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Ever noticed that one of the keys to success in just about every sport is “watch the ball.” “Keep your eye on the ball. Focus on the ball.” I’ve heard it during my efforts to learn to play tennis, golf, softball, Ping-Pong and basketball.

Watch the ball a simple and wise instruction. It makes sense. If you see
the ball, it’s more likely you can hit it. Yet, if you’ve learned to play a sport, you know how difficult it can be to really see the ball versus being focused around it – seeing just a hair to the left or a shade to right. Our attention gets diffused. Noise and light and shade create distractions.

We blink or shift our eyes to focus on a peripheral movement. For a millisecond, we take our eye off the ball, lose focus and mishit.

Applied to the workplace, you have to keep your eye on the ball in order to hit your performance targets. One helpful strategy is to review your goals weekly, assess your progress and define your next step forward.