Welcome to the Science
complex. Technological advances have led to round-the-
of Peak Performance
Ron Friedman, Ph.D.
Over the past decade, work has grown infinitely more
clock work schedules and mounting expectations. At the
same time, were bombarded with endless distractions
from text messages and conference calls, to the latest
viral videos and breaking news stories burrowing their way
to the top of our inboxes.
Now more than ever we need strategies for being
productive. But where do we start?
The Peak Work Performance Summit offers a collection of
practical tips from the worlds leading workplace thinkers.
In this eBook, youll get a preview of the Summit and learn
just some of the actionable strategies well be discussing
to help you maximize your performance and achieve your
full potential.
 1 2
Twice a year, write a few
paragraphs indicating what you'd
like to achieve over the next six
months.
Then conduct a pre-mortem.
Identify every barrier you may
experience and describe what
you'll do to overcome it.
Daniel Pink
Start each item on your to-do list
with a verb that represents the
next physical action you need to
take to move the project forward.
David Allen
3
Instead of aiming to complete an
important task in one sitting, try
leaving it incomplete. Doing so
will encourage you to continue
thinking about it and, in the
process, make you more likely to
find creative solutions.
Adam Grant
 4 5 6

Avoid using your to-do list as a
memory aid for all of the tasks you
need to get done. Instead, use it to
highlight your most important goal
for the day, along with 2-3 items
you need to tackle.
The next time youre feeling
stressed, try shifting your focus
to what you can do for others.
Doing so will help your situation
feel more controllable.
To stay in control of your
calendar, dont just schedule a
start time for calls and meetings,
schedule an end time as well.

Charles Duhigg Shawn Achor Craig Ballantyne

 7 8
To sustain your energy throughout
the day, look for ways of pairing
work activities with pleasurable
experiences like drinking a warm
cup of tea or listening to music.
Susan Cain
To lead like a coach, you need to
stay curious just a little longer. Try
asking one more question before
leaping in to talk. Rush to action
and advice just a little bit slower.
Michael Bungay Stanier
9
Multitasking isnt always bad.
Combining a physical activity
(like doing the dishes) with a
mental activity (like idea-
generation) can be a very
effective use of your time. Its
blending two physical tasks or
two mental tasks that you should
avoid.
Christine Carter
 10
To increase your focus, consider
organizing your days around
specific themes (e.g. writing day,
phone call day, etc.) to give them
meaning and structure.
Mike Vardy
11
Every activity you engage in comes
with opportunity cost. Instead of
focusing on being more efficient,
invest some time reflecting on tasks
and activities that can be
eliminated from your life.
Greg McKeown
12
One of the best (and often
overlooked) ways of increasing
your productivity is to spend
more time with people who are
productive.
Thanh Pham
 13
Track your behaviors so that you
have objective feedback on your
progress. For example, keep a
sleep journal so that you can
monitor when you get to bed.
Gretchen Rubin
14
Mental energy is directly related
to the amount of glucose in your
blood stream. Therefore, it's
beneficial to keep a stash of
healthy snacks on hand to
replenish your willpower and
mental energy throughout the day.
Jay Papasan
15
To get eight hours of sleep, you
need to allow for at least eight
and a half hours in bed. To be
fully rested, schedule buffer time
into your bedtime routine.
Tom Rath
 16
Identify the things that you do well
but are not passionate about, and
find a way to outsource them. This
enables you to focus on
developing strengths that are more
in line with your interests.
Ajit Nawalkha
17
As a professional, your field of
play is your calendar; a great
way to determine if youre
playing well is by looking at the
value of the activities filling your
time.
Todd Herman
18
To get a favorable response,
make your big requests on
Fridays, after lunch. It's when
your boss or client will likely be
most amenable to your request.
Michael Breus
 19
Stop thinking about the immediate
ROI of networking. Instead, reframe
networking as making friends and
getting to know people. Viewing
networking this way makes the
process more enjoyable, which in
turn improves your chances of
connecting with others.
Dorie Clark
20
You can grow your energy by
occasionally straining the body.
One way of introducing strain is
by leveraging cold temperature,
by either turning up the A/C or
taking a lukewarm bath.
Ari Whitten
21
Avoid trying to be right all the
time. It makes you less likable
and undermines your influence
as a leader.
Marshall Goldsmith
 22
As humans, we often
underestimate how long tasks will
take to complete. To overcome this
planning fallacy, use the
following calculation: Estimate how
long a project will take you,
multiply it by two and then add
some buffer time.
Caroline Webb
23
Make healthful food options more
visible at the office so that youre
tempted to eat them and are then
less hungry when unhealthy
options are available.
Susan Peirce Thompson
24
One of the best things you can
do for your health and longevity
is to find a great community of
people and make it a habit to
spend time together on a regular
basis.
Isaac Jones
 25
Performing at a high level requires
that you avoid taking on too much.
Protect the white space in your life
the time you have that is not
taken up by effortful activities. It is
in that white space that the best
ideas often appear.
Todd Henry
26
To make healthy eating easier to
achieve, try a "meal share,"
where you partner up with a few
others and one day a week you
each cook for the group.
Ocean Robbins
27
Minimize your time with
colleagues who consistently
lower your mood. Make a
deliberate effort to keep your
interactions brief with those who
bring you down.
Michelle Gielan
 28
When you have a bad day or face
rejection of some kind, theres no
need to respond in the moment.
Give yourself the space to process
what happened, and only then
assess what you can learn for the
next go around.
Angela Duckworth
29
Whenever possible, take
responsibility and ownership
when things dont work out. When
we avoid responsibility, we focus
on why the outcome isnt our fault.
In contrast, taking responsibility
directs our attention to actions we
can take in the future to achieve a
better outcome.
Peter Bregman
30
Achieving top performance
requires building in time to stop,
review, and ask yourself what you
can do better. If you improve on
your execution by just 2% week
to week, that will have a huge
compound effect over time.
Dan Martell
 31
Look for ways to automate or
delegate activities that are not a
good use of your time. For
example, consider automating bill
paying, or hiring someone to do
your grocery shopping. These are
all activities that you could easily
do yourself, but dont represent the
best use of your time.
Rory Vaden
32
Train yourself to ask the
following questions when
something bad happens: How
can I turn this to my advantage?
How are things better for me
now than they were before?
contribute.
Jon Morrow
33
Assume the best about people
and you'll rarely be disappointed.
If a colleague says something
you think is completely out of left
field, don't assume that they're
trying to derail the conversation.
Assume that they're trying to
Chester Elton
 34
Authenticity doesnt mean sharing
everything with everyone; rather, it
means not hiding your intentions or
mistakes.
Lolly Daskal
35
When meeting someone new,
think about what you will say if
they ask, What can I do for you?
If you blow this question, it
prevents you from leveraging an
important opportunity and denies
the other person the ability to
help.
Alex Mandossian
36
You don't need a professional
certification to help others. If you
are a couple steps ahead of
someone else on a particular
topic, youre qualified to help
them get to where you are.
Danny Iny
 37
Take the question, "What do you
do for a living?" very seriously.
Treat it as an opportunity to field
test your ideas, and see if you can
get people asking you questions.
Marisa Murgatroyd
38
If you want to be a successful
entrepreneur, keep your day
job. It provides financial and
psychological safety, while
forcing you to be more
organized with the limited
amount of time you have.
Suzanne Evans
39
In order to position yourself as an
authority in your market, start a
LinkedIn group and list your
ownership of that group in your
LinkedIn title.
Josh Turner
 40
If you find yourself complaining
often, recognize that it may be
damaging your health and
preventing you from achieving
financial success. What you focus
on expands.
T. Harv Eker
41
If someone is struggling at work it
is almost always an indication
that something is happening at
home. Thats why its crucial to
elevate the quality of your home
life -- it translates into workplace
success.
Mark Timm
42
Whenever youre overwhelmed,
take a moment to write a list. List-
making calms us down, helps get
ideas out of our heads, and
provides direction for what to
focus on.
Paula Rizzo
 43 44 45

