A couple of weeks ago I was attending my coach’s mastermind. She’s also a client, so one of my responsibilities is to be in the room early to make sure everything is set up properly.
On Day 2, everything was already set up and I was just hanging out in the room waiting for the rest of the attendees to get there. Since I had some time, I decided to walk the perimeter of the room until others started to arrive.
I’m trying to walk 12,000 steps a day.
During lunch, my client and I took turns staying in the room with suitcases. When it was my turn I, of course, started walking the perimeter of the room again. About halfway through, I realized I was walking in the same direction that I had that morning – with the walls to my right.
Hang with me…there is a business point to this!!
I forced myself to turn around and walk in the opposite direction.
I thought about my horseback riding. When I’m riding in the arena, I always start out in the same direction I had been walking – and I always have to force myself to ride in the opposite direction. It always feels awkward riding in the opposite direction, and the walking in the opposite direction felt “strange”.
But in both cases, the more I went in the opposite direction, it starts to feel better.
This led me to think about business and what “habits” myself and other entrepreneurs have created in our businesses that aren’t so good…
– Social media. Posting without any plan or “when the urge strikes me”.
– Blog posts. Writing blog posts without consideration for keywords and improving SEO.
You know you should be doing both, but there’s just no plan… you just do them out of habit.
Earlier this week I was talking to my accountability buddy, and I was telling her about this blog post. She mentioned a bad habit she has: Checking her emails first thing in the morning, responding to one because, well, it’ll only take a few minutes. Then the next thing you know, it’s hours later and her top priority for the day has not even been started.
I reached out to successful entrepreneurs who are in a group coaching program to ask them what good habits they have created in their businesses, and here’s what they had to say:
Goal Setting
Regularly set realistic and action focused goals. Goals are set on a yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily, and even hourly basis. Take action steps towards those goals every single day.
Time Blocking
Use small blocks of time to tackle those large overwhelming projects – and sometimes even the smaller projects you may not want to do. Set a time for 10 minutes to work on the project every single day.
To-Do Lists
Create a big to-do-list to get these items out of your brain, but also create a daily to-do list of 3 to 5 things to do that day to move your business forward.
Accountability
I’ve found this one to be a huge help. Daily short phone calls Monday through Friday with an accountability buddy to say, “These are the 3 things I’m going to do today” and then whether you did accomplish what you said you were going to do the day before.
Goal Cards
This is another one I’ve become very fond of. On an index card, write your goal, but do it in the present tense. For example, “I am so grateful and happy now that ______.” Then make it a habit to read these cards every morning and evening. When the goal has been met, you can make a smiley face and date it and put it in the drawer.
Personal Time
Whether it’s meditation or walking (or something else), make sure to set time aside every day for your personal time. It’s a great way to ground yourself and give your brain time to reset. I take multiple walks throughout the day. Sometimes I listen to an audiobook, but not always.
What habits have you created in your business? Share with me below!