5 Career Training Tips Inspired by Olympic Athletes – PayScale (blog)

With the 2012 London Olympics slowly drawing to a close, it’s time to start thinking about the inspirational lessons we can derive from the world’s elite athletes. Dr. Tracey Wilen-Daugenti recently wrote a column for Brazen Life and Business Insider that outlines career training tips inspired by Olympic athletes. What strategies can help you clear work hurdles with the ease of an Olympian?Many of the other items featured in the infographic invite distraction. A cluttered desk, for example, only causes you to think about how much time it will take to organize your desk. Multitasking is also mentioned; it reduces your IQ by a full 10 points. Visual and audible notifications on your computer, tablet and cellphone interrupt your train of thought just enough to get you out of a good mental groove, while open-door policies enable well-meaning coworkers to engage you with trivial chatter. Olympians hardly take days off from training; U.S. swimmer Natalie Coughlin trains some five hours a day. Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning to enhance your key proficiencies. Consider going back to school or working towards appropriate certifications or credentials.The road to success is paved with hard work. It’s tempting to put career development on the back burner when life intervenes. When this happens to you, just remember Lance Armstrong’s words: “Pain is temporary. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” Make lofty goals. “Imagine yourself as ‘You, Inc.’ — the CEO of your own career,” wrote Wilen Daugenti. By envisioning what you’d like your career to look like in five or so years, you’ll be able to outline mini-goals to advance you down that path.PayScale has collected salary and career data from more than 35 million people, covering 12,000 job titles and 1,100 distinct industries in 150 countries.

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5 Career Training Tips Inspired by Olympic Athletes – PayScale (blog)