Following routines for daily habits helps you accomplish even the smallest of wins. These little wins build up over time. But what makes up a routine and how do you create them?
Let’s start by looking at what makes for a good routine.
To achieve success, you need to be very consistent. Consistency is about having the persistence and patience to work towards your goal until you reach it.
Address the Excuses
Many things can get in the way of maintaining a standard consistency-level. Excuses and rationalisations are probably the biggest things that hold you back. You may have said one of these at one time or another:
I have so many things to do, it’s impossible for me to focus on just one. – This is considered the “It’s Too Difficult” Excuse
I’m just too busy. – The “I’m Overwhelmed” Excuse
My priorities are constantly changing. – The “I’m Not In Control” Excuse
Often our excuses are our biggest challenges to overcome when it comes to being consistent to reach our goals. The excuses are often just a bad habit that comes from fear, laziness, or not wanting the goal bad enough.
If you have a goal you want to achieve in your marketing and sales, start by making a list of activities that are going to help you reach your goal. Then follow steps to become consistent in doing the work.
- The number one thing you need to do is to make a commitment. Make a commitment to do the activities to reach your goal.
- Break the activities down into small steps you can do each day. Instead of staring at a big goal that seems impossible to reach, you’ll have small steps that are easier to accomplish.
- Create a routine to do the daily activities. Set aside the time in your calendar or daily planner to do each activity. Work on a small step each day.
- When you start hearing yourself give excuses, stop and remind yourself why you are doing the work.
- Segment your day. Block out segments of time to work on the tasks consistently when your energy level is at its highest, often in the morning hours.
- Do the hard tasks first. You’ll feel like you’ve accomplished something when you finish the hard tasks.
- Use the power of systems to help you stay consistent. Systems allow you to leverage your time and other people’s time. Set up systems for each task you do in your business that is repeated often.
- Do things even when you don’t feel like it.
- Have an accountability partner. That can be a coach, a mastermind group, or a mentor. Leverage the power of a mastermind group or a mentor to help you stick to your routines.
- Make it a priority to get outside help. Outsource to a virtual assistant, staff member, or one-time service to do the tasks that are taking you away from doing the consistent work of marketing and sales.
Commit to being consistent for 2 months. After several weeks, you may see a change; however, it can take two months or more for it to become automatic, depending on the situation and the person.
Types of Productive Routines to Use
Routinely doing something every day, even a small thing, builds momentum in the end. Creating basic routines, helps make that a reality.
Morning routines:
Create a routine that gets you going in a positive way. Eat a healthy breakfast, exercise, and meditate.
Evening routines:
Do a brain dump by writing down all your thoughts about business. Turn off your social media, phones, tablets, television an hour before bed. Plan ahead for the next day.
Business routines:
Set up and use systems that make it easier to be more efficient. Outsource work that you don’t like or want to do. Use productivity and time management tools to keep you on track.
Connect with Clients:
Build relationships by listening and asking questions from your potential customers daily. Email daily or consistently with not only sales but with helpful information they can use.
Content routines:
Create an editorial content calendar where you provide quality tips, information, and education consistently. Routinely repurpose content into other forms such as videos, webinars, courses, and books.
Social Media routines:
Plan out how much time and when you are going to spend on Social Media. Connect with pages of Influencers, use Facebook groups to grow your business. Go live on Facebook or Instagram to share tips. Reach out to new people and interact with others.
What’s Next: Implementing Your Routines
We all want to grow our business. By setting up daily routines and implementing specific habits, we can make our chances of success greater. The best way to begin implementing is to start with your daily routine.
Set up a routine that includes working on your top priority tasks, has processes and tools in place to make things easier, and includes both work and rest time. Create a morning routine that includes the habit of eating a healthy breakfast, meditating, reading, and exercising in some form. Plan your day the night before and your week the Sunday before. Plan your tasks based on your goals and break your goals down into micro tasks.
What if your current routines aren’t good ones?
You’ll need to form new ones.
How do you go about it?
Does your morning routine usually leave you running late, grumpy, and hungry? Change it by getting enough sleep, getting up as soon as your alarm goes off, meditating or reading and having a healthy breakfast.
What is one thing you can change, or do differently that will impact your business?
