Skip to content Ever wondered what it takes to be a successful person in life? It might be subjective to answer, but there are a few things that we certainly can point out and utilize in your list of habits to become more effective.
Apart from skills, intelligence, and opportunities, it’s their good habits that make the difference.
When we talk about habits, we know that not all habits are good. Bad habits are basically negative behavior pattern that keeps you away from accomplishing your dreams, whereas good habits are those that helps you achieve your goals.
People who are highly successful in life because they practice some good habits of successful persons regularly which other people don’t.
One thing which separates high achievers from regular people: is intention. Meaning, if you get up every day and just coast wherever events and situations take you, you’re going to end up somewhere other than the ideal place. To reach your utmost potential, you need to steer your own path via daily habits which prime you for success. Here are the things nearly two dozen executives say help them get ahead in business and life.
Here is a list of 50 habits of successful people that are common among them.
Start with little tasks in the morning to clear your head
“As a founder and a mom, my multiple roles bring on a vast array of responsibilities, big and small. I quickly learned that tasks like ‘put more batteries in the remote’ or ‘dust keyboard’ can bog me down so much that I’m unable to focus on my priorities. I learned from the book The Artist’s Way that doing morning pages to relieve my consciousness helps to remove these distractions first thing and helps me to start my workday right.
So I’ve created a habit where I write down these tasks and put them aside in an effort to clear my head. With this exercise being done before my coffee is poured, I feel so much more happy and relaxed to handle the more significant initiatives throughout my work day.”
Check different industries to expand your thinking
“My most creative and successful ideas have been formulated by looking at best practices and successful innovations in industries that are totally unrelated to mine. When you’re successful, it’s easy to get complacent. And too often, looking only at your competitors will give you only incremental improvements and perpetuate ‘good enough’ results.
By looking outward, you not only draw on your own ingenuity and motivation as a leader, but it also gives you the power to drive key innovations that have the potential to transform your business and leapfrog the competitors, whether they’re traditional or non-traditional.”
Check communications only a few times/per day
“I used to pride myself on being responsive to emails, Slack, and chats until a friend pointed out that I was priding myself on being bad at my job because my job was to give serious thought to big projects and decisions. Don’t get in the habit of constantly interrupting your workflow to check communications. Set the expectation that you’ll respond once or twice per day, and stick to that. Being responsive means destroying your attention span and letting happenstance drive your priorities.”
Employ a checklist
“I start off every morning by writing a checklist of major tasks I have to get done for the day and check them off one by one, making sure I complete them all before I leave for the day. With so many workflow tools and task management providers out there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and distracted. I find that a pen and paper checklist is simple, keeps me accountable, and has a huge impact on my overall productivity and focus.”
Be a continuous learner
“Education and learning are not just for students, but something to be embraced at every stage of life. As a CEO, I am constantly looking to grow my skill set to not only remain competitive with my peers but also to nurture a sense of personal accomplishment and learning. I believe it’s especially important to step away from your every day and gather new information and skills only tangentially related to your industry… It can be scary learning new things, and sometimes it takes a little push to take that step and open yourself up to try, but learning difficult things can build up confidence and an ability to be at ease with being outside of our comfort zone.”
–Tara Chklovski, CEO of Iridescent, an education nonprofit that partners with leaders from Google, NVIDIA, GM, and more to deliver STEM education to underrepresented communities
Get quality sleep
“When it comes to sleep, it’s about quality, not just quantity. Sleep heals us. Sleep recharges us. Sleep is an important part of our biology. One of my keys to success is to prioritize getting a good night’s sleep. I start unwinding and switching off early in the evening in order to fully disengage before bed. Disconnect from electronics and screens. Read a book, listen to calming music, or even an inspiring talk in order to get a good night’s sleep. Your body and mind will thank you for it, and you will be so much more productive.”
Connect with others
“I always try to find time throughout the day to ask people what’s going on in their lives and how they are doing. It’s important to have those connections and day-to-day interactions with the people around you and foster a sense of community.”
Be self-critical
“I try to stay humble by being self-critical, looking for my potential faults, taking responsibility for failures, and looking for critical feedback. This pushes me to always strive to improve, not only in my career but in my personal life as well.”
Start the day off early and quiet
“I have found that if I get up before the rest of my household, sit in my office with a nice cup of coffee, and write (whether it be the next presentation, blog post, or book), it helps me focus on the task at hand and have a sense of accomplishment before I dive into the work day. It completely changes my well-being too, which empowers the rest of my day.”
Keep an idea journal
“Creativity is not just for artists and designers. And inspiration can strike at any time. I have several different notepad pages on my phone, organized topically. Whenever I have an idea I quickly and immediately write a sentence or two in the form of a running list to remind myself later of the thought. This is an incredibly powerful way to tap into your own creativity and combat the natural forgetfulness we all have.
Develop the habit of adding several notes a day. Don’t edit, delete, or judge, just write it down. It gets easier over time and you’ll be surprised how quickly your lists can grow. Some topics I find useful range from ‘ideas for future blog posts’ to ‘for follow up with INSERT NAME.’ Later, when that person walks into my office, I can skip the whole ‘I had something I wanted to discuss with you but forgot…’ preamble. And when it’s time to write a blog post, or speech, or company presentation, instead of staring at a blank screen I flip open my notes and get to work.”
Work on your hardest daily task first
“I did not personally develop this concept, but it’s one that I’ve found very useful in staying productive and also staying focused on the most important things. If you’re familiar with the book Eat that Frog, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s easy to procrastinate starting the projects that challenge us most.
Setting a goal to tackle your hardest challenge first will make the rest of the day or week seem easier and will ensure you get the most important things accomplished. I prefer to spend 30 minutes on Fridays thinking through my priorities for the following week so I can come in on Monday ready to tackle my biggest problems first.”
Check-in with annual and quarterly goals
“I’m a big believer in working backward from long-term goals. I allocate a few days at the turn of each year to think deeply about and write down my long-term (five- to 10-year) and one-year goals, both personally and for our company. I check in with these notes when I’m creating my quarterly goals and then at least two to three times per week. It helps me make sure that my daily activities are aligned with, and that I am on track to accomplish, what I’ve decided is truly important.”
Take time each day to learn
“Early in my career, I felt some guilt about reading a blog while at work or signing up for a trial of that new software and playing around with it. It felt like goofing off. But now I recognize it as an essential skill and encourage everyone on my team to take time to read and learn. Digital marketing is constantly changing which is scary but also what makes it fun. There’s always something new to learn. The people who are able to learn quickly and apply that knowledge to their work will stay a step ahead.”