10 Morning Habits To Create Business Success

Running a successful business comes down to you and the habits you build into your life.  No one can create success for you, which is why building those positive habits, especially in the morning, is so important for setting your day and your business up for massive success.

Over the last 5 years, we’ve found that these 10 habits ensure that we’re setting ourselves up each and every day to be the most successful we can possibly be.

Get Enough Sleep

As someone who used to operate on only 3-5 hours of sleep a night, I can tell you that this is probably the most important habit you can build for yourself.  Getting enough sleep is paramount to having the energy and mental capacity to be able to handle whatever comes your way throughout your day.

Ideally, you should be getting at least 6-8 hours of sleep every night.  The reason it’s so important to get a good night's sleep is that it improves your brain performance, as well as your overall mood and health.

When you’re operating your own business, you need to make sure you’re always sharp and energized, because not only are you busy, but you need to be able to make good decisions daily.  Getting enough sleep will ensure that you do both!  

Wake Up To Your Alarm

Did you know that if you’re awoken suddenly it can raise your blood pressure and stress levels?  You might be thinking, “Well if that’s the case, why would I want to use an alarm clock in the first place?”

The answer is that you want to condition your body to wake up at a certain time every single day.  Going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time every day keeps our circadian rhythm consistent, which allows us to get better sleep overall.

To do that, your body needs to first “get used to” waking up at a certain time.

I was taught something very important a long time ago by a mentor of mine.  He said that being a business owner is all about whether you win each day or not.  Each decision you make is either a “win” for the day or a “loss” for the day.

The goal isn’t to be perfect, it’s to simply have more “wins” than “losses” when you tally them up at the end of the day, then figure out small tweaks you can make to get better over time.  He always said the worst way you can start the day is by snoozing your alarm clock because before you’ve even gotten out of bed, you’re in the loss column.

I’ve never forgotten that.  If you know you like to hit the snooze button, simply set your alarm back 15 minutes.  That’s a much better alternative than repeatedly hitting the snooze button.

Make Your Bed

This one falls a little bit under the “wins” and “losses” I was talking about earlier.  When you get as many wins as you can before you even start your business day, you’re building momentum and positivity that carries over with you into the rest of your day.

Plus, I firmly believe that how you do anything is how you do everything.  Yes, it may seem like something simple, but if you can’t do the simple things and do them well, then how can you expect yourself to do the tough things that are thrown at you and your business?

Also, there’s nothing better than coming into your room at night and the bed being made.  Again, this is a simple way to start your day on a positive note and build that momentum into the start of your business day.

Let The Past Be The Past

This is probably one of the toughest habits to build out of all the other ones we’re going to talk about, because when something bad happens, it’s human nature to dwell on it, especially for days after the actual event happened.

But somehow, some way, you’ve got to learn to let these situations go, learn from them, and move on with the goal of trying to get better.

What holds so many business owners back from being successful is that they experience a setback or a negative situation in their business and instead of learning from it and moving on, they let it dictate their mood and ruin their business momentum for days and weeks (sometimes months) after the actual situation occurs.

Could you have done something different in that particular situation?  Yes, I’m sure you could have.  So make sure you learn from it.  The problem is that moment in time is never coming back, and you can’t go back in time and “fix” it, so learn what you can, get better, and make sure you don’t make the same mistake twice.

Eat A Healthy Breakfast & Drink Water

There are so many positive benefits to eating a healthy breakfast.  It gives you more energy and clarity in the short term, as well as helps you with things like weight management and reducing the risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes.

I’m sure we’ve all been in this situation: you’re in a rush in the morning, and you don’t have time to make breakfast, so what you do is eat something unhealthy you have laying around the house, or even worse, you stop by a drive-thru and get whatever breakfast they have.

It tastes great but the problem is you then spend the rest of your day feeling lethargic, sleepy, and gross, for a lack of a better term.  The solution that we’ve found is prepping breakfast for the entire week, that way we aren’t tempted to eat unhealthy foods.

Here are some of the breakfast options we keep handy around the house:

• Egg Fertata’s W/Panchetta
• Healthy Oatmeal
• Overnight Oats W/Fruit

Keeping healthy options like this around means it’s one less thing we have to think about every morning because we know that breakfast is taken care of.

Similarly, you want to make sure to drink water in the morning.  Not only does it battle dehydration and keep you alert, but it also flushes out your stomach, which in turn, raises your immune system and helps you battle illness.

