If you’re looking to grow your online business but are feeling stuck intentions — you’ve come to the right place.
Entrepreneurial habits are the secret sauce for successful businesses… they open you up to that “growth mindset” that everyone talks about — with positivity and organisation.
I’ve personally both practiced and experienced the following 100 habits for entrepreneurs.
And, in this post, you’ll learn what they are, and how you can implement these habits right now.
They’re broken down into 5 categories so you can jump into the section that fits what you need most.
Let’s get into it!
Habits for an Entrepreneurial Mindset
1. Plan Your Perfect Work Day — and Do It!
What is your dream work day?
The one where you get lots done and make significant steps in the right direction.
Planning your dream work day allows you to go all in and start manifesting the business you want — by living it!
By living through my perfect work day regularly — I became so motivated! I got crystal clear on what I wanted to achieve, how I was going to do it, and what actions I had to take straight away.
I found that I was ticking things off faster because this work was driven by my own desire!
2. Set Up Your Office Space
Do you know the phrase “don’t sh*t where you eat”?
Well, this is the business version 😉
Your office space is your dedicated area for “deep work” — work mode in flow state — uninterrupted.
It should inspire you.
My office spaces have ranged from shoe boxes and meditation cushions to a camping chair and desk outside…
But they ALWAYS look outside, where I draw my flow from!
3. Start Telling Yourself You’re an Expert
Tap into your confidence. You have the knowledge and experience to make this happen.
Once you start telling yourself that you can do it, taking bold steps to build your business becomes easier.
Affirmations:
4. Tell People About Your Business As If It Already Exists
To bring something into this world, you have to speak it into being.
So, when you talk to people about what you do — tell them as if you’re already successful in what you do!
When I started doing this, I found that my mindset completely changed — because I truly believed what I was saying.
5. Network with People Already There
”If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.”
A quote — with no definitive source — that’s always stuck with me.
Put yourself out there and get to know the people that are already where you want to be. Ask questions. Observe.
This is a habit that is challenging — for me — because it’s met with hesitation and fear of judgment.
But I can promise you that those feelings are counteracted with support and generosity!
6. Be Prepared to Fail
No matter how much you plan, predict and get organised… you’re going to fail at some point.
Getting into the habit of treating each failure as a learning opportunity stops that feeling of being stuck.
For more on this, I highly recommend you watch this great interview from the Female Entrepreneur Association that talks about this in-depth >> More Success Less Stress
7. Refine ONE Skill
Got a thirst for knowledge? Excellent.
Focusing on one aspect of your skillset and growing it helps you to deliver your offer with confidence.
I stumbled upon this one when I discovered I’d been writing fluff for years. So I had to completely re-learn what I thought I knew. HELLO EGO.
The result is a better service — so even if the learning process is a battle, it’s worth it.
8. Separate Your Business Money from Personal
Small habits like this save you hours of time.
Using money trackers or digital services like Wise allow you to assign tags that make it crystal clear what your expenses are, and where they are in your accounts.
Of course, if you’re setting up a business from scratch, it is recommended that you start up an LLC and keep everything separate so things don’t get messy in the long-run.
9. Make a Sprint
A “sprint” is a term coined by Agile project management systems. It’s used to describe the amount of time that you have to complete a certain amount of tasks in.
It’s also a super engaging and satisfying way to complete tasks!
It looks like this…
Sprints are awesome because you can visualise how much work you have to do, the stages required to make it happen, then move each item through the stages.
You can effectively do this for weeks, months, even years if you want.
You can make this system with any project management tool like Monday.com, Jira or ClickUp. It’s also possible to make it in Notion — my note-taking tool of choice.
10. Using Tech to Your Advantage
If you have a timely task — you can probably do it faster using an online tool.
Here are some that you should get into the habit of using…
11. Riding the Idea Wave
When you get an idea, do you make a mental note… never to think of the idea again? You could be missing out on some business gold!
There are a few things that you can do to ride the idea wave
Make a voice note
Use a note taking app on your phone (I think it’s clear I like Notion now)
Be old-fashioned — write a note
Sometimes I take a screenshot of a message like this.
Whatever works.
