The need for balance between mindfulness and productivity has become more prominent during the pandemic as a result by the mandatory lockdown required for safety. Since then technology has allowed an opportunity for school and remote work to continue which has been a great thing for many students and professionals. With this benefit comes an unnoticeably increasing amount of time spent interacting with all types of devices such as mobile, laptop, tablet, TV, and gaming consoles. There are obvious advantages and disadvantages when it comes to technology consumption. It can save lives, serve as entertainment, connect people from around the world, and help reveal social injustice. It has also become an easy distraction. According to a study in 2017, “students engaged in at least one of five distracting activities occasionally or regularly with their mobile devices including emailing (64%), surfing the web (65%), using social media (52%), instant messaging (32%), and playing games (30%).” These types of technology interactions have shown to have mental and physical effects such as eye strain.

References:

Kay, Robin, Daniel Benzimra, and Jia Li. “Exploring Factors That Influence Technology-Based Distractions in Bring Your Own Device Classrooms.” 2017

Reese, Cassandra "Breath in Motion: Breath Awareness Design Research Study." Electronic Thesis or Dissertation. Kent State University, 2017

Popeska, Biljana et al. “Implementation of Brain Breaks® in the Classroom and Effects on Attitudes toward Physical Activity in a Macedonian School Setting. May 2018

Hill, Eva "This Week in Wellness: Mindfulness to improve focus and reduce stress levels.” 2018

According to the Breath Awareness Design Research Study, 80% of people experience shallow breathing or breath holding while sending emails while working or playing in front of a screen. Another term for this is “screen apnea” which is known to increase stress levels, diminished emotional well-being and attitude, as well as reduced productivity. The combination of mindfulness and productivity based browser extension initiates a healthy brain break avoiding any physical strain. Mindfulness brain break activities have shown support and validate success in learning experience, self-awareness, self-efficacy, and self-confidence development. Another study published in Biological Psychiatry in July 2016 provides evidence that mindfulness meditation can make positive changes in the brain, including higher levels of communication between the parts of the brain relating to stress, calmness and focus. This research ultimately explores the concept of a browser extension focused on mindfulness and productivity in the increasing technology immersion.