#12 Have Daily Routines and Habits
“Successful people make a habit of doing things that unsuccessful people don’t like to do.”
-Herbert Grey
Whenever you try to do something that is not part of your routine, it takes additional effort to finish the task especially if it is difficult or will take time to be completed. But when difficult task becomes a habit, eventually you can do it without being tempted to procrastinate.
Successful people have morning routines. It makes them consistent and stable. As a matter of fact, whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, we all have routines and habits that perhaps, you are not aware of. And we all seem to start it differently.
Successful people absolutely wake up early. Because the earlier they begin the day, the more time they'll have to get things accomplished. Other good routines are exercising, meditating and/or jogging in the morning.
Will-power is highest in the morning, so get up early and exercise. It'll make you feel good about yourself, and keep the body healthy, will make the mind alert and teach you discipline. The point of a morning routine is to start to do things and small actions to improve your life. Just like Steve Jobs, who looked in the mirror every morning and asked: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?"
Daily routines and habits keep you on track, and before you know it, you are already hitting a milestone. Now let me ask you, what habits do you have that contribute to your success?
Do you always hit snooze when your alarm goes on? If yes, from now on, exercise to get up right away and do not hit the snooze button. Motivation starts from within. The snooze button is designed to give us more time, yet we have not gained anything. We still delay. So stop it while you can to avoid procrastinating.
Also, make it a habit to write your great ideas down RIGHT AWAY so you won't forget them. Grabbing a pen and paper is one of the basic anti-procrastination habits you can do especially when you are in the creative thinking mode. Surely, you don't want to miss any brilliant ideas. But, there are times that even if you have these brilliant thoughts in your mind you feel lazy to grab a pen and paper because:
(1.) You are challenged by the distance. It is far from where you are;
(2.) You thought you will remember it even though most of the time you forget things;
(3.) You are doing something and you don't want to be bothered and change course as of the moment;
(4) Excuses.
“Bad habits are like comfortable bed. Easy to get into but hard to get out.”
-Anonymous