12. Stalk the F*** Out of Your Competition
What do you know about your competition? Like really?
Do some healthy stalking — get into the habit of catching up with them regularly.
Are you subscribed to their newsletter? Follow them on Insta? Have you looked at their traffic on Semrush? It’s possible.
Do it all. You can learn so much.
If there are tell-tale signs of fake it to you make it — move on to the bigger fish and see what’s happening.
13. Positive Reinforcement Tracker
So… I had to add this one just because I found it so cute.
It’s kinda similar to having a gratitude practice (see no. 24) but outward!
There is an awesome idea that I found on no. 6 of this Inc. article, where you have three things on your desk, each representing one thank you that you give out a day.
The idea is that those three things must be gone by the end of the day.
14. Leave Work on Your Computer
If you’ve got applications related to your business on your phone, I strongly suggest you delete them.
Your biggest and brightest business idea is going to come to you when you least expect it.
So, get into the habit of allowing time for that to happen. Leave your work on your computer.
I love doing this to get clear on what I want, and digesting all of the information that I consumed throughout the day — which is a lot!
15. Be Open to Inspiration
Do you look at successful businesses and think “damn, I wish that was mine!”
Change your mindset here — from “I wish” to “I’m inspired”.
Look at HOW they got there.
What marketing strategies they’re using? …how could this be something that YOU do?
When you start to look at things this way, there is inspiration and useful tactics that you can take from EVERYWHERE, which brings us swiftly onto…
16. Keep a Swipe File
This is an idea that most content marketers use, but since he built a whole business around it, Neville Medhora — an amazing copywriter — is the leading Swipe file guy.
Swipe files are inspo folders.
They can be physical like a scrapbook, or digital on your cloud drive or desktop. The idea is that your screenshot or note of awesome inspo and keep it on file — ready to use when you need ideas!
17. Always Respond to Your Customers
If you want to keep your audience engaged, you’ve got to talk to them… duh?
An audience is more likely to be loyal to a brand that they feel they have a personal connection with. It brings about trust.
So whether you’re on social media, blogging or have a growing email list, respond directly, make it personal and answer all questions — consistently!
If you can’t, assign the task to someone else.
18. Ask for Help
Ask any successful entrepreneur, and they’ll tell you community is what helped them build their business
So when you feel stuck — reach out, have conversations with folks you know, and reach out to those you don’t!
You never know, you could be the person that they’re looking for 😉
19. Keep Up-to-Date with Your Industry
Do you follow the change makers and leading authorities of your industry?
You could probably learn a thing or two.
Attending webinars, real-life human events, and generally following your industry is a great way to eyeball any gaps that your product or service could fill.
Personally, this has been a way for me to find potential leads and get that first point of connection. It also gives you something to talk about when you reach out 😉
20. Be Generous
People hate feeling like their being cheated… but when you do the opposite, and are generous with what you offer — people are engaged.
Being generous DOES NOT mean selling yourself short. It means being giving.
So if someone asks a question, give them links, direct them to an amazing resource, offer to get on a call and show them a solution…
When you do this, you’re building relationships and generally being helpful.
21. Offer Value First
What are your audiences burning desires?
How can you edge them closer to what they want?
This is what should come first.
Wellness and Holistic Habits
22. Meditation
I used to work for a CEO with an insanely successful background — and he never stopped talking about making meditation a daily habit.
Why?
Because when you’ve got 1,005 things on your to-do list, meditating first thing, regularly allows you to get clear on what comes first, and take focused action to move forward.
Meditation apps like Insight Timer come with team features — so if you’re serious about getting your team into the habit of meditating, you can make it a group activity too.
23. Schedule Time for Movement
The body and mind are connected.
So to run a successful business, you’ve got to get into the habit of taking care of your body so mind works at its best.
Scheduling time for movement — be it walking, dancing, yoga, climbing… literally whatever you enjoy — releases stagnant energy in the body and mind, making room for better stuff.
24. Gratitudes
When I first learned about having a gratitude practice, I didn’t believe in its power.
Practicing being grateful raises your vibration — ie. you become happier because you get into the habit of consciously thinking about the good things in your life.
