There are twenty-four hours in a day. What does an average person do with this time they're given? Average things, of course. They dream of extraordinary lives, but don't get there somehow. For the people we know who live different than average have every minute is planned, measured, accounted for. They are in full control of how their life is spent. And that is the difference that separates the two types of people.
How does someone maintain that sort of discipline? We ask how it's possible for one to live a life that, for example, may consist of being a student and maintaining a gpa, being an editor or leader for an extra curricular on campus, who is also running multiple successful blogs, makes time to foster a romantic relationship, work out and eat healthy, and still enjoy a social life responsibly.
These over-achievers are what most people wish they can set out to accomplish, and this is what their reality looks like: they get more done in twenty-four hours than an average person would accomplish in over a week.
Your entire life and how you live is affected by how you think. Train your mind, and you can accomplish anything it can imagine:
Fully Commit to Focusing
Anytime you take on a task or responsibility, be fully committed and focus on your actions.
When you see an athlete out on the field for a big rivalry game, he is fully committed in earning the team a winning outcome. They only have one thing on their mind: the game.
Invest yourself in your task, and you'll get better work done at an even more productive rate. If you feel yourself drifting out of focus, have a safe word you whisper to bring yourself back. Center yourself and your mind, take a deep breath and begin again.
Learning how to focus your mind takes a bit of brain training. If you are able to maximize your environment and train your brain everyday, focused mindsets are easier to achieve and can happen much more often.
Single Focus Over Multitasking
We are not designed to be able to take on more than one task at the same time. It takes longer to complete, more mistakes are made, and the results are not impressive.
Keep the 'open tabs' on your screen to a minimum:
We often think we're doing work when we have one tab open for our work, and think are excellent multi-taskers because we are also checking our emails. Then we're in the mood to do all of our social connection updates and before we know it Instagram is open, Messenger is open, Facebook is open; you click on an interesting but random read or an inspiringly funny video and you're way off task.
Turn off any possible distractions and keep your attention and efforts centralized. Focus on one task and you will not only complete the task in a timely matter, it will also be a job well done because of the kind of work you decidedly put into it.
Uphold Your Work Flow
It takes an average of twenty-five minutes to effortlessly get lost in your work. It's getting to the point where the world around you feels blurred, time means nothing to you, and you and the thing you're doing feels as though they've become one. The only thing you're focused on is what you're doing. That's bliss. That's ultimate productivity. Then someone sends you a text message and you check right away to respond. You're back at your computer, hoping to get right back into the groove of things. Text message received, respond again, check a notification, and you're gone because your focus has now turned elsewhere. Each time it's broken, you restart the process that took twenty-five minutes, while using up your brain's resources. Essentially you're slowly growing exhausted by these distractions and the task turns unpleasant and too tiring to complete.
Super-achievers know interruptions are major productivity killers, so they keep themselves in check and avoid them at all costs. There's good reason why CEO's need private offices with locks on the doors.
You don't have to keep yourself locked up to be productive, so long as you find a quiet space where you won't be bothered and turn off all notifications for the hour or so.
Surround Yourself with Other Super-Achievers
When you surround your life with other people who are working for success, you naturally rise to sustain that same motivation and momentum. Be mindful who you choose to spend the majority of your time with, while still respecting all the people currently in your life.
Control Feelings and Emotions
It's a stereotype that big bosses are 'cold' and 'brutal,' but the truth is, there are some things in life not worth crying or getting upset at. They have one thing on their mind: accomplishment. Their focus causes them to remove negative emotions from clouding their field of vision. Nevertheless, they are still humans, but their feelings are never bottled up. Super-achievers know how to manage their emotions in ways that work best for them. They rely on an relieving practice such as meditation, journaling, or working out.
Find something that works best for you and stick to it. It takes twenty-one days to form a habit, make this a good one. It should never feel like a chore, this is meant to relax and center you. It might feel tedious after a few days past the honeymoon stage, but fight through it for just two or three more days and this will feel like your comfort place and it will feel like something you want or even need to do.
Keep Moving Forward
How does someone maintain that sort of discipline? We ask how it's possible for one to live a life that, for example, may consist of being a student and maintaining a gpa, being an editor or leader for an extra curricular on campus, who is also running multiple successful blogs, makes time to foster a romantic relationship, work out and eat healthy, and still enjoy a social life responsibly.
