Is your mind in its “Performance Mode”?

We  have all heard at some time or other the
now cliche’d phrase “You are what you eat”.

That may be true in some aspects of health,
but it is not true in business, or personal performance.

Of course you need to be healthy to perform and
do your work and daily activities, but the world of
business and expectations does not always care
how your health is, business is performance driven.

The main thing that you do when you first begin
any project is to focus on the finished result.

You gather together what you need, you begin
and work with the intention of getting it done in
as timely, efficient, and with as much quality as
time will allow.

Then what happens?

If your task takes you over several hours to complete,
you find yourself mentally wandering about in unconscious
desperation trying to get away from this now “Annoying Project”
that it has become.

Distractions now seem to pop up at every level, and you
find that checking your email, or watching someone else getting
distracted by you, seems to be added to your “To Do” list for your “Project”.

WARNING – Beware of those kitten videos, they can delay
any project for hours!

What Do I do?

Your mind is the performer.  It’s not “You are what you eat”
in the world of productivity, but rather “You are how you think.”

When you think in “Performance Mode”, you are not just
doing mindless tasks.  Each task will have a purpose, every
piece of your puzzle that you put into place will have meaning
and be done with purpose and efficiency.

When your work begins to get distracted by other things,
you know that you are out of the “Zone of Productivity”.

Your mind is now creating false motivations due to what is
basically information overload.

Just as the elite athlete must take a break on occasion from
the physical stresses that come with high-level performance,
so do you as you perform work at a higher mental level
than most people.

How do I stay in “Performance Mode”?

During competition an endurance athlete must stay focused,
and be ready to keep mentally ready to dig deep inside, and
focus on the outcome, not the physical stress.

The seasoned athlete can do this only because of constant,
consistent, focused, and dedicated coaching and practice.   

You can get to a high-level performance by practicing your
mental focus.  When you find that your mind begins to latch
onto something that is unrelated, or unnecessary for the
project that you are working on, you mentally drop that thought
and pull your mind back to the task at hand.

It can be done, but unless it is done, you will learn to be
distracted more often, and end up getting less work done.
When you hear “Keep up the good work”, what that really
means is “Keep up your good focus”.