So you feel confident, and have an open mindset, ready to take on new challenges.
And it’s a stupidly simple daily habit to take on — just write 3 things that you feel grateful for.
You can read more about having a gratitude practice here.
25. Move with People!
If you have a team and work online, one of the hardest things to do is cultivate that sense of community in the team. It can so easily become isolating work.
To move away from the “just get sh*t done” mentality — get people moving together! It builds on relationships, team accountability and fosters community.
My experience of this has been everything from sharing targets to doing collective KM challenges for charity. Apps like Strava are great tracking apps that you can “have friends” on to create accountability.
26. Walking
I come from a family of walkers… it’s just always been a thing I’ve had a habit of doing. It wasn’t until I started working online that I really grasped its value.
You need time to process information, solve problems or have the all-important “fresh eyes” on a task — and walking does all that for you!
27. Reading
No matter how many successful entrepreneurs you ask… in any niche — they’ll have a reading list as long as their arm.
As a writer, I came across this little nugget from Stephen King’s — On Writing, who had a library of essentials for novelists that he kindly included at the end of the book.
28. Your Sleeping Pattern
I’m not going to tell you to get up at 5 am (but, if that’s what success is to you — go for it).
Having a regular, consistent sleep schedule is a basic for mind-body health that is often neglected.
Once I got into this habit and fell off track for a birthday party — as any human does — I quickly realised the impact that it had on my energy levels. I was basically useless the next day.
A good resource for this is Why We Sleep — which is a great read as recommended in this review from Bill Gates.
29. Take Time for Yourself
Are you in the habit of prioritising yourself?
The toxic corners of the working world might not practice self-care but…. most successful entrepreneurs do.
Switch off your phone, close your computer and be in a quiet space to reflect, exercise, read, write, meditate, move — whatever it takes to go inward and connect.
This is my most valuable time of the day. It allows me to be grounded, present and focused for everything else.
30. Journalling
Journaling is basically keeping a diary — but instead of writing what you did today, you're tapping into how you feel and what's coming up in life.
Do you reflect on your day?
Work out what went well, what didn’t, and how you can fix things?
Personally, I have one for business-related things and for my personal life. But sometimes I make a note in Notion, it looks a bit like this…
The book that led me to journaling was The Ultimate Guide to Self-Healing — an inspirational collection of stories that include healing tools, some of which are journal prompts.
31. An Energising Diet
It’s easy to slip into “quick solutions” for food when you’re busy. Before you know it, you’re eating crappy foods, you’re tired and not performing your best.
I’m not saying eat like an athlete. But when you’re in the habit of eating a balanced diet of fruits, veggies and proteins, you have much more energy for your business.
32. Do Fun New Things
It might sound cheesy — but let life inspire you!
Get into the habit of trying out new things and being in different environments to keep an open mindset.
Some fun things I’ve tried
A snap of me living and working from a van.
33. Square Breathing
So… I’m not the best at concentrating. I’ve tried many different methods (jump to Productivity for more), and this one was recommended to me by a coach.
Square breathing is the practice of inhaling, pausing, exhaling, pausing — all for 4 counts.
It makes a square like this...
The counting, rhythm and pattern are great practices for increasing your attention span.
34. Schedule a Self-Care Day!
Sauna after your gym session? Reiki? Long walk?… whatever you consider being “self-care”.
Having regularly allocated time for yourself tells your mind and body that it's deserving of rest and rewards. It’s a reminder that you allowed to take a break.
Which brings us on to…
35. Slow TF Down
One of the greatest mistakes you can make in your career — speaking from personal experience — is thinking that you need to work yourself to the bone to earn success — cue burnout!
I guess this is what the quote “work smart, not hard” is getting at.
When I stopped trying so damn hard, I found myself strategising in a more logical way, and finding meaningful actions that I could take… that made things a lot less stressful!
36. Put Inspo Quotes Everywhere
When you feel inspired, you feel motivated — you’re vibration is higher, and things start happening… ie. you actually believe that you’re going to be successful!
I didn’t even realise I was doing this until I watched a video from Carrie Green — founder of the Female Entrepreneur Association.
An easy way to have inspo quotes everywhere is to have them on your digital devices.