These over-achievers are what most people wish they can set out to accomplish, and this is what their reality looks like: they get more done in twenty-four hours than an average person would accomplish in over a week.
Your entire life and how you live is affected by how you think. Train your mind, and you can accomplish anything it can imagine:
Fully Commit to Focusing
Anytime you take on a task or responsibility, be fully committed and focus on your actions.
When you see an athlete out on the field for a big rivalry game, he is fully committed in earning the team a winning outcome. They only have one thing on their mind: the game.
Invest yourself in your task, and you'll get better work done at an even more productive rate. If you feel yourself drifting out of focus, have a safe word you whisper to bring yourself back. Center yourself and your mind, take a deep breath and begin again.
Learning how to focus your mind takes a bit of brain training. If you are able to maximize your environment and train your brain everyday, focused mindsets are easier to achieve and can happen much more often.
Single Focus Over Multitasking
We are not designed to be able to take on more than one task at the same time. It takes longer to complete, more mistakes are made, and the results are not impressive.
Keep the 'open tabs' on your screen to a minimum:
We often think we're doing work when we have one tab open for our work, and think are excellent multi-taskers because we are also checking our emails. Then we're in the mood to do all of our social connection updates and before we know it Instagram is open, Messenger is open, Facebook is open; you click on an interesting but random read or an inspiringly funny video and you're way off task.
Turn off any possible distractions and keep your attention and efforts centralized. Focus on one task and you will not only complete the task in a timely matter, it will also be a job well done because of the kind of work you decidedly put into it.
Uphold Your Work Flow
It takes an average of twenty-five minutes to effortlessly get lost in your work. It's getting to the point where the world around you feels blurred, time means nothing to you, and you and the thing you're doing feels as though they've become one. The only thing you're focused on is what you're doing. That's bliss. That's ultimate productivity. Then someone sends you a text message and you check right away to respond. You're back at your computer, hoping to get right back into the groove of things. Text message received, respond again, check a notification, and you're gone because your focus has now turned elsewhere. Each time it's broken, you restart the process that took twenty-five minutes, while using up your brain's resources. Essentially you're slowly growing exhausted by these distractions and the task turns unpleasant and too tiring to complete.
Super-achievers know interruptions are major productivity killers, so they keep themselves in check and avoid them at all costs. There's good reason why CEO's need private offices with locks on the doors.
You don't have to keep yourself locked up to be productive, so long as you find a quiet space where you won't be bothered and turn off all notifications for the hour or so.
Surround Yourself with Other Super-Achievers
When you surround your life with other people who are working for success, you naturally rise to sustain that same motivation and momentum. Be mindful who you choose to spend the majority of your time with, while still respecting all the people currently in your life.
Control Feelings and Emotions
It's a stereotype that big bosses are 'cold' and 'brutal,' but the truth is, there are some things in life not worth crying or getting upset at. They have one thing on their mind: accomplishment. Their focus causes them to remove negative emotions from clouding their field of vision. Nevertheless, they are still humans, but their feelings are never bottled up. Super-achievers know how to manage their emotions in ways that work best for them. They rely on an relieving practice such as meditation, journaling, or working out.
Find something that works best for you and stick to it. It takes twenty-one days to form a habit, make this a good one. It should never feel like a chore, this is meant to relax and center you. It might feel tedious after a few days past the honeymoon stage, but fight through it for just two or three more days and this will feel like your comfort place and it will feel like something you want or even need to do.
Keep Moving Forward
A man who is contented with what he has done will never be famous for what he will do. -Fred Estabrook
These super-achievers are always thankful for what they have accomplished and earned. However, these victories do not override the hard work it took to get there. One success does not grant one eternal celebration and rest. One success always leads to the next and celebrations should then be many and often.
These achievers take very few breaks and shift back into focus towards the next dream on the list very quickly. These are the people who want success to be on a continuum. It's not one race they want to win and be proud for, it's how they want to live everyday for the rest of their lives.
Photograph by Noah Sahady
These achievers take very few breaks and shift back into focus towards the next dream on the list very quickly. These are the people who want success to be on a continuum. It's not one race they want to win and be proud for, it's how they want to live everyday for the rest of their lives.
Photograph by Noah Sahady
