Power Up Your Performance! 6 Sure-fire Strategies
“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful
people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t
quit.” Conrad Hilton
1. Get rid of clutter. Too much “stuff” in your office and
inside your home clutters your mind, creates confusion and
exacerbates stress. Start by cleaning only one area at a
time. What items do you have that either need to be
donated, sold, or put back where they belong? As you’re
cleaning and putting things away, say to yourself,
“Everything has a place.” This is a phrase I often heard by
my dad while we cleaned house and it still rings in my ears
every time I clean.
What clothes do you have that you haven’t worn in a year?
Where by some miracle you’re hoping to fit into them again?
Donate these items to a local charity. What piles of
paperwork are lying around that need to be filed? Studies
show that 85% of everything that gets filed away never gets
looked at again. If this is the case, consider starting an
archives file. You’ll feel more energized, less stressed
and more self-confident when you eliminate clutter.
2. What’s going on outside you is a result of what’s going
on inside you. What self-limiting beliefs do you have about
your skills, aptitudes and abilities? Be honest with
yourself and write them down. You don’t have to share them
with anybody. The average person has 50,000 to 60,000
thoughts a day. When we talk to ourselves about ourselves,
much of that self-talk is negative. As the saying goes,
“How many times in a day do we ‘should’ all over ourselves
with everything that we should be doing?!” Get rid of the
“shoulds.” Become more aware of your thoughts, change them
into positives, and you’ll start achieving more success.
3. Enroll in a sunrise semester. Spend 30 to 60 minutes a
day first thing in the morning reading motivational,
inspirational or other pertinent information related to
your chosen field. Your subconscious mind is most amenable
to suggestion FIRST hour upon arising, and that LAST hour
before bedtime. As John Wooden once said, “If I am through
learning I am through.” Stay current and constantly upgrade
your skills.
Learn more to earn more and to improve performance. Much of
this is stuff we already know. Yet, often we need to hear
it again because we don’t “do” with what we know. Invest
at least 3% of your income in personal and professional
books, CD’s, e-books and teleseminars. If you’re pressed
for time listen to CD’s in your car on your way to work,
picking up the kids, or driving to and from the
supermarket. Attend seminars and conferences no matter what
the distance. It is worth the investment in keeping you
motivated.
4. Become more self-disciplined. The difference between
successful people and unsuccessful people is that
successful people make themselves do things unsuccessful
people don’t want to do. It’s that simple. Once you start
an important task, discipline yourself to keep going. Focus
on it single-mindedly until it’s complete.
Be more aware of your every day habits and what distracts
you. Make a list of the activities you engage in that are a
waste of time. Resolve to eliminate them altogether or
delegate them to someone else. Start by determining which
activities only you can do. These are the ones you must do.
Outsource everything else. The ability to determine where
you should spend the majority of your time and then
complete those tasks can have more impact on achieving your
goals than anything else.
5. To improve performance and productivity work faster.
Compete with yourself. Make it a game. Resolve to work more
effectively and efficiently throughout your work day. Try
arriving to work earlier and leaving a little later. Many
business people in my speaking engagements tell me they get
so much work accomplished when they arrive to work at the
crack of dawn. No one else is in the office and there
aren’t distractions. Try this at lunch as well. Everyone
leaves from noon to one in the afternoon. Cut back on
frivolous time wasters such as talking with co-workers
around the water cooler and other idle chit chat. This will
free up your time for the things you really enjoy, like
spending time with your true friends, family and loved ones.
6. Review your values and priorities and make sure your
goals are consistent with what’s important to you.
Otherwise, no matter how much you think you want something,
you won’t work hard to achieve it if it’s not in line with
your core values. Write down each individual goal you think
you want. Is it consistent with giving you greater peace
of mind and happiness?
For example, values that are important to me in terms of
work are helping others, freedom, creativity and flexible
hours. A corporate job where I’d sit in an office all day
would make me unhappy no matter how much it paid. So start
by clarifying your values.
Success means many things to different people. In powering
up your performance for greater success, first determine
what you really want…and why. For example, do you really
want a new car out of necessity, or is it to compete with
the neighbors next door? No matter how much effort you put
into achieving your goals, if they don’t fit in with what’s
really important to you, you’ll find ways to procrastinate
or sabotage. It’s easier to be self-disciplined when you’re
passionate about something and it fits in with your core
values.
“The biggest mistake people make in life is not trying to
make a living at doing what they most enjoy.”  Malcolm S.
Forbes
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Colleen Kettenhofen is a motivational speaker, workplace
expert, & co-author of “The Masters of Success,” as
featured on the Today Show, along with Ken Blanchard and
Jack Canfield. For free articles, e-newsletter, or to order
the book visit http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com Topics:
leadership, management, difficult people, public speaking.
Colleen is available for keynotes, breakout sessions,
seminars. (971)212-2412.
http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com