For example I use Momentum Dash, a Google Chrome extension which gives me an inspo quote every day with my to-do list.
I also use Insight Timer, which now has an option to send inspo quotes to your notifications every day.
37. Practice Deep Listening
Deep listening is a communication tool that is much easier said than done… for some anyway. The idea is to listen to people.
You might be thinking “but Eilidh, obviously I listen to people” — bare with me here.
Do you speak until you have nothing left to say?
Do you let other people do that? This is deep listening.
When I started doing this, I found that my connection to people became much deeper. And we were able to get to the heart of what was being said.
38. Learn from Your Mistakes
Ideally combined with no. 35.
Do you make a mistake and then just throw it away? It’s probably going to come back to you double time.
Learning from a mistake isn’t just thinking “oops, that didn’t work — oh well”. It’s about how you can take action to make it not repeat. Otherwise, this cycle continues.
Think…
Then move forward.
39. Let Go
Let go of perfection.
Let go of needing to control everything.
Control what you can — and do your absolute best at those things.
Letting go means allowing the journey to take you where it will take you, and being open to possibilities that arise.
It DOES NOT mean doing nothing.
Growth Mindset
40. Visualisation for Your Business
Visualisation is a simple exercise where you imagine what you want your business to look like.
Sort of like daydreaming — but intentional.
You can think of what your working day would be like, how your sales funnels would work, how many clients you will have… and go into the minute details!
Then, practice daily.
This is an exercise that many entrepreneurs are following, however, my main resources are Carrie Green, pro manifester, Christina Rice, and Dr. David Hamilton.
If you would prefer to follow someone else's voice, there are heaps of visualisation exercises on Insight Timer.
41. 1-Month, 3-Month, 1-Year Ambitions
If you’re just starting out with your business, short-term and long-term goals help to make your vision clearer and track your progress over time.
I’ve been doing this for a few years now, and one of my biggest learnings is to not get too attached to the long-term goals... you'll notice in my list here, I'm not being very specific.
One year can change your life.
So what you want of the start of the year, might changes somewhere along the way.
And that’s ok.
42. Accountability
You’re much more likely to complete a task if someone else holds you to it.
So, once you’ve got your goals from 41. Show them to someone else… your team members, a friend, a neighbour, your grandma…. Whoever is around and will check in again a few weeks down the line.
When I worked for a company, we read out our goals to the whole team.
However, what I found more helpful was when I shared this someone I worked with regularly who I knew would hold me accountable for those goals.
43. Take Smart Risks
Be honest… are you throwing yourself in the deep end or do you know what you’re doing will achieve a specific result?
This is the difference between a risk and a smart one 😉
44. Welcome Change
More of a life lesson than a habit of an entrepreneur.
When you've watched an idea grow, it can be hard to accept that it's no longer serving you or your business.
Accepting and welcoming change is hard. It activates the part of your brain that wants to control things — something I mentioned back on no.36.
But when you welcome in change — you let go of that need. And become open to new ideas, and therefore opportunities!
45. Set a Financial Goal
It’s important that the goal that you set is challenging yet within reach.
Too high, and you’re going to give up when you realise it’s just not possible. Too low and you risk becoming lazy because your target seems easy.
Somewhere in the middle is motivating! And just right.
46. Accept That This is Terrifying
Is it just me… or is no one else in this and like AARGH?!
Get into the habit of realising that this fear is because you’re out of your comfort zone and going for it… Not because you can’t 😉
The term growing pains seems to fit for adolescence and spiritual and financial freedom!
47. Do Energising Activities
What activities give you a buzz?
For me, it’s either yoga or surfing.
They leave me feeling alive, strong, and capable of doing anything!
When I do them, I have confidence which seeps into everything else that I do that day… which is an awesome solution for the problem of no. 46!
48. Take on One Goal at a Time
To make real progress — you’ve got to focus on achieving one goal at a time.
If you want to become the number 1 search result for knitting patterns for babies. You’re probably wasting your time creating social media content right now… you should be doing SEO.
To do this, I choose one goal and list all of the possible things that I’ll need to achieve that goal. Then start checking them off.
