Dr. Jason Selk is the Director of Mental Training for the Cardinals. Hired in 2006, Dr. Selk was added to Cardinals payroll in order to train them in mental toughness.
They already had a coach to teach them the mechanics of pitching,
batting, and fielding. What they really needed was to learn how to set
goals, focus their priorities, stay positive, be disciplined, and
win. The first year Dr. Selk was Director of Mental Training was the same year
the Cards won the World Series. He helped them
win again in 2011. Check out the highlights below.
1. Forget the home run and watch your swing instead.
If you focus on your target, such as accomplishing a big goal, you may never get there. Pay attention
to your process instead. Identify those daily goals that have the
greatest influence on your performance and, therefore, your success. If
your aim is to double your income in one year, for example, then figure
out three specific tasks, or process goals, you need to complete each
day that will help you reach that ultimate target. Then be relentless
and consistent about completing your three process goals every day.
2. Keep your eye on the ball.
Many
highly productive people believe they can multitask and still maintain
focus. The American Psychological Association cited a recent study
showing that multitasking leads to as much as a 40 percent drop in
productivity. Recent research from Stanford University found that
multitaskers are not only less productive than their single-minded
counterparts, but also suffer from weaker self-control. Don't let
yourself get distracted; regain control of your performance. Do
everything you can to complete the three essential tasks you identified
above.
3. Be your own best ref.
If
you want to be more productive, you need to establish your own limits
– your "not to-do" list. This might include counterproductive tasks such
as responding to work emails during family time, starting new tasks
after 4:00 p.m., or saying yes right away to a new project instead of
giving your answer the next day, after you've slept on it. Be sure that
you're scheduling your calendar rather than allowing your calendar to
schedule you.
4. Get plenty of R&R between workouts.
Nearly 4 out of 10 people are regularly fatigued, according to a recent study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Lack of sleep
causes fatigue, and that's a productivity killer. In fact, the rate of
lost productivity for workers with fatigue was 66 percent, compared with
26 percent for workers without fatigue. Fatigued workers lost an
average of 5.6 hours per week of production time. Make rest,
rejuvenation, and 7-9 hours of nightly sleep a priority.
5. Listen to your body.
When professional athletes try to push through the pain,
they end up on the disabled list. In the workplace, this is known as
"extreme working," and it results in lower performance. New research
reported at Harvard Business Review found that 69 percent of
extreme workers – super high achievers who regularly work 60-80 hours a
week – admit that their extreme working habits undermine their health.
Most of these workers can't sustain this level of performance and end up
burning out, just like promising athletes who have to sit on the bench
all season or retire early because of injuries.
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