A psychologist explains how successful people do more in a day than others do in a week

Everyone knows someone who works full time, volunteers, runs a successful blog, and somehow still finds time to go grocery shopping, cook organic Instagram-worthy meals, foster a loving relationship, walk his or her adorable Boston Terrier, and, oh — train for a half marathon.

These kinds of “super-achievers” have the same number of hours in the day as the rest of us, but somehow, they always seem to get more done. How do they do it?

As a psychologist and life coach who has spent thousands of hours working with clients over the past 28 years — including hundreds of hours with clients who meet this super-achiever character profile — here’s what I’ve noticed about people who consistently succeed. Plus: How you can tweak your mindset to become a high achiever, too.

Fully Commit
Whatever you’re doing right now? Be fully in it. Commit.

When you see an Olympic hurdler leaping over barricades with superhuman agility, does she look distracted? Nope. She is 100% invested in the task at hand. And as you can see from her success, commitment leads to greatness.

So what do you do when you feel your mind wandering away from the present moment? Josh Pais, creator of Committed Impulse, high-performance training for actors, public speakers, and entrepreneurs, recommends saying “I’m back!” out loud whenever you feel yourself drifting away. You might get a few odd looks from bystanders, but it works!

Avoid Multitasking
Your email inbox, Instagram, Facebook, that hilarious viral cat video, and an ad proclaiming a big sale at your favorite website — these are probably just a few of the tabs you have open, commanding your attention while you simultaneously try to finish a project a work. It’s not out of the ordinary; multitasking has become the norm.

But the human mind is not designed for multitasking. In fact, research has proven that we’re pretty terrible at it. When you try to multitask, you lose focus, you’re more likely to make errors, and projects tend to take longer.

To make sure you can focus completely, strive to shut off all distractions — even if that means locking your cell phone in a drawer while you work. Extreme? Maybe. But it’s worth a try!