You may have heard about something I refer to as “The 17 Second Rule” and known worldwide in relation to success, visualization, and productivity. For our purposes here, I will share what I do personally so that I can be more productive in my life and business. It all begins with 17 seconds of productivity, where you simply focus your attention on the goal you wish to achieve for seventeen full seconds. The science behind this practice says that you attract a similar thought to your original one when you hold it for that period of time, and that this has an exponential benefit of being ten times as powerful and effective as your original thought. Brain science fascinates me and that’s why I am sharing it here with you in relation to productivity in your business.
Marla Tabaka wrote about 17 seconds of productivity in her post, “This 17-Second Rule Will Make You More Productive (and Happy)” and in it she claims that you can rewire your brain to improve mindset, increase happiness and success, and stay focused on your goals. She breaks this down into a two part process to get you started and moving towards your goals.
Visualize Your Goals.
Several times a day, stop what you’re doing and visualize, with as much intensity as possible, the strong, positive emotion associated with achieving your ultimate vision. A mere 17 seconds of holding these thoughts and feelings and your mind will begin its transition from a negative state toward an uplifted state. A full 68 seconds increases the power of the thought.
State Your Goals.
Begin your day by passionately stating your goals for the day aloud, followed by a statement about your vision being your reality now. Such declarations send the power of your subconscious mind on a mission to find solutions to fulfill your goals. This may have a subtle effect that builds up over time or it may create a powerful change more immediately.
You can see that it’s not actually 17 seconds of productivity, but sixty-eight seconds to enjoy the full benefit of this exercise. It took me days to master holding one thought for that amount of time, even though it would be a seemingly simple task. Once I did achieve this I moved quickly to double that time spent in pure thought and to them double that to get to the 68 second mark. It was amazing how powerful this was, and how empowered it made me feel.
This “17 seconds of productivity” is not prayer or meditation, but instead is a logical way of using your mind to create, innovate, and manifest what you need to move your business forward. Give this a try, and by that I mean spend the time and do the work in order to reap the benefits of this concept.
I had never heard of this “17 seconds of productivity ” before. I intend to start today and see if I can increase the time within a week to reach that 68 seconds. I do positive affirmations now and while this seems similar it also appears to have a higher level of specificity as you visualize and then say your goal out loud.
Thank you for your comment, Joyce. I’m sure you can easily get to sixty-eight seconds within a week. Yes, this is visualization and affirmations combined, and at a much higher level than most of us are accustomed to as a means of goal achieving.
Connie Ragen Green
I too am fascinated by brain science and how to re program our brains for success. I will try this 17 second rule so thanks so much for sharing.
As always, Connie Ragen Green, you open the curtains and share behind the scenes methods you use to be incredibly successful! Thank you for sharing.
I love this, Connie! Doing this, along with having my new vision board in front of me, gives me hope for the breakthroughs I anticipate this year!! Thanks!