Five Ways To… get things done like a racer.

A motivational speaker, coach for management and sport leadership, owner of her own consulting company, Tina Thörner gives us five lessons that she has learned in the racing world for simply working better.

1. Keep your body up to speed.

Make sure you eat well (lots of greens and all that) around 4 times a day. Engage in any kind of physical exercise for 20-30 minutes every other day. Prepare for your sleep to let your body recover well through the night. When you can, spice your day up with something fun where you can laugh or truly enjoy yourself. These small rituals should be enough to give you that extra energy you need.

2. Try to keep a positive attitude.

This is something that’s very important in the racing business and it’s what many professionals are doing the whole time. We have around 60,000-100,000 thoughts per day, all from being Mother Theresa to the ones of a dictator or even a murderer. Choose to concentrate on the ones that might help you find solutions to the problems you face. If I’d have to pick the most useful tool that I got from my motorsport career, I would say it’s my mental power.

Observe how you react to different processes and learn from this experience, then let go of things that bring you no results.

3. Focus, focus and focus.

Learn to do short breathing exercises or anything else that can calm you down and help you focus (smoking doesn’t count, I’m afraid). Observe how you react to different processes and learn from this experience, then let go of things that bring you no results. Multitasking can be great, but some solutions can be found only during complete concentration.

4. Draw. Scribble. Doodle.

Writing something down or doodling a few things on paper can really help you get a clearer view on the situation. Try it out, or if you’re already doing it, try it in a new way – you’ll be surprised how it changes your perspective.

5. Take control of things early on.

Always try to get ahead of the curve, be ready early, train to predict certain developments or obstacles. This will definitely become a habit and soon you’ll be much better at it, eventually becoming prepared for most problems out there.