To help prepare for a big event, some people will run through their performance in their mind, making a mental image of what they will do and how it will go. Does it really help to do this?

Some psychologists say yes. Using imagery, visualizing in your mind an action or an outcome, can help to strengthen many different skills needed to give your best performance. It can help to improve concentration, to better control your emotions, to learn new techniques or strategies, and to gain confidence.

But, psychologists say, you need to do it the right way. You should try to incorporate as many senses as possible when you use the imagery, and create the feelings that go along with the action. And when you imagine the task or action, you need to do it as if it were actually occurring, taking place in real time. So, the time it takes to run through the task in your mind should be the same amount of time it would take to actually do.

And, as with anything, the more you do it, the better you become at it, the more it can help you. To get the full benefit of it, you should do it on a regular basis. Take advantage of downtime in your day to do the imagery exercise. It could be when you are waiting to go into a meeting or to give a presentation.

There are many of these gaps in the day, times we usually just waste by letting our minds wander, or just sitting and fretting about the things we have to do. These are precisely the times that we can take advantage of to use the imagery technique. It is a technique that not only enables you to do something constructive with your downtime – rather than feeling worry or stress – but one that helps you to reach your full potential.

So, if you are driving to work, or sitting on a train, or waiting for a conference call, you can take that time to visualize how the event or the day will go, to visualize any glitches or problems that might occur and how you will handle them. The more that you do this visualizing technique, the more your performance and productivity will improve, psychologists say.