These two things are so easy to do every morning, but they’re also easy NOT to do, which is why so many people reach for coffee instead of water or skip breakfast altogether.  Make sure you’re taking the time to drink water and eat a healthy meal.

Schedule Your Day

One of the biggest time wasters and reasons business owners don’t create the success they’re looking to create is that they don’t create their schedule ahead of time, which leads to wasting time during the day doing nothing or tasks that aren’t as important.

In a perfect world, I would tell you to actually plan your day the night before, because that way you’ll wake up and know EXACTLY what your day will look like.  However, that’s not possible for some people, so if that’s you, then planning your day should be one of the first things you should do.

The reason you want to plan your day ahead of time is first, you know exactly the things you need to be doing that day in your business, and two, you know the IMPORTANT things that you need to get done no matter what.

So many business owners are “busy,” but their business never really grows because they spend too much time doing things that aren’t necessary or as important as those 1-3 things that really make your business grow.

When you plan your day, ask yourself: “What are the 3 things that I absolutely have to get done if I can’t get anything else done?”  Then, order those from 1-3, one being the most important, and three being the least important.  Then when you start your work day you’ll know exactly where to start and what needs to get done.

Write In A Journal

I don’t know if you’ve ever stopped and thought about it, but we as human beings have a lot of thoughts!  We also have a lot of feelings, most of which we keep bottled up inside which then cause things like stress and anxiety.  What’s the solution?  Journaling.

What journaling does is allow you to put pen to paper and get the ideas down where you can remember them.  It also is a great way to process the feelings and emotions that you’re having.  Even if you don’t talk about them with someone, the simple act of writing them down has a unique way of making you feel better.

Plus, so many journals come with habit trackers, calendars, etc. in them which makes it really easy as a business owner to keep track of your entire business from a journal!

Prioritize Self-Care Time

Listen, if you’re going to be at your best in life and as a business owner, then you’re going to need to take some time for yourself every single day, recharge, and do the things you love to do.

For some that’s meditation, for some, it’s being outdoors, other’s it’s working out.  Whatever it is that brings you joy and makes you feel your best, schedule time every day to do those things.

So many business owners get burnt out because they make their entire lives about their business and serving others.  What they then find out after a while is they’ve spent so much time serving others, that they’ve completely neglected themselves and their own mental health.

If you want to give your best to others, then you have to make sure that you’re giving your best to yourself first.  We always like to schedule time at the beginning and end of our day for self-care, that way, we begin and end our day taking care of ourselves and our physical/mental well-being.

Regardless of the activity or when you do it, make sure that you are always treating yourself as the priority.

Get Some Movement/Exercise In

One of the best things you can do to keep your mind sharp every day is to get some movement and/or exercise in.  How you do it or what activity you do is completely up to you, but getting movement in every day has been shown to increase energy levels as well as increase alertness.

Not to mention the fact that getting in movement every day is good for your overall health and well-being.  Here are some of the various activities that you can engage in every day:

• Go to the gym
• Take a walk outside
• Lift weights
• Do yoga
• Take a HIIT class

There isn’t a right way or a wrong way to exercise, it’s all about what you enjoy doing, because if you don’t enjoy it, you're not going to continue doing it, so make sure you’re picking something you want to do, rather than something that someone else tells you is “best” for you.

Take A Shower

If you’re like me, then you tend to feel groggy in the morning.  I’ve found that the best cure for this is a shower, preferably a cold one.  I’m sure you've seen cold showers trending across the internet and rightfully so, they are a great way to increase blood circulation as well as reduce inflammation, and actually help with the pain.

Even if cold showers aren’t your thing, simply taking a hot shower will wake you up, give you energy, and help increase your circulation to get your day going.  I don’t know about you, but I always feel better after a good shower. 

Plus, showers are one of the best places to think.  Jill always says I come up with the best ideas while I’m in the shower.  Another great practice I like to do in the morning while I’m taking a shower is my daily gratitude.  I like to spend 3 minutes while I’m in there thinking about 5 things I’m grateful for that day.

I find that the shower wakes me up physically, while my gratitude practice awakens me mentally.  Make sure you’re allowing yourself time to get ready every morning, even if you work from home.

Getting ready is one of the best productivity hacks you can use.  When you work from home, it can be easy to not shower, and simply work in your pajamas, simply because you can.  But the simple act of showering and getting ready prepares you to be more productive throughout your entire day!

Conquering every day in your business starts with conquering every morning, and by doing these 10 things consistently every single day, you’ll set yourself and your business up for massive success long term!