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After working 8 hours in the office, they manage to volunteer, maintain a popular blog, prepare for a half marathon, and also raise children, find time to create culinary masterpieces, walk with their beloved dog … It seems that they have more hours in a day than US. How do these people achieve so much?
Psychologist and life coach Suzanne Gelb, who has 28 years of practice and hundreds of hours of working with these “super achievers,” has compiled a list of the secrets to their success. She assures that each of us is able to use them to increase our efficiency.
Full inclusion
Whatever you are doing at the moment — give yourself completely to this business. Be included. Have you ever seen Olympic runners jumping over hurdles? You can’t call them scattered, right? They are included in the process one hundred percent. Inclusion leads to outstanding results.
What do you do when your thoughts drift away? Coach Josh Pais, who works with actors, speakers, and entrepreneurs, advises once you realize you’re distracted, tell yourself, «I’m here again!» — And it’s better to listen. And don’t let the sidelong glances of others fool you. This trick works!
Avoid multitasking
Email, Instagram (an extremist organization banned in Russia), Facebook (an extremist organization banned in Russia), a hilarious cat video, an advertisement for tempting clothing discounts, and… how many other tabs do you have open? And they all require your attention, and in the meantime you need to finish the project. It is now in the order of things, multitasking has become the norm.
Unfortunately, the human brain was not designed for multitasking. As shown by various studies, he copes with this extremely poorly. You lose focus, make more mistakes, and prolong your work. To focus well, you need to eliminate all distractions. Yes, and even the phone is better to hide somewhere in the drawer. Are you saying this is overkill? Maybe. But it’s worth a try.
“Distracted for a minute, you have already lost your focus. It will take you no less than about 23 minutes to regain your lost focus.
Stop any inclinations to distract you
You are working on your project. And finally, everything went like clockwork. But at that moment, your colleague appears next to you with a draft report. «Look, how are you?» Having skimmed through the paper, you express your opinion to him. It only took a minute.
Nonsense, right? But by being distracted for a minute, you have already lost your focus. It will take you no less than about 23 minutes to regain your lost focus. «Achievers» are well aware that those who steal our time are also killing our productivity, and therefore they are avoided by all means. By the way, this is one of the reasons why top managers work in separate offices behind closed doors. Don’t have your own office? Try to find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed, or suggest that your boss put all employees on Do Not Disturb mode at least a few times a week.
Communicate more with those who charge you
There is a proverb — «If you are the smartest in the company, you may have a bad company.» If you are surrounded by effective people, you will be charged by them, and they by you. Of course, this does not mean that you should eliminate those who are not as productive from your life. Just try to spend as much time as possible with those who inspire you.
Don’t let negative emotions take over you
One has only to give free rein to frustration, anger, disappointment, self-flagellation, and you will quickly turn off the right path. And now you are eating packs of chips one after another and watching an endless stupid series. And the work goes topsy-turvy, which further increases the frustration (not to mention fatigue, a hangover and other unpleasant consequences). «Super achievers» know how to deal with negative emotions. There are many ways, and they are well known: meditation, journaling, weekly meetings with a coach, training in the gym. Choose the one that suits you. The main thing is that in the end it gives you a feeling of liberation and relief, as if a burden has fallen from your shoulders, and you feel that you are again ready for new achievements.
And finally, it must be recalled that these “achievers” that you admire and want to be like are not demigods, but ordinary people, with their own shortcomings and fears. Beyoncé once said well: «I know that in my songs I am stronger than in life.» We are all just people who are trying to live, work, manage the world, using the abilities and skills that they possess. Do not strive for transcendental perfection, just do the best that you are capable of, and success will not be long in coming.
For details, see The muse.