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Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak Performance

Learn mindfulness techniques to reduce stress and improve your wellbeing and work/study performance in this online course.

393,915 enrolled on this course

Image of Zen garden with swirling sand patterns around rocks.  This image represents a free online course on Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak Performance.
  • Duration

    4 weeks
  • Weekly study

    3 hours

Learn mindfulness techniques to reduce stress and improve performance

Stressed by the pace of modern life? Mindfulness might be the answer. Research shows that when you’re not deliberately paying attention to something, your brain goes into default mode causing increased anxiety and poor communication. Mindfulness can help end this unproductive behaviour. In this online course, you’ll learn how to incorporate mindfulness practices into your life, to reduce stress and improve your personal and professional life.

This course has been recognised as one of the highest rated online courses of all time by leading course aggregator Class Central

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Syllabus

  • Week 1

    Introducing mindfulness

    • Getting started

      This week, get started with mindfulness. Learn more about what it means to be mindful and unmindful, why mindfulness matters to your personal and professional life, and what you’re going to do in this course.

    • Mindfulness meditation

      Start the course with a very brief mindfulness meditation, the Comma.

    • The problem of 'unmindfulness'

      Learn more about the costs associated with being unmindful.

    • Review and preview

      You've reached the end of Week 1 – it's now time to reflect on what you have learned so far.

  • Week 2

    Mindfulness and mindful stress reduction

    • Introduction

      Learn about the stress response and its implications for wellbeing and performance.

    • Cultivating gentleness

      Explore a central quality of mindfulness - gentleness.

    • The power of curiosity

      Rediscover the innate human quality of curiosity and notice the benefits this has for your wellbeing and cognitive performance.

    • Mindfulness in daily life

      Discover where you can bring mindfulness into your daily activities.

    • Review and preview

      You've reached the end of Week 2 – it's now time to reflect on what you have learned so far.

  • Week 3

    Improving work and study performance

    • Introduction

      Learn more about mindfulness and why attention matters so much for performance and learning.

    • The cognitive practices of mindfulness

      Explore how mindfulness meditation can help us to cultivate the cognitive skills to manage stress, learn and perform better.

    • The power of unitasking

      Learn more about multitasking, unitasking and efficient attention switching, and more.

    • Mindfulness for productivity

      Learn how you can apply mindfulness to be more productive in your life.

    • Review and preview

      You've reached the end of Week 3 – it's now time to reflect on what you have learned so far.

  • Week 4

    Mindfulness as a way of life

    • Introduction

      Learn about the benefits of self-compassion for wellbeing and performance.

    • Mindfulness and emotions

      Learn how mindfulness can help you to better understand and manage your emotions.

    • Mindful eating

      Learn how you can apply mindfulness to the way you engage with the food you eat.

    • Mindfulness for creativity

      Learn how you can apply mindfulness to boost your creativity, and then practise a meditation.

    • Explore, develop and maintain mindfulness practices

      Learn more about how you can explore, develop and maintain mindfulness practices in your life by exploring resources and other learning opportunities that are available outside the course.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Identify the causes of stress in your life
  • Experiment with a range of mindfulness techniques
  • Develop a range of mindfulness techniques that are effective in your life
  • Evaluate the impact of a variety of mindfulness techniques
  • Reflect on your experiences in a personal mindfulness journal
  • Model a more mindful approach to work, study and life

Who is the course for?

This course is for anyone, because everyone can benefit from mindfulness. No previous experience of mindfulness is required. We will explain how mindfulness works, but above all this is a practical course. We will ask you to explore different mindfulness techniques and reflect on your experience.

This course is not designed to be therapeutic for significant health problems so if you have any concerns in this regard then it is recommended that you speak to a suitably qualified health practitioner.

What do people say about this course?

"If you want a way to be more present, centred and grateful in your life...do it. If you want scientific/medical validation for something that sounds esoteric...do it. If you want the guidance, encouragement and support of great facilitators, active mentors and a lively Forum of fellow participants...do it."

"Thanks to Futurelearn I now have a much more positive outlook on life now. I can warmly recommend the Mindfulness course to anyone who is suffering work-related stress. Sharing experiences with fellow learners is therapy itself."

Who will you learn with?

Associate Professor Craig Hassed is coordinator of mindfulness programs at Monash. He teaches mindfulness nationally and internationally in health, educational, community and corporate settings.

Richard is a clinical psychologist and internationally-recognised expert in mindfulness. Widely published in the field, he works with many educational, business, sporting and community organisations.

Who developed the course?

Monash University

Monash University is one of Australia’s leading universities, ranked in the world’s top 1% by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. It was established in Melbourne in 1958.

  • Established

    1958
  • Location

    Melbourne, Australia
  • World ranking

    Top 60Source: QS World University Rankings 2021

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

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Get a taste of this course

Find out what this course is like by previewing some of the course steps before you join:

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