Have you ever tried to accomplish something great on sheer willpower? It’s really hard, because the only person powering the will power is you. You’d have to be super human to have that kind of perseverance, especially if you’re fairly new to being an entrepreneur. Here’s the thing, you don’t need super powers or to be highly self motivated and creative to create success. What you need is to have a proven system and a strong set of daily business habits. It’s the small things we do every single day that move us towards greatness and success. If you want to be an athlete, you have to develop healthy eating habits, sleep habits, and an exercise regime that is suited for an athletic lifestyle. It cannot be accomplished in a day, a week, or even a month. Becoming great at anything is a journey, so don’t be afraid to start at the beginning and enjoy the process. I believe our lives are a constant work in progress, from one milestone to the next.

So what kind of habits do you need to create to be a successful entrepreneur? I’m going to walk you through the habits I’ve developed over the last few years that have helped me become more focused, more consistent, more confident, and results driven. It started with building a strong foundation in my life.

Sleep

Ok, so I was one of those people who used to say I will sleep when I’m dead! I never wanted to miss out on anything and I figured I could out caffeine any amount of sleep. Sadly, if I had continued on that path, I probably would be dead sooner than later. This is sustainable for a short time, but over time you will hit burn out and extreme anxiety with lack of sleep, and that is not good for business! Now I’m not an early riser and a bit of a night owl, but no matter what I always aim for 8 hours of sleep. When we’re tired we default to lazy habits we’ve had our whole lives and we run on auto pilot, sleepwalking through life. We have to wake up and start living each day with intention and a good nights rest helps you make better choices and decisions.

Healthy Lifestyle

If you want to be productive, you have to exercise and you have to nourish your body with the right foods. Here’s the thing, if you’re not taking care of you, your number 1 asset, you’re building your business on quicksand. Daily exercise is key, so find something you love, and commit to it, at least 6 days a week. As far as nutrition goes, now that I’ve created healthy sustainable eating habits, I don’t need copious amounts of caffeine to keep me energized and focused. If you want to know more about the Nutrition Plan I follow, click here and grab your free tools to get started.

Personal Development

I love that saying, your business will only grow as big as you. I know for myself I had a lot of work to do to transition my mindset into one that was future focused, faith driven, committed, positive, and of service to others. Most people can learn a new skillset, but business is about learning a new mindset and programming your brain for success. When we change our thinking, we change our habits. When we change our habits, we change our lives. If you need a good book recommendation, hit me up, I'd be happy to help you find the perfect read for whatever stage you're currently at.

Scheduling and Time Management of Tasks

When you’re starting a business, or when you want to create momentum in business and get results, you need to develop strong scheduling and time management skills. You can’t just wing it. Here are my tips: Grab a journal and a planner. Download all of your thoughts and what you think you need to do for your business and brain dump it into your journal. Number the tasks from high to low priority. Then take your planner and highlight the time you have to sit down and focus on the tasks you need to accomplish and move the tasks from your journal into your planner based on priority.

Bonus tip: I work my business in time blocks. On Sundays I brain dump, goal set and schedule my week. Weekday mornings I start my day with something inspiring and motivating. On mondays I write a blog and I schedule my social media. On Tuesdays I promote my blog and coach my team. On Fridays I take new client calls, follow up with leads, and hop on a facebook live. Every day I set an hour aside to engage on social media and connect with people 1 on 1. Afternoons I exercise, because I’m not really into the morning routine, and by the evening I’m too tired. So every evening after I tidy and put the kids to bed, I look at how my day went and I prioritize my top 3 tasks for the next day and I read a personal development book in bed. The rest of my time is reserved for relaxing, cooking, socializing, and spending quality time with my friends and family. I don’t have to figure out what I’m doing each week or each day, because these are my habits and it’s a rhythm for myself and for my mind. You guys, you do not need to work all the time to make a healthy living, you need to do the right things, and be smart with how you spend your time.

Bonus tip #2: I get invited to a lot of events, I get asked to volunteer for a lot of different things. I love saying yes, but I’ve had to learn how to say no to the things that get in the way of my priorities and keep me from moving forward on the things I truely desire for my life. Sometimes that means saying no to toxic friendships, saying no to late nights, saying no to volunteer opportunities or helping a friend on a project. Sometimes it means saying no to my family so I can say yes more often. I love helping others, but my priorities are my priorities and must stay aligned with my core desires, my intentions, and my fundamental beliefs.

Commitment

Commitment means staying loyal to what you said you were going to do long after the feeling has passed. Ever read a book or watch a motivational video that gets you excited about your work, a project, organizing your house or a new exercise regime. You decide you’re going to start tomorrow. Maybe you do, but usually you don’t feel like you did when you watched the video. Or maybe you get started for a week and then it becomes hard, so you quit. Deciding means committing to the process no matter what. It’s not about committing to your desired outcome, it’s about committing to the tasks required to get you to the end goal, every single day. And every single day you need to recommit to the process.

Consistency

Consistency is what makes habits that much easier to stick to. It forms patterns in your life, it's repetition, and achieving results is all about doing the same little things every single day that create massive results over time. ​I don't know if you've ever read The Compound Affect, but this book changed the way I see how how affective my day to day routine is in the big picture.

That’s why habits are so important. You may have habits that are currently keeping you from doing what you need to do - staying up late, going to a job you hate, watching tv every night, eating the wrong foods, skipping exercise, putting off today what you can do tomorrow. The list goes on, and it’s likely you’re not consciously making these choices, you just haven’t started consciously making new ones. So start deciding what habits (tasks) you’re going to create to help you move closer towards your desires and further away from the life you want to change.

I put together a business habit checklist for you that outlines where you should be focusing your efforts to maximize your time and get the biggest return for your home business. Snag it here >>

Here’s the thing, I don’t believe anyone is perfect, and I used to think I had to be perfect and have it all figured out in order to find success. But here’s the deal, first I had to define what success meant to me, and then I had to figure out what i needed to change about my habits that was keeping me from getting there. Does that mean I don’t enjoy indulgent meals, drink too much wine and sleep in, skip a work out, or take a day off from my routine! No! I am human, I strive for balance in all areas of my life because that’s success to me...But I need to stick to my success habits 90% of the time, because old habits are easy to slide back into when they come easy. Work those muscles, practice every day, and do your best. We’re all a work in progress and its all about enjoying the journey of self discovery and creation.

Did you find Value in today’s tips? I sure hope so, because I know what its like to build and grow a business and I want everyone to have the freedom and flexibility that is possible when you do things in a way that align with who you are, and also with the business practices that work.

Care to share what you liked best in the comments below?

xo Johanna​