Getting Your Head in the Right Space Before the Season Kicks Off.

For agricultural contractors, the Spring season is always a challenging one. Long hours, weather pressures, varying ground conditions, crop failures, machinery breakdowns and client demands all pile up. It can feel relentless at times. That is why being mentally prepared matters just as much as having your tractors serviced and your crew ready.

Sports psychology has studied how top performers prepare for high-pressure moments. Contractors face their own high-pressure “competition” multiple times every season.

What is the difference between coping and surviving with a few less hairs and the remaining ones greyer, OR, thriving and growing? It often comes down to mindset.

Below are three time tested  and relevant mental preparation strategies pulled from sports psychology that you can put in place now, before the season starts in a few weeks’ time.

1. PREPARE: Clarity of Purpose

Goal-Setting Theory shows that clear, specific, and challenging goals are far more motivating than vague “do your best” targets. Specific goals sharpen focus, especially under stress. What are some goals you have for your business? More bales made? More ha cultivated? More time face to face with customers? Have staff organised BEFORE the season kicks in?

Why it matters for agricultural contractors
The season has a way of turning into a blur: phone calls, jobs stacking up, weather windows closing. Without a clear “goal,” you risk drifting into survival mode. When you connect the season’s grind to your bigger purpose, the tough days have meaning, and that steadiness helps you lead with more confidence.

The WOOP method, or Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan helps us not only visualise success but also anticipate and plan for likely obstacles, which makes follow-through more realistic.

For each priority, write:

  • Wish: The goal (e.g., secure labour early).
  • Outcome: What success looks like. (e.g., all staff on site before 25th September)
  • Obstacle: The likely barriers (e.g., workers pulling out last minute, visas etc).
  • Plan: “If [obstacle] happens, then I will [specific action].”

2. PREPARE: Daily Routine

Research on pre-performance routines shows they calm nerves, stabilise attention, and improve execution under pressure.

Uncertainty is stressful. Once the season begins, unexpected breakdowns and client demands are unavoidable, but your daily rhythm doesn’t have to be. Having consistent start-up and shutdown routines keeps you grounded, even on chaotic days. The less you leave to chance, the steadier you’ll be when things get rough. It works for the likes of Warren Buffett, it will work for you too.

Practical actions you can take

Start of Day (3 minutes):

  • Three slow breaths to reset.

Check today’s schedule and pick the top three jobs.

End of Day (5 minutes):

  • Note down any issues from the day
  • Decide tomorrow’s first job
  • Send quick updates to staff or clients. This clears your head so you don’t carry it all into the evening.

Premortem Season Exercise (10 minutes pre-season): Imagine the season has failed. Ask yourself “what went wrong?” Write down the causes (staff shortage, poor cashflow, delayed servicing) and put counter-measures in place now. This reduces blind spots and builds confidence as well as the ability to pivot quickly if these events do occur.

3. PREPARE: Recovery & Mental Energy

We all know that the research shows adults need 7+ hours for optimal decision-making, reaction time, and mood stability. This however is obviously not practical or possible in the season. However it is important to not let shorter periods of sleep drag on for too long! Shorting sleep might work for a few days, but over weeks it erodes performance and mental health.

  • Micro-breaks and power naps (10–25 minutes) have been proven to restore alertness and maintain focus during long, demanding shifts.
  • Decision fatigue studies show that willpower and mental energy deplete across the day, which is why batching decisions into set windows preserves energy.

The season is a marathon, not a sprint. Many contractors push themselves into exhaustion early and then struggle to keep performance and attitude steady when the season peaks. Building recovery into your schedule is strategic. It keeps you sharper for longer, which is what your business needs.

Practical actions you can take

  • Do office Work in 90-Minute Blocks: Focus hard, then take 3–5 minutes to reset (walk the yard, stretch, drink water).
  • Batch Decisions: Choose two times a day (early-morning and late afternoon) to make business decisions. Avoid constant ad-hoc decision-making that drains your mental energy.
  • Take a Break if Needed. Willpower and mental energy deplete throughout the day, which is why pushing through without taking a 10 or 15min short break is not sustainable. If you’re flagging, a 15–20 minute nap beats grinding through fog.

Your Next Step

Before the season kicks off, take 10 minutes to prepare your goals. Share them with your team even. One outcome, One why, and three top operational priorities. Then run a quick premortem: “If this season failed, why?” and note your counter-moves.

Tack these sheets somewhere you’ll see them often. When the pressure rises, the phone’s ringing, the clouds are rolling in, and the tractor’s just set a new record for “number of error codes displayed simultaneously,” you’ll at least have a compass. You know not just what you’re working for, but why and how you’ll respond.

That clarity can turn a stressful season into a successful one.