In order to become an Easy Entrepreneur you need to build good habits, and get rid of bad ones. This way it becomes second nature to do the things that keep you motivated and on track, and you stop doing activities that are derailing you. This guide will show you how.

What are Good and Bad Habits?

Good habits put the “easy” in Easy Entrepreneur. They take activities that used to require thinking and effort, and make them second nature. For example, getting enough sleep and picking my priorities each day are good habits that help me stay energized and focus on growing the business.

Bad habits can derail you, reducing your motivation or taking you completely off track. Procrastination is one that I faced early as an entrepreneur, and alcoholism is a good example that derails many successful executives

Here are some examples of good habits that I’ve built over my years as an entrepreneur:

  • Meditate
  • Exercise
  • Get a good sleep
  • Eat healthy
  • Pick my top priorities each day
  • Take the time to greet and connect with employees
  • Be grateful for everything I have
  • Get outside the house
  • Pay attention to my business finances (P&L)
  • Chip away at a larger project a little at a time

Here are some bad habits that I’ve reduced or kicked:

  • Procrastination
  • Stress
  • Being unfocused, lazy or unmotivated
  • Watching too much TV or playing computer games
  • Spending too much time on social media or my phone
  • Drinking too much alcohol
  • Eating out too often

I’m not here to preach specifically what are the best habits for you; that’s up to you at this point. But I am here to tell you that it’s good to evaluate your habits, get more healthy ones, and reduce or eliminate the bad ones.

Simple Steps to Build a Habit

Some of my Easy Entrepreneur habits were built/kicked naturally, but others I’ve had to deliberately practice until I learned or unlearned a habit. I’ve found a great technique to do this:

First, pick one or two habits that you want to work on at a time. These can be something you want to start doing or something you want to stop doing. For example, I am currently focused on getting exercise (of any form) and meditating every day.

Second, download the HabitBull app. It is free, simple to use, and you can customize with your own habits.

Third, enter your habit(s) into HabitBull. You can schedule whether you want to do it every day, 5x a week, or however often you want. I recommend trying to do them daily, even on weekends, to build your momentum! You can also set alerts to remind you to check off your habit.

Now you are ready to go! Check off that you completed the habit each day in Habit Bull, and see how long it takes

Finally, use HabitBull to check off every day when you’ve completed your habit (or avoided your bad habit). It typically takes me 15-60 days to make something a habit, and then I can focus on other habits.

Once you make HabitBull a habit, it becomes easy to make anything else a habit!

Bonus: Making Progress on Big Projects

This also works if you have a big project that you want to make small progress on every day. Remember, like compound interest, your progress builds on itself, so you’ll get big payout by taking small steps each day.

For example, I used HabitBull to start this website and blog. I added a habit of “write” to my daily tasks. Since I do want to give myself some days off, I only require it 5x a week.

What habits are you working on? Do you have any other tips to share with readers?

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