How the Exceptional 10% Outperform Everyone Else

The exceptional 10% who outperform everyone else exist in every company. They have been the focus of hundreds of studies over the last ten years in order to answer one question:

What do they do differently to outperform everyone else?

Data from these research studies was collated and broken down to find commonalities among the exceptional 10%.

One thing became immediately clear: EXCEPTIONAL HAS A PATTERN.

That pattern is fully replicable and it can be summarised with the acronym

B.R.A.I.N. R.E.S.T™. It seemed appropriate since brain rest was key to their success, and of the nine elements of the B.R.A.I.N. R.E.S.T™ framework, it was perhaps the most important.

At the most basic level, brain rest simply means taking regular breaks from work. In fact, on average the exceptional 10% never worked for longer than 52 minutes without a break.  However, all breaks are not created equal. An effective break clears mental clutter and boosts brainpower and creativity, and ineffective break, like grabbing a coffee and giving out about a work project or colleague, only adds to mental clutter and lowers productivity.

If you push yourself beyond 52 minutes and you will begin to be less productive, unfocused or even irritable.

What changes?

Basically, the human brain just wasn’t built for the extended focus during an 8 or 12 hour day. Our brains are vigilant all the time because they evolved to detect tons of different changes to ensure our very survival.  So focusing so hard on one thing for a long time isn’t something we’re ever going to be great at.

The good news is that the fix for this unfocused condition is simple— take an effective break.

Top three effective breaks:

-A 15 minute walk outdoors without your mobile phone!

-Yoga

-Meditation

Even leaving your desk at work and taking a brisk walk to your car, reclining your car seat, closing your eyes and listening to uplifting, high-frequency music for ten minutes is an incredibly effective break (as long as you’re not scrolling through your phone at the same time, this would make it ineffective).

For more information visit B.R.A.I.N. R.E.S.T™ http://www.brainrest.com

Trina Rea, a Fulbright TechImpact Scholar, is the Founder of the online programme B.R.A.I.N. R.E.S.T ™ Her company works with Corporate Clients and individuals teaching them how to apply B.R.A.I.N. R.E.S.T ™ so they too can join the Exceptional 10% and outperform everyone else.