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1. Compartmentalize. Make sure everything that you need to attend to before, during and immediately after the race is taken care of. This includes work, school, bills, relationships -- you name it. Anything that might distract you needs to be dealt with to the best of your abilities and then "put to bed" until the end of the competition. McCann makes a point of stating that this also includes irritations with coaches and teammates.




2. Manage your worries effectively. According to McCann, committing to your race plan is the best way to do this. Now is not the time to make any major changes.




3. Focus on process not outcome goals. McCann writes, "Outcome goals (winning an Olympic Gold Medal) have their place, but the closer an athlete gets to a big event, the more outcome thoughts can create stress, anxiety, and distractions." Task goals, also known as process goals -- how to win -- are the best object of your attention during the last days before a big event.




4. Practice staying in "The Present." From here on in it's all about "The Now." Time to practice staying out of the past and not getting lost in the future. There are many techniques to do this, from focusing on your breathing, to setting the timer on your watch or cell phone to beep every so often to remind you to refocus on The Present (just in case you drifted off!). Remember, this is all about practice. No one (well maybe the Dali Lama) does this perfectly. So now is the time to get used to being present. In fact, what were you thinking about when you read this last paragraph. How "present" were you?




5. To quote McCann, "Simplify. Simplify. Simplify." By the time you leave for your big event it's too late to to make any major changes in your life -- and probably too late to make many minor ones. So why stress out over something you can't control? Time to start cutting out anything that might be a distraction and keep it simple and focus on one thing at a time -- no multitasking. Here's how McCann puts it: "The Olympic medal goes to the best single-tasker, not the once keeping the most plates spinning in the air. While multi-tasking may feel like the right thing to do in today's complicated world, it is a recipe for mediocrity."
   
   

So how do you make this work for you?

Print this out. Or better yet, copy the five steps listed above in your own handwriting. Keep the list with you as you start to travel to to your event. Even better, memorize them. Make them a habit.

Think about it [This post's for you JH]. If this works for Olympic athletes, surely this can work for you.

Hope you're enjoying the Summer Games as much as I am.