Thursday is speedwork day for me in my marathon training.
I run a shorter distance, faster, in hopes that I will improve my cardiovascular endurance overall, resulting in an ability to run longer distances faster.
I have never been a super-fast runner, but I have certainly been much faster than I am now. What is encouraging to me is to see how consistency in running over the past 5 weeks has resulted in marked growth and improved fitness. With just 86 days until the marathon, I must stay focused on training effectively.
On sprint days, I run fast. On long run days, I run significantly slower. On tempo run days, my pace is somewhere in between.
In running my business, I have sprint days, also: all out, full speed, pushing ahead with everything I have. Like running sprints, sprinting in my business requires full focus. Almost everything else fades as I focus on the tasks at hand.
Those sprint days set me up for greater success on the other days because I get used to the momentum of moving faster — so my overall pace is quicker. It doesn’t matter if my sprint at work is as fast as yours — I just choose a pace for my sprint days that is faster than my usual days. The only person I am racing is myself.
What does a sprint day in business look like for you?
For me, a sprint day includes identifying needs in my organization and identifying people who can fill them. For example, I just got off the phone with a subcontractor who is willing to take responsibility for some details related to keeping our website up-to-date. Assigning tasks, delegating, and training are sprint-activities which will allow our company to be more successful long-term.
A sprint day also includes moving more quickly toward the future by evaluating current leads and potential work in the pipeline, completing and sending proposals, and projecting income expectations for the next quarter and beyond. I am sprinting when I am able to know where I am in this moment and can set my eyes at where I’d like to be in the future, all while taking quick steps forward.
Consistency in adding sprint-days to each work week, going faster for short periods of focus and productivity, will help me move toward my desired future.
Tell me something! Do you add sprint days to your work week?
I am the founder/CEO of the Weaving Influence team, the author of Reach: Creating the Biggest Possible Audience for Your Message, Book, or Cause, and the host of the Book Marketing Action Podcast. I’m a wife and mom of three kids, and I enjoy running, reading, writing, coffee, and dark chocolate.