What Baseball Can Teach You About Getting Focused, Organized and Productive

What Baseball Can Teach You About Getting Focused

, Organized and Productive

Baseball seasonis upon us, and lately I've been thinking about my days of playing ball as a kid. I've always said that I learned many valuable lessons from the game, and I still am.Years agoI learned a conceptfrom my dad, my coaches, and all the parents on the sidelines, thatcan most certainly apply to how we can become more organized, productive and in particular FOCUSED! Here is what I, and many people who have been at the ballpark, have heard at a typical game:

"OK Chris, just one out at a time!" "Just focus on this one pitch!" "It's just like we're playing catchone throw at a time!"

You might already get the point, but just in case, I'll go ahead and explain. The whole idea behind these statements (or you might call them "words of encouragement") was to help keep the players focused. The pitcher who needed to forget about just how critical the next three outs wereshe just needed to focus on what her next pitch needed to be. The fielder who needed to focus on what he would do if the ball came to himwhere would he need to throw the ball to? The batter who needed to pull off the squeeze playwho just needed to focus on bunting the ball on the ground. Anyone - a ball player or a home business owner can at some point can get overwhelmed by the big picture. So why not apply some of these simple techniques used every day on the ball field to our work lives?

Here are a couple usable insights that you canapply to your workday.

De-Cluttering your workspace:

Barbara Hemphill, author of the "Taming the Paper Tiger" book series says, "Today's mail is tomorrow's pile." If you don't have a system for handing what's coming in today, you will most likely have new piles upon you tomorrow (in addition to any other piles you have).

Here is how you can apply the"one at a time" concept to de-cluttering your workspace.Once you beginsorting through your current items (typically the items on your desk or kitchen counter), make one of3 Decisions: 1. toss it, 2. take action, 3. file it away if you will need to reference it sometime later.Don't allow yourself to move on from one paper to another, until you've made a decision on the paper in your hand. Many people who I worked with in the past previously would get hung up in this process of filtering through their items. They wouldgrab a stack of papers, start off on a good foot by making a decision on the first piece of paper, but then the next piece of paper theywould flip right by to go on to another, and then another, without making decisions on either. This is a quick way to bring on overwhelm, and give up on the process altogether. Remember, just focus on one at a time, make a decision and then move on to the next item.

Working on a project:

Once again we have another "big picture" item that can cause many people to get overwhelmed and feel paralyzed about taking the steps needed to complete a project. To get clear about where to start on a project, consider doing a brainstorming session by yourself or with a group of people. Consider the individual tasks that will need to be completed to accomplish your objectives with the project. Once you have your tasks identified (and keep in mind, you'll probably come up with more along the way, which is fine!), use a system, such as a sort-able table (like aMicrosoft Word table or Excel spreadsheet), tickler file, or planning software, to keep track of what tasks need to be completed and when. Working on one task at a time, which contribute to your project, can make it far easier to focus than trying to take on the project without breaking it down. The idea here is to minimize unnecessary stress and overwhelm!

When John Gagliardi, today's most winning coach in college football, was asked about his upcoming football season, he commented that the team couldn't have an undefeated season unless they won the first game. So they decided to just focus on winning the first game. Seems simple enough, but so are most great ideas. Perhaps you'll consider focusing on your one ________ at a time to help you become more productive, and to contribute to your success in the game of life.

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