Why is it that some people never realize how valuable time is until it’s gone.
To quote Alan Lakein, from his book “How To Get Control Of Your Time And Your Life”, the first paragraph reads as follows:
“Time is LIFE. It is irreversible and irreplaceable. To waste your time is to waste your life, but to master your time is to master your life and make the most of it.”
Some may even argue that time is the most valuable resource we possess. Each of us is given 24 hours in a day to use as we see fit.
So why is it that Super Achievers get so much more done?
What have they learned about effectively managing time that we don’t know.
Could it be that they are using techniques that we can implement to get the very best use of ever minute of our day?
After working closely with many Super Achievers, there seems to be a common thread that each of them have that points directly to this answer.
This article will not only highlight those common traits, but will also show you how to implement those skill in your life to keep you on the road to Super Achievement.
Everything they do, you can do.
Outstanding Super Achievers are just as human as you, but to become their very best, they have learned how to incorporate sound time management techniques that get results.
And just like any worthwhile undertaking, being the best starts with a mindset.
Part I. Acquiring The Super Achiever Mindset on High Performance
To be a champion, you must think like a champion. To be a Super Achiver starts with you mindset. To achieve the highest level of performance in your field, you must develop the mindset of a high performer.
“High performance starts with a mind-set that translates into things that you do. Once you’ve got the mind-set, you will have the behaviors, and then it will turn into action. Everyone can become a high performer,” Rulkens says
To begin to learn what mental foundation we need to build, let’s take a look at some of the key thought patterns that high performing Super Achievers have. If we will build the same foundation, we can experience the same results in our own undertakings.
Step 1.
Wrap Your Mind Around the 24 Hours a Day
To adopt the mindset of the 24 Hour Day, we must begin to think of our time as an allotment we’ve been give that is not limitless. If we only had one more day to spend on this earth, 24 hours its it.
There is no waiting until tomorrow. The things we need to do today will have to be completed today. These 24 hours are all they we have. If this were the case, how would you manage your time then?
High performers begin to adopt that mindset believing the reality that today is all we have. Let’s make the most of it. And that is the mindset we want to take every day. From that point of view. We begin to ask questions like, “What is the absolute best use of my time today.
You begin to realize that managing your 24 hours is the most important thing we can do. Tweak your mindset a little to value time as a limited resource, and you will immediately notice a change in our behaviors to set us on the path to our highest productivity.
Continuing to the next mental mindset of productive Super Achievement, we’ll discover the ingredient that separates the winners from the losers.
Want to stand our from the crowd know as “Average” to being the “Very Best”, set your mind on being 100% committed to being your very best in whatever it is you want to do. It starts in your mind.
Saturating your mind with the thought of 100% commitment to your major goal in life is what leads to greatness. This is a guarantee.
Commitment is like the compass that points you straight to success in anything you desire. It’s the mental focus that you invest that causes you to give yourself fully to achieving your goal.
The mind who wavers, wondering if they should be doing other things, second guessing if they are doing the right things, is just wasting time. Those patterns will not produce greatness.
Control you mind from wondering from any thought besides total commitment. If you find your mind drifting in another direction, bring it back kicking and screaming, if necessary.
You must be focused on 100% commitment at all times. The mind works best when there is total focus.
Step 2. Commit 100% To Becoming Your Personal Best
Step 3. Don't Believe the Hype, Multitasking Doesn't Work
In our age of fast moving super computers with a million apps running our lives, it only seems natural to think we can multitask to get more done each day. After all we can open multiple windows in our browsers, and work on multiple sites, no problem. Why can’t we do the same in our brains.
Very simply, our brains don’t exactly work like that. We are programmed to get the most productivity working on one thing at a time. The more stimuli that we have operating at one time, the less efficient we become.
We think we are multitasking, but our minds are just moving from one task to the other in a liner fashion. And we don’t even do that efficiently. Try talking on your cell, while try to hold a fact-to-face conversation with another person at the same time. You can only effectively communication with one person at a time. And believe me, a lot gets lost in the transaction.
Super Achievers perform at higher levels when they are doing one task at a time. You are more focused, which usually means working at a much more productive rate. More gets done in less time.
Remember, multitasking just doesn’t lend itself to high productivity.
Another mental resolve to adapt to contribute to your effectiveness is to make up in your mind to kill interruption at all costs. Why? Because they are productivity killers.
It is a widely known fact that once you are interrupted, it will take an average of 23 minutes for you to get back into the zone of whatever you were doing. That’s right, 23 minutes.
Start adding up all the cell phone notification, co-worker visits, calls, and temptations to jump online, and you have a substantial amount of time wasted just getting yourself back on task.
If you don’t mentally train yourself to kills these wasted moments, you will never become a Super Achiever of productivity. Decide to fight interruptions at all cost. The price is too high.
And if you can’t, don’t lose your cool until you read Step 5, Manage Negative Emotions in a Positive Way.
Step 4. Kill Interruptions At All Costs
Step 5. Manage Negative Emotions in a Positive Way
Lastly, the mental attitude to handle negative emotions in a positive way will save hours of wasted time venting negative frustration without resolving anything. We will be faced with situations that cause our emotions to boil like a hot teapot before the whistle blows. But here’s where our mental resolve comes into play.
Decide early that you will make a concentrated effort to monitor your negative emotions closely to determine when it is time to apply a dose of positive relief. This is a very different observation for each person. We all react differently to different situations.
If we use some forward thinking, we can decide to pick acceptable ways to destress positively before we begin our journey. It may be hitting a punching bag, lifting weights at the gym, or just meditating when the tension mounts. What ever you choose, make sure it’s a positive outlet that enhances your performance with no negative side effects.
The best Super Achievers always keep their emotions under control. And finding your positive outlet upfront will save lots of frustration in the future.
“You can have anything you want – if you want it badly enough.
You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.”
William Adams (1706-1789).
Wake-up the Super Achiever in you, and Do Something Great!