RSS Lisa's BlogMaintaining Peak Level
Here are some ideas to get going and stay going at a peak level:
Start each day with a review of your goals. In a 24/7 world, it’s easy to lose sight of where you ultimately want to go. Take the 30 minutes at the beginning of each day, when your mind is still clear, to review your goals. Start with your big goals and then put today’s work in the context of achieving them. If there is a chronic discrepancy between your long-term goals and what you are planning to work on today, it will unmistakably emerge in these early morning sessions.
Figure out your “next actions.” When you are overwhelmed with a seemingly endless to-do list, many motivational experts recommend starting with anything in order to “get some points on the board” by checking something off the list. While doing something may be better than doing nothing, doing the right thing is better still. David Allen, a well-known productivity consultant, recommends identifying the next physical action required for each of your open projects. That way, your to-do list is not encumbered with everything, but just with the “next things.” No matter what you do on the list, you will be accomplishing something that matters.
Do nothing. Another way to sustain your motivation is to periodically do nothing. Turn off your Blackberry, hibernate your computer, shut down your iPod—actually take 20 minutes or so to truly do nothing but sit and relax. If you are unfamiliar with this process, the first time will seem like torture after about five minutes. But with a little practice you will find that a brief respite of real quiet can be tremendously rejuvenating.
Look to your energy levels. Consider the advice of performance consultants Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz who say, “Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance.” After years studying professional athletes, they realized that in many ways, your brain is exactly like the muscles in your body. Too much work will strain it and you will perform below your peak. (Too little mental work will cause the same result, but not many of us face that issue.) In their book The Power of Full Engagement, Loehr and Schwartz say that stress is important to maintain motivation—provided that you build in sufficient recovery time. Their techniques for managing your energy levels range from taking 10-15 minutes for a walk around the block every couple of hours, to changing your diet, to building in recovery time after the work day ends and it is time to re-engage with your family or with your partner.
