Small Moves That Yield Massive Impact
Time is the single most valuable non-renewable resource we have. Once it’s gone it’s gone never to come back. Further, none of us know just how much we have left.
This has really been weighing on me of late. I’m not like chicken little or anything, but I have started to realize the finality of each passing day.
I find myself waking everyday thinking, “How can I best utilize this day? Am I doing the right things? Should I be using this time to write this article?”
Where to begin each day once I’ve completed my morning routine can be a bit daunting as well. Sure, I map out a general idea of what the day holds, but sometimes I start to argue with myself whether I’ve planned the right thing.
I’ve found a pretty good solution to this conundrum. I set a timer for 15 minutes. Unless I’m in a conversation, meeting or something with a more open ended multi-participant flavor, I set a timer.
Here’s what I do. Let’s say I’ve started writing an article like this one. I set a timer for 15 minutes. This helps me in case I get so lost in the writing process I forget to stand up or hit the relief valve on my brain for a second. There are exceptions. If I’m working on a book or sometimes even an article I will set the timer aside so as not to break a flow state.
This gives me a great way to check whether or not I’m occupied by something meaningful. If the timer goes off, and I find I’m in flow, I automatically give myself 15 or more minutes. If I feel a sense of relief the 15 minutes have come to an end I move on to the next task. Warning: This can be tricky because if in those first 15 minutes you get in a flow state, which is like magic, it can take as long as 30 minutes to get it back.
This keeps me fresh. The human brain can only focus for so long (90 minutes on average) before it begins to fatigue. Could I go longer than 15 minutes? Most likely, but I equate it to a sprinter trying to run a mile. He’s going to be much more effective in those first 100 yards. I want as much of my work as possible to be done when I’m most effective.
In his book “The Power of Full Engagement” Jim Loehr discusses the human need to take a break and work in sprints. He first recognized this coaching world-class tennis professionals. He watched the greatest in the world perform and could not seem to identify the one factor that separated them from their lesser opponents.
Then he had a eureka moment. He cracked the code. While he had been watching the player hit massive forehand shots, incredible net approaches and monster serves, he found it wasn’t what was happening during the points that mattered. It was what was happening between the shots that made the difference.
He began to study each player between serves and noticed something very revealing. There was a noticeable difference between serves from the top players and the others. He noticed all the top tier players took time between points to reset. They had a dialed-in routine that they never rushed nor wavered from.
In his book, ‘High Performance Habits’ Brendan Burchard makes the same observation. He has a practice in which he does not go from one task to another without adhering to a ritual in which he repeats the word “release” for several minutes. This cleanses his mind of the previous task before beginning the next.
Here’s something really enlightening about Loehr’s research. He found that the top players who maximized recovery between points actually lowered their heart rate an average of 20 beats between points. This makes for an enormous aggregate of energy harvesting throughout a match.
While the tier 2 players would serve and then head right back to the baseline and serve again, then champions took their time. They were methodical and seemed to slow to a point of being completely ignorant to their surroundings. They took the time to reset, gain their power and ‘sprint’ through another serve.
We are often looking for some earth shattering change or technique to ‘crush’ life or outperform the competition. Even master coaches like Jim Loehr get fascinated by the peak execution of top performers. However, sometimes all it takes is a small minor change to have massive impact on our lives. Often it’s what we’re doing between actions that give us the edge for when we are executing.
Here’s the bottom line. Instead of making life a marathon, make it a long set of all out fully engaged sprints with ample recovery in between. This will help ensure you ‘ace’ your execution more often.
About Jason
Jason Wright is an author, performance coach, podcaster and entrepreneur.
He is the Founder of The Vitruvian Lab Training and Creator of Massively Transformative Habits (MTH)
His latest book, inspired by Viktor Frankl’s classic ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ is ‘The Stone Chiseler’
Follow on Insta @jasonwrightnow