Rinse and repeat!
49. Challenge Your Self-Esteem Demons
It’s not all going to be highly motivational and amazing.
Some days, you’re going to question why you’re doing this, and you have to be ready for those self-esteem demons.
When this happens. Take it easy on yourself… even take a break if you want.
Remind yourself that you’re worthy, and even reach out to someone to express how you’re feeling.
You’re human — and you deserve to be taken care of!
50. Affirmations for Success
Repeat as often as you want.
51. Keep a Notebook with You
There’s really no telling when your best idea will come.
I actually keep 2 notebooks with me.
One for freelance things and another that’s more of a journal. I find that they complement each other quite well.
Some days, I need to drill out my thoughts, other days I need to explore what I’ve learned or think up what is best for me.
52. Challenge Yourself
Where there are challenges, there is growth.
Doing things that get you out of your comfort zone forces you to think differently. Whether it’s in work, or out of work.
It doesn’t have to terrify you, but the increase in your heartbeat certainly helps to push the comfort zone boundaries 😉
The more I explore my career, the more I’m finding myself teetering on the edge. I don’t think I’d be in the position I’m in if I didn’t.
53. Working Backwards from Your Goal
When you work backwards from a goal, it helps you to become more strategic about your moves.
Think about getting your first 5 clients.
You might not know how to do that just yet.
But, thinking about how you close the deal… and then how you started talking to them in the first place… it becomes much easier to see how you’ll get there.
54. Get Good at Talking About Your Business
Shocking but real fact — most entrepreneurs can’t describe their business in one sentence.
When you’ve spent months carving out your niche and nailing down what you want to do… you become swept up in your own terminologies.
But, people aren’t in your head!
This is a classic case of the Curse of Knowledge. Taking time out to work out what you do in simple terms will make all of your business-related conversations much easier.
55. Attend More Events
Networking is your level up.
The more you do it, the more opportunities you’ll find come your way.
My biggest learning curve working online, particularly when going freelance, was getting over this idea that you’re going it alone. You’re not.
You’re constantly making connections, remembering those that you already have, and talking to people… and attending events, both online and with real human people are the best way to do this.
56. Play to Your Strengths and Weaknesses
Have you ever listed out your strengths and weaknesses?
When you have them listed out in front you, it becomes easier to see where you struggle and how you can help yourself.
For example, I’m shockingly bad at maths. To the point where I did a discalcus test, but the field is so poorly researched that they told me to try harder…
BUT, I can balance this out with my organisation skills ie. if I document my expenses, I’ll be less overwhelmed when it comes to things like doing taxes, that require pretty good maths.
Suddenly it’s not that difficult!
Business Stuff
57. Update Website Regularly
Is your website up-to-date?
Having a website that works and has recent content is crucial to the success of your business.
When I was working for companies my website had digital cobwebs hanging from it.
I wasted years not putting practical things in place to grow my audience which made my transition to freelance copywriter MUCH harder.
To stop you from doing the same (freelancing or not), here are some tips to keep your website afloat…
58. Use a Digital Note-taker
Having a note-taker at hand to write down ideas, set goals and plan your days is a life-saver.
I’ve tried a few, and Notion is hands down my favourite… as you might have guessed already.
59. Security Checks
Is your website secure?
If not, you could be putting yourself and customers at risk… as well as pushing away any new visitors to another website… and therefore, purchasing another service.
If you’re using a website builder like Squarespace or Wix — you’re safe!
But if you’re not, here are some quick tips
60. Be Patient
If you’re a victim of shiny object syndrome — challenge it.
I’m 100% that person… it’s the joy of being a millennial 🙂
Making a commitment to see things through and being patient with how long it takes, even when it’s super hard, will have you reaping the rewards on the other side.
61. Basic SEO
SEO is a complex strategy that you have to dedicate time to if you want to reap the benefits.
When you make your website, there’s a few things that you can do to get going, before you need to hire someone (like me) to do it for you…
There’s also Surfer SEO who have just launched a FREE website optimisation tool that literally walks you through the pages you need to improve your rankings — it’s cool!
62. Say No
Do you jump on a task as soon as someone asks you to do something… even when you’re super busy?
