Leonard Ng

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How to Be Mindful When You Don’t Have Time

17.03.2017 by leonard ng // Leave a Comment

hawk
Image by Adrian Kirby.

Meditation is good, but you don’t practise it.

You’re too busy, or you have too many things to do, or you’re always in a hurry to get somewhere, or you’re too tired at the end of the day.

And even when you do sit down to try and empty your mind, you feel a massive sense of guilt about everything else you ought to be doing instead.

(Oddly enough, sitting still for 15 minutes feels like a giant waste of time, while 15 minutes spent on social media doesn’t…

…because one forces you to pay painful attention to the messed-up inside of your head, while the other lets you take refuge in comforting distraction.)

Whatever your reasons, it all boils down to one thing:

You don’t have time.

So here are three ways to remain mindful even when you’re on the go — quick check-ins that will bring you back to the present moment and allow you to centre yourself before your next activity.

[Read more…]

Categories // A meaningful life, Meditation, Peak performance, Productivity, The art of living well Tags // clarity, concentration, emotions, energy, focus, health, holistic living, listening, meaning, meditation, mindfulness, productivity, rest, rhythm, social media, vision, walking, work

What to Do Before You Burn Out

13.03.2017 by leonard ng // Leave a Comment

Image by typographyimages.
Image by typographyimages.

You know what it feels like. You dread going to work. You feel tired all the time. You get upset about little things like people not saying hello to you in the morning.

You’re far too busy and overloaded to get the job done right, so you’re just phoning it in. You find it hard to focus. You stare into space a lot.

You used to love your job and you worked very hard at it. Now it seems like work never ends. It’s all-consuming. You no longer have time for former friendships and hobbies.

You feel like you no longer care about anything anymore.

All you want to do is escape.

And you hate it.

Welcome to Burnout

What is burnout, anyway? Here’s my definition:

Burnout is what happens after a period when your energy expenditure has been consistently greater than your ability to recover, draining your reserves to the point where you have no energy left.

That is, you’ve been draining the tank for too long and now you’re running on empty.

[Read more…]

Categories // Peak performance, Productivity, The art of living well Tags // burnout, emotions, energy, growth, health, holistic living, love, meaning, meditation, productivity, rest, rhythm, sleep, social media, work

Five Ways to Find Meaning at Work

19.11.2016 by leonard ng // Leave a Comment

workman
Image by Leeroy.

“Choose a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

Bullshit.

Work is work, even when it’s work you love.

Effort is required. Dedication is required. Some sort of consistent time commitment is required. You need to be willing to deal with hard things.

Any less and I wouldn’t hire you.

[Read more…]

Categories // A meaningful life, The art of living well Tags // following your heart, fulfillment, love, meaning, work

Leonard Ng

Leonard Ng is fascinated with the practice of both the active and contemplative modes of life.

He is the founder of the copywriting agency Text/ure Collective, and is the author of two collections of poetry: This Mortal World and Changes and Chances.

Find out more about Leonard, or get in touch.

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Recent Posts

  • Horror: The Ultimate Procrastination Inducer
  • Why You Fall Sick the Minute Your Vacation Begins
  • How to Be Mindful When You Don’t Have Time
  • What to Do Before You Burn Out
  • The Levers of Optimism: How to Become More Optimistic

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© 2016 Leonard Ng.