ApacheCon North America 2014

Us geeks love our tools. We're constantly making new ones. Yet, as the title suggests, we seldom discuss the most important of them all: our minds. How does our mind play into our work? Do we find ourselves getting stressed by colleagues' excessive demands? Frustrated by people interrupting us? Annoyed by people messing with stuff they shouldn't, or dare our say it, some of our colleagues just being plain incompetent? This is all stuff that will likely play a part in how we experience our work, and how effective we are in it, just as much as the latest web framework or build tool.

Mindfulness offers some simple practices that can help us become a bit more aware of what is going on, and the part we have to play in it. This can give us greater choice in how we respond. Mindfulness has scientific backing. There has been extensive scientific research into the effects on the brain of these practices. The talk would include evidence demonstrating how these simple meditations affect the brain and how they positively influence the way your brain functions.