It probably interrupts your flow and leaves you feeling like you’ve done nothing, right?
Set a boundary and say no to jumping on it right now.
…Unless it’s an emergency.
Even better, do it the next day to prevent any interruptions to that flow.
63. Stay Niche
Do you offer one thing… or a little bit of everything?
As the saying goes…“ a Jack of all trades — and master of none.”
Avoid spreading yourself too thinly — stick to one service and do it well. You can think about expanding later.
When I done this, I was able to pin point EXACTLY what I’m good at doing… content marketing… and offer my best to people. This meant that I refused work, even when I had none.
64. Hire a Person to Do One Thing, Not 5
To follow on from no. 63.
A person doing one thing well will help you grow your business.
Someone who is “okay” at a bunch of things will keep you where you are.
65. Set an Intention For Your Business
What’s your big goal here? Write it on a sticky note and keep it in your wallet, write it on your mirror — whatever. Just keep it with you as a reminder.
This is a kinda cute manifestation idea from Neville Medhora — it works.
66. Rapid Implementation
Rapid implementation is getting into the habit of just doing sh–.
You build a page — and you ship it. Even if it’s not 100% the best thing in the world, and you move forward. This way you do more, you improve more and everything happens a lot faster for you.
This is a little nugget I learned at Thrive Themes.
67. Small Wins
When I made my content strategy, I cracked open a bottle!
When I launched my website — I had a FEAST.
And when I reach my next goal — I dunno, maybe I’ll get a hair cut…
Getting into the habit of celebrating small wins makes you feel much better about yourself and your business than if you just continue as normal.
It stops you from being swallow by tasks and brings about more happiness when running your business… you might even find it fun.
68. Make a Work Team!
Working with others gives you accountability and (I find) gets you into that deep work mode for longer.
Coworking, meet ups in cafes… the concept is the same. I always get so much done!
Here’s a snap from me at SunDesk Coworking in Taghazout, Morocco…
69. Keep an Empty Inbox
Inboxes are designed to be unwanted attention stealers.
Getting into the habit of emptying your inbox means
Less stress
Less people chasing you (you’ve already responded)
Less missed opportunities
It also gives you a sense of accomplishment when you see you have no messages!
70. Don’t Be a Business Asshole
Treat others how you want to be treated.
71. Be Honest — Always
If something is not working for you — tell the truth.
It’s not going to change unless you take action on it.
Which bring us on to…
72. Listen to Your Intuition
What you typically associate with in business is very masculine energy — it requires logic, focus and assertiveness. It’s all very “yang”.
The pressure to be in this masculine “business” energy had me failing every time I tried to follow my freelance path.
Once I started listening to my intuition — I found the balance of the feminine that I needed to move forward. Because I found the balance of my “yin”.
All of this to say… be yourself.
73. Challenge Your People-pleasing Nature
You have a moral obligation to keep your business alive. And, you can’t keep everyone happy.
Sometimes you’ll have to let people go, reject a business offer or an ditch idea that isn’t working… because it’s best for your business.
This is challenging… but if you go with pleasing people instead, you’ll not get where you need to be.
74. Benefits over Features
For example, instead of saying “vinyasa is a fast flow” which is a feature, say “vinyasa helps you to calm the mind, focus, and see what your body needs right now” — this is a benefit.
It doesn’t necessarily need to be so wordy, but it switches the focus from your service to your customer’s needs.
Getting into the habit of doing this will make everything you write a conversion-focused piece of content.
75. Customer Centric vs. Customer Focused
The cool thing about having an audience is that you have a bunch of data that can help you.
Being customer-centric is when you do things for your audience in the expectation that they will like it.
Whereas being customer focused is listening to what your audience wants… and giving them it.
When you give people what they actually want, things change.
76. Test Everything
How do you know that your pages are the best they can be?Unless you’re testing… you don’t!
This is another little tip I learned at Thrive Themes — by a/b testing pages, you can make small adjustments that make a big difference, with data!
77. Do It In Your Own Way
When you first set out on your entrepreneurial journey — your research results in you consuming A LOT of success journeys.
