At BuddhaBeard, a zen-like approach to work involves cultivating mindfulness, simplicity, and a sense of presence in everything we do.
Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China. It emphasizes direct experience and intuitive understanding, seeking to awaken individuals to their true nature and the nature of reality. Zen practice involves meditation, mindfulness, and contemplation, with the goal of attaining enlightenment or a deep sense of inner peace and clarity.
Using those key principles as an approach for maintaining a virtuous mindset, we apply the following characteristics to our work:
- Mindfulness: Zen encourages being fully present in the present moment, fully engaging with whatever task you are involved in. Instead of being lost in thoughts about the past or future, bring your attention to the task at hand, focusing on the details, sensations, and the process itself. Coming from the tech world, we’re very familiar with adapting to new processes and fitting in amongst teams already in place.
- Non-attachment: Zen teaches the importance of non-attachment to outcomes and expectations. When working on tasks, we approach them without excessive attachment to expected results or a desire to conform to stand-alone viewpoints. Instead, we focus on the process and give our best effort, trusting the knowledge that comes from experience and acting with data over opinions. We are continuously learning.
- Simplicity: Simplifying tasks and surroundings. We remove unnecessary distractions and clutter that might hinder our focus and create a sense of chaos. Cultivating an environment that promotes calmness and clarity, allowing us to approach your tasks with a clear and uncluttered mind. We strive to make all of our correspondence, meetings, and work as simple and efficient as possible. In turn this allows for much better visibility from above or laterally, making executive review, leadership buy-in and team attention easier to achieve.
- Wholeheartedness: We dedicate our full attention and energy to each task, regardless of its size or perceived importance. Whether you are preparing a strategic campaign, writing an email, or engaging in a creative endeavor, we do it wholeheartedly, with complete presence and commitment. We take on a limited number of engagements at a time to allow us to put the individual focus on your company’s needs that it deserves. We go all-in on each project.
- Acceptance: Zen emphasizes acceptance of the present moment as it is, without judgment or resistance. Accept that certain tasks might not be particularly invigorating, yet acknowledge their importance and embrace them with a sense of equanimity. Embracing repetitive tasks such as rounds of revisions or code fine-tuning with acceptance can bring about a shift in perspective and transform them into meaningful experiences.
- Flow and rhythm: Find a sense of flow and rhythm in your work. Instead of rushing through tasks or multitasking, bring a sense of ease and continuity to your actions. Allow each task to naturally unfold, maintaining a steady pace and rhythm that promotes a focused and calm state of mind. Creative and process-oriented contributors know how it feels to be “in the zone” and so we try to interrupt that as little as possible. We’ll establish a cadence of reviews and check-ins that attempt to avoid these type of disruptions.
- Mindful transitions: Pay attention to the transitions between tasks. Take brief moments of pause and reflection before moving on to the next task. This allows us to bring closure to one task and shift our focus fully to the next, promoting a smooth and mindful transition. At the end of all sprints we send out a retrospective and ask for open feedback for the team and on behalf of the project itself. Reflection is growth and we willingly take the time to look back on how far we’ve come and where we have yet to go.
By incorporating these principles into your daily routine, you can cultivate a zen-like approach to working on your tasks. It can lead to a greater sense of presence, focus, and inner peace, allowing you to find fulfillment and meaning in the work we do everyday.
At BuddhaBeard we stand on the idea that everything in life requires balance. We can help to strike that balance within your company’s needs — preserving and lending our collective knowledge while keeping an open mind, adapting to tech constraints while offering optimized viewpoints along the way, and meeting or exceeding expectations without stretching teams too thin. We care about the foundation in which we operate to achieve success with all our customers. Let’s join forces and see what amazing things we can accomplish together.
