One way many business people lose their focus is through multitasking. Although many of us are pushed into multi-tasking and one can be proud of such ability, it is not always the most productive behavior. Always keep an eye on the task at hand, just as champions focus on that one play, to avoid disrupting performance. Multi-tasking can be the enemy of high performance in some business settings, similar to some sports settings. It would be like a golfer trying to manage other golfers, thinking about all the upcoming holes and overall score rather than focusing on each shot. Do you see the difference?

Athletes give 100 percent effort when targeting excellent results. The challenge with this is knowing how to keep balance as well. This means keeping a healthy diet, working on physical fitness and continuing with mental and emotional development.

High performance is only achieved by individuals who take the time to recover and rest. Athletes burn out because they skip the basics and sometimes forget about other aspects of their lives. So high commitment to a task does not have to mean lack of life balance.

Top performers usually have self-regulation strategies to turn to when they need to manage critical situations. These strategies often involve knowing when to get more pumped and when to be more calm and relaxed.

Executives can learn techniques to help change emotional and mental readiness. For example, when stress is high it can be extremely helpful to indulge in a few minutes of detachment every hour or when you feel the need. You can even exercise a little, or go outside for some fresh air, or do some short breathing or mindfulness techniques.

Top performers know setbacks are part of success. When setbacks happen they use these simple rules:

1. Understand what occurred and do a review

2. Accept what happened rather than fixate on it

3. Plan a response and create controllable action steps

4. Implement that response

Managing setbacks also means developing the ability to refocus once you get off track. In business sports psychology, this means establishing contingency plans or working or altering a plan.

Ongoing learning is essential to performance. Learning always includes making changes after setbacks. But learning also means finding new methods to improve performance, studying successful people, and taking time for further development.

In the competitive work environment, feedback is also part of learning.

Good coaches know who best to deliver messages and the corporate world can learn much from observing successful coaches. But remember, coaches, learn from their athletes as well. so corporate leaders need to know learning moves in both directions.

One huge goal in business and sports is to help individuals accept what cannot be changed and control what can be modified.

In business and sports consulting, an important job is to identify and strengthen what can be controlled. This means putting time into those things that can be personally managed, such as emotions, concentration, and activation levels.

Getting clear on what is controllable really helps increase focus and not waste time on what cannot be controlled.

The key is about stretching capacities and not just minimising the problems.