I’ve watched many wildlife programmes showing the yearly cycle of animal behaviour and in particular that glorious moment in spring when hibernation comes to an end. This year I reckon I can pinpoint the exact day when the end to human hibernation arrived. It was early last week, when the sun started to shine and everyone seemed to be outside engaged in some sort of activity. That sudden jump out of hibernation made me think about what motivates us. It might be easy to get motivated to go and do something outside on a day in May when the warmth of the sun is felt for the first time since September, but how easy is it to keep that motivation going?
My thoughts turned to a piece of research I am currently undertaking with successful long distance triathletes. It is not only interesting for those who want to find a way to improve their Ironman race times but is particularly relevant and applicable to the world of work.
One of the key aspects to getting motivated and maintaining it seems to be simply having a plan. More importantly, knowing the details of the plan, so invariably that means having a written plan to which you can refer. We are more likely to carry out a task that we have written down than if we just carry it around in our heads. The act of writing the task down is a bit like making a contract between ‘me and myself’. Some triathletes have a plan of achievements for their daily training programme, as opposed to tasks (which do sound a bit tedious and more like dull chores really!).
The idea of planning has long been used in business and work and I am sure most people have at least heard of setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound) goals or targets. Reaching those targets does not end at the planning stage though. Progress has to be measured and reviewed. This is something that successful triathletes are quite disciplined at. They record their actual training against the plan. If a training session didn’t happen in the way they had planned, or maybe didn’t even happen at all, it will be reviewed and perhaps modified to ensure that progress continues to be made.
By planning quite precisely, monitoring progress against the plan, and modifying the plan to ensure it is relevant and targeted towards improvement, triathletes are not only making physical gains, they are also training themselves in being successful. By checking what they actually do in training against a plan, they can tick off achievements. If they don’t feel as if progress is being made they change the plan to ensure they get back on track.
This process of planning, reviewing and modifying whilst keeping sight of the target seem to be quite an effective tool to train ourselves to become successful. Triathletes get used to recording their achievements each day. To me, that seems like a pretty good way to learn the habit of being successful. I wonder how many of us actually plan, review and modify our progress in work or even record our daily achievements.
On that note, I’m off to do a planned 50 mile cycle!
