Meditation—science tells us—can
reduce stress,
control anxiety,
promote emotional health,
enhance self-awareness,
lengthen attention span,
reduce memory loss,
fight addiction,
improve sleep,
control pain,
decrease blood pressure,
improve listening, and
generate kindness.
All good.
Most of us imagine meditation as a very deep, quiet, private, eyes-closed, rejuvenating experience, maybe enhanced with calming music, candles, aroma therapy, and a special place where we can melt our distress in cosmic quiddity.
Yes, eyes-closed, private meditation can seriously help us to heal.
But then, at some point, we have to open our eyes, reenter the crucible of complex existence and deal with—others.
Wasn’t it Garcin, in Sartre’s play NO EXIT, who exclaims to Inez and Estelle, “HELL—IS OTHER PEOPLE”?
In zen practice, there is sitting Zen (zazen), eyes slightly open, but there is also walking Zen (kinin), eyes more open.
How about an additional EYES-WIDE-OPEN kind of meditation we can do every day, at work?
Our everyday writing at work, which is often considered an irritating part of what we must do every day, can be that kind of satisfying, healing meditation—I prefer the word MINDFULNESS. Here’s how….
My 200-page ebook (1/2 pictures), MINDFUL WRITING AT WORK (https://gumroad.com/l/mindfulwriting) $9.97, describes a radically reader-based approach to writing that helps us get out of our own heads and connect with others in most useful and helpful ways.
While many think of workplace writing as an anxious, anxiety-producing, but necessary part of doing business, it can actually be a terrific mindfulness practice, a kind of real-world, eyes-open meditation.
The mindfulness techniques for workplace writing detailed in my ebook include the following
1) Understand that workplace writing is, above all, about serving your reader, meeting your reader’s needs for useful information. It’s not about what you know, or COULD say on a particular subject. It’s a deep dive into what the reader needs. Remember, workplace writing is almost always ISSUE driven. That is, all writing focuses on an issue—the reason the writer is writing and the reason the reader is reading.
From the reader’s point of view, YOUR WRITING is 90% about the content. Don’t worry too much at first HOW you say what you have to say to the reader. Worry about WHAT you need to say. And what you need to say to a reader involves knowing the reader’s important questions (about the issue in question) and then answering them.
When you read your email, or anything work-related for that matter, you don’t first stop to admire the style. You figure out WHAT IT’S ABOUT as fast as you can. If it’s useful, you read it. If it’s not useful (useless), you delete and move on.
So remember that writing is 90% about generating useful content for your reader by answering their questions about the issue in question.
To accomplish this, you must deeply consider your reader’s needs. It is a very important aspect of mindfulness on the job. Essentially, every customer comes to a business asking one question: CAN YOU HELP ME? So every business must say YES and be a FULFILLMENT CENTER. Writing is about helping the reader.
2) Organize the information in your writing the way you’d organize a conversation with your reader about the issue in question. First you’d need to tell the reader what you’re talking about (if they don’t know) and why they should care (if they don’t know). Then you should preview for them the main questions you will answer (about the issue in question): “I need to tell you three things about building your retirement portfolio….).”
Also, realize that when we talk to each other, we answer questions with the answer first, then the supporting details. If I ask, “How was your weekend?” I wouldn’t expect you to say, “Weekends, in general, can be difficult…” I’d expect you to tell me briefly how your weekend actually was: “Okay,” “Great,” “An unmitigated disaster,” whatever. When we talk, we begin with the answer, then drill down if the other person is interested.
Our writing should imitate this important feature of conversations: ANSWER FIRST, THEN EXPLAIN as required.
3) Design your document, to the extend possible given the reading medium, to make the information easy for the reader to navigate. Give a brief summary up front if your document is long. Chunk related information into sections and use a sentence-style heading to tell the reader in that heading what that section is about—bottom-line.
Use bulleted lists to visually call out key points. Use graphics to make key points visible. Most of us are visual learners. Remember, you’re not just “writing.” You should be Designing A Reading Experience for your reader.
4) Keep paragraphs relatively short and begin them with their main point whenever possible. LONG paragraphs (beyond about 8-10 lines long) slow the reader down and drown them in all the information stuck in the middle, thus greatly de-emphasizing it.
Writers tend to think readers need lots of background information before they get to the main point. Readers prefer main points first. Keep background to what’s absolutely essential to understand the main points. Create a BACKGROUND section, if necessary, and be sure to label it as such. You can often squeeze in small bursts of background information in subordinate clauses before making more important points: “Even though the company wasn’t big enough in 2019 to meet all of its marketing targets, it did successfully launch two key initiatives.”
5) Usually draft sentences so they have a strong logical core. They should state the ACTOR (noun responsible for the action), the TRUE ACTION (what’s happening), and, if appropriate, the RECEIVER of the action. Note the difference in these two similar sentences:
Our lack of pertinent data prevented determination of committee action effectiveness in fund targeting to areas of greatest assistance need.
Because we lacked pertinent data, we could not determine whether the committee had targeted funds to areas that needed assistance the most.
While you’re at it, be on the lookout for NOMINALIZATIONS—verbs that have been turned into NOUNS: prevent = prevention; to record = a record; to assist = assistance, etc.
Using active verbs instead of burying the action in a noun (nominalization) allows readers to understand your sentences more easily. (The usage of active verbs instead of the burial of the action in a noun—nominalization—facilitates the allowance of easier reader understanding in regards to your sentences.)
Beware of sentences that run beyond about 30 words. Long sentences can be clear. But it’s often better for the reader when you break long ideas (sentences) into two or more short sentences. (Beware of sentences that run beyond about a 30-word limit because long sentences over about 30 words, although they can be written in such a way that they are clear, are often confusing to the reader, so that it’s often better for the reader when you break long ideas (sentences) into two or more short sentences.)
6) Use plain English. Don’t dumb down anything you have to say. Just use the same words you’d use at work in a conversation with that person. If there are necessary words the reader won’t know, define them and move on.
Workplace writing is SHOULD NOT be a STILTED, more formal version of English.
7) When you’ve observed steps 1 through 6, you can worry about surface correctness: correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. SO many of us have been taught that surface correctness is EVERYTHING. It’s important, but, as I said in step 1, for the reader, writing is 90% about the CONTENT. How that content is presented is the other 10%, which should be invisible for the reader.
Think of it this way, a cargo ship is 90% about the cargo/content being transported. It’s only 10% about the cargo ship that’s moving that content. Of course, if the ship sinks, ALL IS LOST. So that 10% is critically important. But, from the reader’s point of view, that ship should not be the focus of the writing.
So proofread very carefully. Understand that everybody makes little mistakes once in a while. “Finish” your writing so the reader is served in a professional manner with a surface that is correct. But always be mindful of the fact that your reader, more than anything, wants answers as quickly and clearly as you can provide them.
Let me know what you think about this idea of your everyday writing as eyes-wide-open mindfulness/meditation.
Email me at Harvey@QCGwrite.com.