The most important take away from them all — and I have read many — is that this is your journey, and it’s not gonna be identical to theirs.
So, yes, take advice, observe, and even re-create what works for you… but do it in your own way!
78. Be Consistent
Got a blog? Be consistent in delivering valuable content.
Doing outreach? Be consistent with follow ups and replying quickly.
Consistency is hardwired into the human brain as a sign of reliability — humans live for it. Successful entrepreneurs mirror this in their work.
Productivity
79. Set Out What You Intend to Do — the Day Before
Struggling with overwhelm?
Too many tasks to do?
Think you’re not doing enough?
Set out 6 tasks to do THE DAY BEFORE. I do this in Momentum or the Reminder feature on Mac.
And you’ll come at them with a fresh mind and sharp focus.
80. Don’t Work Beyond That To-Do List
— This is a trick from Neville Medhora, that’s great to stop yourself from overworking.
81. Have Very Specific Routines
Routine and consistency are keys to success.
They help you make the most out of your days, get stuff done, and have time for yourself… in an organised way.
I’ve kept a very tight routine for the last 3 years (although, I do let it go on the weekends), it keeps me in the groove of things — particularly as I work remotely.
This article from Buffer is a great insight into how tightly packed and well-planned entrepreneur's days can be.
Although, Winston Churchill’s seemed to be pretty chill.
82. Close the Door
When you work from home, do you sit on the couch, feet up in the living room?
Chances are you’re not going to get much done.
If you’ve got a deadline coming up, get yourself at a desk, close the door and set a rule that you can’t open that door until you’re done.
This came from Stephen King’s On Writing.
83. Block Out Social Media
Ahhh… the biggest distraction of all!
Social media’s scroll technology is such an energy sucker.
One minute you’re going to send a message, and then 45 minutes later you’re watching a duckling take a nap.
There’s a really cool does-as-it-says-on-the-tin Google extension called Newsfeed Eradicator.
It literally gets rid of the distracting parts of social media so when you go on it, you don’t get lost 😉
84. Crushing Procrastination
I suck at not procrastinating.
My mind wanders, I get lost in what I’m researching… my brain will literally take any opportunity to explore other possibilities than the task in hand.
There’s no pre-set formula for crushing procrastination.
But I found that once I got in the habit of observing WHEN it happened and WHAT my mind went to, I found it easier to block things out and stay focused.
85. Take Really Small Steps
One of the greatest problems for budding entrepreneurs is overwhelm.
When you're getting started, there is always a million and 1 things to do. It's exhausting.
But if you break it down into tiny — like teeny tiny — steps that stop you from freezing or feeling like you're wasting your time, you'll start to see results.
I would credit to one person in particular — but this is a tip that ALL successful entrepreneurs follow.
86. Reject Hustle Culture
Applauding drumming out long hours.
Regularly witnessing people in your team experiencing burnout.
Visibly seeing stress on other's faces… and ignoring it all.
NEWSFLASH: if you want to be super productive, grow and deliver your best work.
This is not the way. Get that out your head.
Yup, you’re gonna work hard sometimes. You might find the need to do a late night to meet a deadline you set yourself.
But you also need to rest and recover to deliver your best work!
87. Kick Your Mobile Phone Out the Room
How many times a day do you pick your phone up?That’s a difficult question. And if you knew the answer, you’d be shocked.
When your phone is not in the room — that number drops significantly.
This is a simple, but a game-changing strategy for getting into some deep work.
88. Organisation is Key
See no 81. through to no. 83.
When you’re organised and have a clear number of tasks to do. Things become much easier.
A great Google extension for this is Momentum.
It gives you inspo messages. And forces you to get clear on 1 task that you NEED to complete today.
89. Ultradian Rhythms
Ever notice when you get super tired between 2 and 3 pm and it’s impossible to work? There’s a way to stop that from happening.
An ultradian rhythm is like a clock for your DNA — it measures your physical energy levels in 90-minute periods throughout the day with a 20-minute break.
Image credit Fast Company
When I tried working to this rhythm
When you stop working against your genetic bodily rhythms, you’re way more productive!
90. Set Time Restrictions on Your Phone
Phones are an addiction — and this is the intervention.
