Several years ago, I injured my shoulder while I was working out.
A friend referred me to one of the top practitioners in the area and swore by his unique approach.
The micro-adjustments he made didn’t feel like they were doing anything, but later turned out to completely resolve my shoulder pain.
But that wasn’t the most remarkable thing about those visits.
It was something he said.
This man was the sports therapist for some of the top athletes in my city—professional athletes who regularly won major titles.
He asked, “Do you know the difference between professional and amateur athletes?”
He paused. I said nothing.
He continued, “Amateur athletes work out as much as possible and recover as little as possible. Professional athletes work out as little as possible and recover as much as possible.”
Most professionals are working like amateur athletes. They’re rushing through their days, shuffling work and kids, traveling different time zones without time to recover, not taking time to eat, not caring for themselves, and getting as much done as possible.
They think they’ll win the championship if they do this long enough.
But amateur athletes don’t win pro championships.
What would it be like for you to apply the mindset of a professional athlete to your work?
What if, instead of waking up every day thinking about how to get as much done as possible, at all costs and at your expense, you instead challenged yourself to ask:
- What is the optimal amount of time I must dedicate to each activity to achieve the same result? (Do I need to spend 30, 40, or 60 minutes in those meetings? Would email suffice? A 15-minute phone call?)
- How could I achieve real results in half the time? (One of my favorites because it forces you to clarify the result you are after.)
- What is one task I can optimize, delegate, or eliminate today?
These questions are one part mental torture, one part game changer. At first glance, it looks impossible, but after sitting with it, the results are unbelievable.
This same thing is true when people work with me on productivity. At first, changing anything about their workload, pace, and hours felt impossible. Afterward, they couldn’t believe how much could be changed.
Working in your profession like an amateur athlete costs you your career, health, life, and joy.
Most people tell me that “it’s killing [them] a little more every day.”
So why do you keep doing it?
Because the myths of productivity die hard.
The idea that “getting better at getting more done” equates to productivity breaks my heart.
Productivity is a mindset, and over the next eight weeks, we’ll show you exactly how to shift your productivity mindset to the equivalent of an Olympic athlete at work.
On Monday, November 27th, we’re kicking off our weekly Instagram Live classes at 12:00 Central Time/1:00 pm EST for about 15-20 minutes (plus time for questions).
Each week, we’ll bust one of the most popular (and destructive) productivity myths and give you the strategies to implement a practical approach.
If you want to understand how to manage your Productivity mindset, hit reply to this email with I’M IN! When we hear from you, we will send you personal alerts to let you know we’re going LIVE so you don’t miss any of it.
In the meantime, get signed up for Get Sh*t Done – happening January 19th. In this workshop, we teach you the success formula for aligning your interests and skills with your organization’s goals to ensure your work is fulfilling, effective, and promotion-worthy.
With love,
Mari Carmen
