Mindfulness Toolkit: Boost Focus and Build Resilience

17 June 14:00

Mindfulness Toolkit: Boost Focus and Build Resilience

Limited places · 2-hour live online session

 

The Mindfulness Toolkit is designed to support doctoral students and researchers in developing cognitive skills that underpin sustained academic work.
At advanced levels of study, research performance depends not only on disciplinary expertise, but also on the ability to regulate attention, manage cognitive load, and recover effectively from periods of intensive intellectual effort.

These capacities contribute to the consistency, quality, and sustainability of a researcher’s journey.
This evidence-based session provides structured, practical tools for working more effectively with attention and cognitive demand in research contexts.

 

Learning Outcomes

Participants will have the opportunity to:
•    Acquire practical strategies to support sustained attention during extended intellectual work
•    Improve clarity of thinking and decision-making in complex, high-focus research environments
•    Recognise and respond more effectively to cognitive overload, distraction, and mental fatigue
•    Re-establish focus following periods of intensive cognitive effort
•    Integrate brief, structured practices into daily research workflows to support consistency and attentional stability
All tools are designed to be practical, repeatable, and usable in as little as 10 minutes per day.
 

Why This Matters

Doctoral and academic work requires sustained demands on attention, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. While these skills are central to research productivity and quality, they are rarely developed directly within disciplinary training.
Evidence from cognitive neuroscience and mindfulness-based interventions indicates that attention regulation and cognitive recovery skills can be strengthened through brief daily practice. These skills are associated with improved metacognition, attentional stability, reduced cognitive fragmentation, and greater task persistence under complex conditions.

Format and Delivery
•    Live, interactive online session
•    Structured, skills-based training with guided exercises
•    Brief reflective elements to support application in research practice
•    Focus on practical integration into academic workflows
The session is taught by a teacher trained and qualified through the University of Oxford Mindfulness Foundation. 

Participation and Suitability

No prior experience is required. Participants agree to take sole responsibility for their own wellbeing during the session. 
Register your interest by clicking the link below and completing the form. You will then be contacted directly by the teacher, Christine Condello and asked to complete a short pre-session questionnaire to ensure suitability. The teacher may follow up if needed to discuss and will decide if the session is suitable for you at this time. All information provided is confidential between you and the teacher. 

This session is for participants experiencing typical academic pressures and everyday stress. It is not appropriate for individuals currently experiencing clinical depression and/or anxiety.

Early Registration is Recommended. 
If accepted, participants will be notified by the teacher prior to the session.

This workshop is designed for doctoral students and researchers who wish to support both their performance and wellbeing in a sustainable way. Sustained research performance depends on the ability to manage attention, regulate cognitive load, and recover effectively from intensive cognitive effort. 
This workshop provides practical, structured skills to support these capacities within advanced academic contexts. The evidence base shows mindfulness has protective effects on mental health at follow-up. 
 

TO BOOK

Bookings for TT 26 open on Thursday 23 April 2026

 

 

Please read our T&Cs at the foot of this page before applying for this course.
If you have specific circumstances which may affect your engagement with this event, or your meeting our Terms and Conditions, please continue with your booking and contact us by email to discuss how we can support you: researcherdevelopment@socsci.ox.ac.uk

 

 

Researcher Development Terms and Conditions

In booking any training workshops, you agree that: 

 

COMMITMENT: application is not an expression of interest; it is a firm commitment. You will be available for the full duration of the course session(s); if you are not, please do not make a booking. You will not accept any subsequent meeting invitations that may fall during the given workshop times. 

PRE-WORK / HOMEWORK: if applicable, you will complete any given pre-work and/or homework as described on the workshop web listing, as it constitutes part of the workshop  

CANCELLATION: should your circumstances change, and you are not able to attend the full session(s). you will cancel giving at least 72-hours' notice, so we can offer the place to someone on the waiting list. 

ARRIVAL: you will join, or arrive at, the workshop 5 minutes before the advertised start time, to ensure a prompt start. 

LATE POLICY: you understand that the online room will be locked / workshop door will be closed 10 minutes after the event start time and late-comers will not be admitted. This is to preserve the integrity of the course for those who are present.  

ENGAGEMENT: you will give the session your undivided attention and engagement. You will not be able to do other tasks in parallel. If online, you will ensure that your environment and internet connection allow you to participate verbally and with video cameras on. These are interactive workshops, and it is not appropriate to attend from a silent or shared workspace. 

ATTENDANCE RECORD: you understand the Register will be taken in the last half-hour of the course, and anyone not present in the room at that point will be marked as non -attending (see below) 

FEEDBACK: you will contribute feedback afterwards, to help us understand how well the session met its intended aims, and facilitate our continuous improvement 

CONSEQUENCES OF NON-ATTENDANCE: you understand that any non-attendance  
a) is visible to departments and supervisors/PIs, and  
b) may result in any future bookings you’ve made within the same term being cancelled, and the place(s) offered to the waiting list. 

 

If you have specific circumstances which may affect your engagement with this event, or your meeting our Terms and Conditions, please continue with your booking and contact us by email to discuss how we can support you: researcherdevelopment@socsci.ox.ac.uk