not feel better/improved/satisfied for having read it, which is my three star baseline.

[Shashank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and simple read, that I picked at random as it was the most interesting of the free options Audible app showed me. Was a nice peaceful listen with some basic pointers on the benefits of meditation and cues on how to develop the meditating habit.

It talks of some things that sound simple but not very obvious to me at least, in terms of doing a meditation. It’s something I’ve been curious about and believed as very difficult to do; the book gives me confidence to try and make meditation a part of life. Hopefully the time saving explained in the book becomes real too.

Only downside for me is that the book could have been shorter as it didn’t also have that much content; so it’s a 3.5 more than a 4.0 for me.

[Biggest Little Book Talker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I would highly recommend listening to through audible and the author recommends it as well.
It is pointed out that our mind actually rewards distraction, the more we do the more hits of dopamine we get. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we are actually being more productive. Just like how multitasking doesn’t make you more productive even though we we perceive we are doing more
This book, although short, is a great introduction to the importance and practice of meditation.
I recommend giving it a listen while sitting in a chair in a place where you can focus on the teachings and practice the meditations.

[Joyce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is the pronunciation of productivity changing? He says productive correctly then when it comes to productivity it becomes product-ivity. Someone let me know if that’s right these days. Makes me a bit twitchy but I’ll get used to it if I have to…

Then there is this: Have you ever had someone say a word so many times it starts to sound like it isn’t really a word? I swear he said meditation so often I was convinced it was a made up word.

Quantifying the results you can get from meditating is a little bit off somehow. I do believe that it’s beneficial to meditate but the way he shares the information it’s almost like a check list of do-this-get-that. And the whole meditate this much and improve your ability to work by that much is almost anathema to meditation IMO.

[Amit · Rating 3 out of 5]

a more right brain, non spiritual benefits mini book about meditation including time returned back due to enhanced focus, right priority and more aspects of self development. Small intro meditations put in, give it a try via audible if you have never done meditation or want another angle, else pass

[Mrunal Tambe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is second book by Chris Bailey that I read after Hyperfocus. Author has very crisply illustrated benefits of meditation and it's impact on productivity. The book is a short and sweet meditation Guide for beginners to pro meditation crowd. This is one of the must read book.

[Priyanshi Mathur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant little book meant to make it easy to get started with mindfulness and meditation. Certainly worked for me as I found myself relaxing and breathing a little better while listening to it. The 2-minute meditation practices were a fantastic idea as one gets to experience the benefits with such little investment of time. Definitely recommended!

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this as a way to talk myself into trying the much hyped about "meditation." And I think I will. Short read, can recommend on the subject.

[Nima Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a lot of books on meditation and mindfulness for beginners, and by far this is the most helpful, easy-to-use, and practical book.

[Pascal Mensah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great beginner's guide to mindfulness.

[Molly Shaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read focusing on the benefits of meditation. I know I will begin meditating more now.