As the year winds down and we prepare to take on 2011, many of us will take a moment or two to reflect on where we are and perhaps even commit to a few changes to propel us closer to where we want to be. Tony Schwartz, co-author of The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working, wrote a blog a few months ago for Harvard Business Review with some suggestions for anyone who wants to be “excellent” at something. Schwartz writes:
“If you want to be really good at something, it's going to involve relentlessly pushing past your comfort zone, along with frustration, struggle, setbacks and failures. That's true as long as you want to continue to improve, or even maintain a high level of excellence. The reward is that being really good at something you've earned through your own hard work can be immensely satisfying.”
He suggests six keys effective in achieving your goals:
1. Pursue what you love.
2. Do the hardest work first.
3. Practice intensely, without interruption for short periods of no longer than 90 minutes and then take a break.
4. Seek expert feedback, in intermittent doses.
5. Take regular renewal breaks.
6. Ritualize practice.
Read more details in his blog Six Keys to Being Excellent at Anything, and may you have a very Happy and Excellent New Year!
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