Benefits of Visualization

Last Updated August 03, 2017

“Part of the captain’s pre-flight ritual was for the entire crew to run through potential emergencies, and to visualize what they would do, and to where they would turn their attention. When disaster struck, he and his crew had a picture in their minds of how they would react.”
The power of mental models

The benefits of visualization
You’ve heard of the rigorous training for the military, astronauts, and even pilots like the ones mentioned above. While we don’t have the time to perform the same task over and over, we do have the ability to visualize. It’s the idea of mental practice to enhance your motivation, increase confidence, and prime your brain for success. World famous golfer, Jack Nicklaus has said, “I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp in-focus picture of it in my head”.

By taking time to visualize what we want to do, before we do it, we can begin to understand how a situation will unfold. When you took the time to plan out the series of steps that would comprise your experience, you visualized. Visualization doesn’t need to stop there.

How to use visualization in planning
As an experience operator you’re faced with a number of tasks that require your attention each week. The feeling that things just “pop up” each day can often be attributed to a lack of planning or visualization. Imagine sitting on a flight when the pilot jumps on the intercom to say, “hey, something just came up, we’re going to make a quick stop in New York”.

While we can’t account for every situation, we can do our best to put preventative measures in place. To do so requires us to plan; something we touched on earlier this year in an article about productivity and time management CLICK HERE. To use visualization in planning your business begins with allowing yourself time to visualize.

Try to set aside 1 day per week to plan out your upcoming week. Then, simply imagine yourself waking up each day and performing your work. In your mind, try to create your own movie of what that day will look like.

What tasks will you need to complete?
Do you have everything you need to complete those tasks?
Is there anyone waiting on you before they can do their job?
When are you going to eat lunch?

Once you’ve completed that day, move onto the next, and so on. Until you’ve managed to visualize your entire week.

Weekly planning chart/guide
While we can only offer suggestions, it’s your responsibility to find a process that works best for you.

Below are the sheets our team uses internally when planning our weeks.

Daily Planning Sheet

Weekly Planning Guide

Each day is broken into 3 major categories: Planning, Communicating, and Doing. While we do take the time to plan each week, we also find it important to take time at the beginning of each day to plan further. This includes breaking tasks down into smaller, more actionable items.

For example, we may have a task called “EzSites v5.2 Home Page” scheduled for that day. At the beginning of that day, we would break that task into smaller pieces such as:
• Research competitors
• Run reports from Google Analytics
• Download heat map usage
• Create page wireframe
• Apply design

Taking the time to break tasks into smaller items is part of the visualization process. It helps you to create a checklist for yourself, or others.

Get an accountability partner
This kind of forward thinking can often be difficult to do on your own. Find yourself a co-worker, friend, or family member if needed. One of the best things you can do is to have a support group when things become difficult or confusing.

If you have trouble visualizing your week, remember that you have the ability to write your future — even if it’s just planning 1 day at a time. If you’re not happy with how your weeks are unfolding, you have the power to change that through visualization and planning.

Popular Articles

E-Certificates: Strategy, Fees, and Policy

The COVID-19 crisis had hit the travel, tourism, and events industries in unimaginable ways. The viability of your business depends on making difficult decisions and finding some way to generate revenue. A robust E-Certificate strategy is the best immediate way to mitigate losses and generate some revenue. To help better serve you and your guests, […]

Read More

Activity Operator Confessions

Meet Christine, an activity operator with a couple problems. She’s working hard to keep guests happy while growing a tour business on her own, and it’s pretty tough. Visitors love her experiences, but she has a few big picture problems to tackle if she really wants to meet her goals.   Connect with some guy […]

Read More

New E-Certificate Upgrades

Out with the old, in with the new! Our E-certificates have undergone a facelift and learned some new tricks just in time for holiday giving. These additional features, combined with a polished new look are certain to enhance the online guest experience. So, whats new? New look We’ve given the E-Cert purchasing process a facelift. It will […]

Read More

Show More