New Post - What Record Are You Setting?

We all have a record to set! What’s yours?

To be clear, most every record that we would admire didn’t happen overnight. Babe Ruth’s career home run record was a cumulative effort, coming in his 22nd season of play. Hank Aaron’s home run record followed Ruth’s by 39 years and happened in his 21st year of play. Barry Bond’s record of 762 home runs occurred 33 years after Aaron’s and happen in this, his 22nd, year of play.

Hall of Fame Superstar Cal Ripken’s record of most consecutive games played took 15 years to set and followed Lou Gehrig’s record of the same title by over 56 years.

Here’s my point. The big records take time. The big records test our stamina. The big records are the most purposeful. And the big records are the most memorable. And one other very important thing about records is that as soon as they are set, they raise the bar and plant the seed in someone somewhere that they can beat it.

So, what record are you chasing? In the game of life and business, what are the big records you want to set? Is it personal? Is it professional? Is it both? Define it! Describe it! Develop it! Do it!

When I look at people who set records, I see three things:

Passion: Every record set in any endeavor throughout the annuals of history involves a passionate person pursuing a dream. Passion is the fuel that keeps people going when the odds are against them and time is running out. Staying with the sports theme, the best definition of passion is ABC’s slogan in the show Wild World of Sports, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” There are lots of losses in route to the victory of setting a record.

Purpose: Behind every record is a driving force. It’s the one thing the person sees his or her record representing. It’s what we call the “Why”. Why would Danica Patrick want to be an INDY racecar driver? She has set a whole bunch of records already, including the first ever woman to lead the INDY 500. But she has not set the big record yet: She’s not won the INDY 500. She “wants to give women permission to dare to be great”. That’s a driving force; that’s purpose.

Stamina and Resilience: Any record set requires stamina and resilience. Record setters have the energy to keep going. And, when they fail, they have the ability to bounce back. Passion and purpose give you energy and they give you the perspective that there is no such thing as a set-back when going for a record. There is only time, patience and persistence.

We all have records inside us that are waiting to be set. And the big records more often than not are the end of the road of smaller records having been set. Take it one step at a time. Know that every day you get a chance to succeed. With that in mind, what’s your next record?

Spend One Day Single Tasking

I love helping people be productive.

One of the traps I outline in Time Traps is The Organization Trap: Wasting Time Juggling Unecessary Tasks. The biggest challenge with productivity is focus. And, multi-tasking actually dilutes performance, rather than improves it. Single tasking is the new strategy of the day. You get more done. You are more focused. You create higher quality. You are more efficient! And, in the commission world, you make more money.

One of my friends is best-selling author Tim Sanders. His newest book, Saving the World at Workhttp://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=tim+sanders+-+saving+the+world+at+work&sprefix=tim+sander is a great read and he is all about productivity and health in the workplace. This was a post he had recently and I thought I would share it with you.

Today I was almost run over by a distracted driver. She was talking on her cell phone, fiddling with the radio and balancing a cup of Starbucks as she drove. A drunk driver would have been less dangerous.

A few years ago, when working at Yahoo, I saw a distracted manager slowly strangle his group with ineffectiveness. He never did one task at a time, no he was a multi-task master. He grazed on email, surfed the web, hacked away at a spreadsheet and talked on his speakerphone -- all while meeting with his direct reports. He thought he was being super effective, in fact he was hopelessly dilluted (or deluded).

Do you really think that driving is a no-brainer, leaving you excess capacity to spend on a cell phone call? (which is also illegal) Do you really think that your work projects are so easy that you can do them in your sleep? Do you really think you have the mental strength to try and juggle several tasks with freaking out?

Stop multi-tasking. Let it go. For one day, I suggest next Monday, single task everything you do. If you are going to check email, schedule that time and ONLY do that. If you have a meeting, leave all devices and stray thoughts at your desk and fully pour your attention into the meeting. Working on a report? Just do the report and turn off your email client or web browser. Most likely, you'll find that your work is much better when you single task. Try this when you drive too. Just drive. We'd all appreciate it.