Great, you found a career that you love. Now what?
If you’re like most ambitious people, you realize that even after you work for years to accomplish something, the road to mastery is still long and winding. Especially when it comes to mastery in your career.
So how do you continue to overcome the inevitable plateaus of career growth and become your absolute best?
Start with your habits.
What is a habit?
At its core, a habit is simply a set of actions that has been automated. You don’t always make a conscious choice whether or not to do a habit — you just do it. It’s part of your day. In fact, research shows that we spend roughly 40% of our day in these pre-rehearsed habit routines.
While some habits (like pouring your cereal every morning) are relatively simple and require only a few steps, others can be more complex. Think of how many little steps it takes to turn on your car and drive to work! Over time, however, these processes become automated and we stop thinking about them. Habits are so powerful that they can completely transform your behavior in a few months — that’s why I focused on creating Pavlok, the first wearable device that uses modern tech to change habits.
This automation, left unchecked, can lead to our downfall.
Unfortunately, many negative habits control our time and energy. Such as:
- Waking up late
- Skipping the gym
- Eating junk (and forgetting to make bulletproof coffee!)
- Surfing the internet
- Smoking
What if you could optimize the 40% of your life spent on “autopilot” to be positive, productive habits, rather than incidental or minor ones? How would your life improve? How much faster would you advance your career?
One small choice, made daily, would lead to a powerful, serious impact. The potential is limitless.
Here are 3 habits you can start building right now to improve your life and career instantly.
Habit #1: Create a morning ritual
Without a solid foundation, even the most motivated person won’t get the most from their day. Set daily routines around the things that you do every day, and intentionally create consistency in your life.
The best routines to set are in the morning. As soon as you wake up, do the same thing every day. If you already brush, add flossing right after. Then, you can anchor on other habits — like journaling, meditation — right after.
Here is a short video to help you design your morning ritual.
Habit #2: Set daily and weekly goals
After you’ve gotten a good night’s rest, you’ll wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day — but how should you prioritize?
Traditional to-do lists can be bloated and overwhelming.
Instead, try identifying 3-5 key objectives for the week. Then, break each day down into 2-3 “big wins.”
Work every day to accomplish the items on your list that have the most leverage, and check them off one-by-one, then watch your weekly objectives practically handle themselves.
There are many tools you can use to help you plan and visualize. My favorite is Trello.
Habit #3: Exercise
It’s no surprise that exercise is one of the most powerful habits you can adopt.
Keeping a healthy body increases your energy, stabilizes your mood and allows you to recover from sickness and injury much more quickly— all of which is essential if you want to be at your best to accelerate your success.
Side note: one benefit most people aren’t aware of is that increased blood flow to the brain via exercise can also enhance your creativity and ability to retain information. Another big bonus!
I like using Stronglifts to track my lifts.
Taking your habits to the next level
Change is hard. Really hard. That’s why I’ve spent the last 2 years developing Pavlok — the world’s first wearable device that not only tracks your habits, but actually helps you change them. Pavlok uses proven scientific methods and modern technology to train your behavior and change your habits automatically. It can even use electric shock to help you break bad habits like smoking and eating. Early adopters have already used Pavlok to create habits such as:
- Exercise
- Waking up earlier
- Painting
- Writing
- Eating healthier
- Meditation
- Finishing to-do lists
- Learning new languages
