What sets high achievers apart from everyone else? Their habits. There’s no secret, magic formula or trick that can propel you to the top. It’s daily discipline, through your habits, that will help you achieve your goals. Motivational speakers, top CEOs and other go-getters practice these four habits every day.
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Rise with the Sun
The early bird gets the worm. As cliché as these motivational quotes may seem, there’s truth in them. Early risers get a head start on the day. They have time to plan out their days, and they have time to check off everything on their to-do lists.
Think about those mornings when you slept in or missed the alarm and woke up late. How did those days go? If you had goals you wanted to achieve for the day, you probably put some of them off. Maybe you got to work late and spent the rest of the day playing catch-up.
Time is your most valuable resource. Maximize it. Put it to good use. The more waking hours you have in a day, the more time you have to achieve your goals.
Waking up with the sunrise is difficult, but it’s worth the sacrifice to get more done and finish the day feeling accomplished.
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Plan the Day
What’s the best way to achieve your daily goals? Write them down, and plan them into your day. Success starts with a plan.
Have running checklists of things you have to do each day to achieve your goals. Get the most urgent and difficult tasks out of the way first, so you’re not dreading them all day or procrastinating to put them off.
Keep your list of goals in a highly visible place, so you never lose sight of them.
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Leave Distractions Behind
Distractions disrupt your focus. It takes twice as long to get anything done when you’re distracted by anything and everything. In today’s world of 24/7 notifications and unread emails, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to keep your attention focused on one thing for longer than 10-15 minutes at a time.
If you want to achieve your goals, you have to leave the distractions behind. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You don’t have to disconnect from the world for a week or even a day. Instead, try setting aside time in your day for those distractions. Maybe you spend 20 minutes answering those unread emails first thing in the morning. Once that time is up, you ignore email completely until the end of the day.
The fewer distractions, the better you’ll be able to stay focused on the task at hand.
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Learn and Grow
To succeed and maintain your success, you must be learning and growing. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been working in your profession for 20 years, there is always something new to learn.
Take classes. Attend workshops. Read books. Listen to podcasts. Make it a point to learn something new every day.
It takes time, hard work and dedication to achieve your goals, but your efforts will be rewarded when you reach the finish line. Adopt these habits, and you’ll soon find yourself closer to realizing your dreams.