Your mobile phone is holding you back. It’s sucking time out of your day, and you’re better off without it.
To begin breaking this habit, set restrictions for yourself.
Some ideas
You get the point. Take your time back.
91. Prioritising Tasks
When you organise your day, your month, your year!! Put the tasks that will have the biggest impact on your business first!
When I done this — I started seeing the results of my work… which gave me motivation to keep going.
92. The Pareto Principle
The Pareto Principle is a guide to how things are distributed in… well, life.
It’s a concept that 20% of the work creates 80% of the result. You can apply this to any situation and you’ll see the same thing.
The Pareto Principle is like a stat support for no. 92.
If 20% of the work creates 80% of the result — pour your energy into that 20% super important work. And give less attention and detail to the rest that are things that you need, but shouldn’t require hours of work.
93. Get Clear on Time
How do you plan your day? You’ve got the to-do list and you’ve got say 5 hours?
A super simple tool to make use of is Google Calendars. I like to colour code my days so i can see things clearly.
This is a great way to measure how much time you're spending on tasks, and if you’ve giving too much attention to things that just aren’t that important.
94. Ditch the Tasks You're Avoiding
If you’ve got a bunch of tasks that keep getting put to the bottom of the pile — you probably don’t need them.
Another tip from Neville Medhora’s awesome newsletter!
As I got into this habit… I had to check myself for a minute.
I was feeling stuck, like I wasn’t moving forward. It’s because I was putting the challenging tasks — that required me to review my approach completely! — to the bottom of the pile.
These were actually the most important tasks.
DAMN — personal growth moment!
95. If Travelling — Adjust to Make Smaller Habits
Is it just me, or does your routine go out the window as soon as you travel?
When I started living in a van, my days were turned on their head (an extreme example, I know).
Instead of starting my day with grounding, meditation and journaling… I’d just wake up.
It took me about 2 months to realise that if I done just one of 1 of these things, I’d feel less like I was surviving and more like I was living with intention.
All of this to say, if you travel, don’t be hard on yourself about your habits — do what you can.
96. Small Goals — Big Vision
When you make your goals, are you going with what you feel is right, or contributing to your 10 year vision?
Each short-term goal needs a purpose — reaching that 5 or 10-year goal.
This is an awesome habit that can help you when you get “stuck” on what to do next.
97. Quiet Mornings
There’s a saying that how you start your morning is how your day will play out. …Or something to that effect.
It wasn’t until I made the habit of having quiet mornings… and then one day didn’t. That I realised just how true this is.
If I have a quiet morning my day is calm, focused and at ease.
If I have an interrupted morning — I’m distracted, frustrated and often quite stressed.
Do what you want with this information.
98. Be Action-oriented
A HUGE part of the entrepreneur mindset is getting into the habit of taking action!
When you feel stuck, there’s a 90% chance that it’s because you’re tasks are not action-oriented.
Ditch the tasks that allow you to teeter on the edge of your goals, and take on the big ones that get you to take the next step. The actions!
Voice actor, influencer, and Messy Mom, Brandon Kyle-Goodman is one of the few entrepreneurs that admits this is kinda scary, intimidating and anxiety inducing — it is — because it’s when you GROW.
99. When You Take a Break — Make It a COMPLETELY Different Task
When you take a break, do you just look at your phone? Or browse something on the internet and then go back to work?
That’s not really a break, is it?
When you change task COMPLETELY, you rest the parts of your mind and body that need resting!
So go for a walking, read a book, meditate.. And you’ll come back more productive!
This is a really difficult habit to maintain — when you’re tired, it seems so much easier to scroll on social media.
100. Set Goals for Meetings
Meetings “for the sake of it” suck.
It breaks up your concentration, nothing happens, no one is engaged, and one person talks into the internet ether, hoping you’re listening.
So, ditch them.
Make a meeting intentional — give it a purpose, like accountability for tasks or resolving issues.
It makes everyone’s work lives so much better!
Experimentation Time!
Habits take time to become… well, habits!
Pick one or two, get intentional about doing it every day, and you’ll start seeing results.
Did I miss any?
Let me know in the comments, I’ll add it and reference you 😉
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