Clutter prevents us from thinking Small, seemingly insignificant Thriving artists often make their
clearly. You can clear up space actions compound over the income off of multiple streams,
in your home by snapping a years. What you do every day not just one thing. Avoid
photo of items you don't use but matters more than what you do assuming theres only one path
have an emotional connection to. once in a while. to being successful.
Then donate or get rid of the
item. You can retain the memory
without it taking up physical
space in your home.

April and Eric Perry Darren Hardy Jeff Goins

 46
Being critical of others will likely
lead to being more critical of
yourself. Rather than critiquing
others, see them as fellow
performers and remember that
theyre trying to do their best.
Michael Port
47
The first thing you can do to
improve your health is sit a lot
less. Stand during meetings,
walk when you are on the phone.
Get a stability ball you can use at
the office to strengthen your core.
Natalie Jill
48
Budget your time like your money.
When you are short on money,
you pay your bills according to
what is most necessary for your
wellbeing. In this same way,
allocate time to tasks according
to how much closer they bring
you to your goals.
Dan Ariely
 49
If you have a spouse or partner,
make an effort to include him or
her when planning your goals.
This is like planning a hike. If you
dont agree on the destination,
youll end up on separate paths.
Michael Hyatt
50
To free up your time, use a screen
capture program that allows you
to create a recording of how a
task should be done. Then,
outsource the task by sending a
colleague or freelancer the link,
showing them exactly what you
need them to do.
Chris Ducker
51
To achieve top performance, the
human body requires periods of
recovery. You can integrate recovery
into your workday by scheduling
intermissions on your calendar and
using them to take a walk. Have
lunch away from your computer.
When possible, turn off your work
email after hours, or better yet, store
your phone in a different room when
you arrive home.
Ron Friedman, Ph.D.
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