Good habits are the foundation of any good business. If you put a camera on most successful people you will see their day is filled with habits that save time, improve focus and ultimately help accomplish more daily tasks. These habits are engrained in their mind and are non-negotiable regardless of whatever else is going on. Successful people realize that once they become lax with their habits small issues turn into much bigger ones and before they know it their business becomes inefficient. Breaking bad habits or starting new ones is never easy but can be done by focusing on what needs changing one day at a time. One day of change turns into two which becomes a week and before you know it you will have a whole new way of doing things. Here are four habits that every investor should incorporate into their business.
- Start The Day With A Bang. The first two hours of your day are the most important. Not only will they set the tone for the day but they will give you a game plan for everything else that follows. As an investor there is nobody telling you when to wake up or what time you need to be in the office. It is up to you to establish the discipline to wake up early and hit the ground running. Almost everybody would rather sleep an extra hour or two if given the chance but by sacrificing morning sleep you add working hours to your day. These hours can be used for exercise, meditation, catching up on old emails or finishing off a project from the previous day. The early morning is void of distraction allowing you to do more of whatever it is you are doing. Starting your day at 5:30 AM instead of 8 may seem like a stretch but after a couple of weeks you will not look back. Give yourself one weekend day to sleep in but every other morning get up early and hit the ground running.
- 20 Minutes Of Education Daily. In any business it is important that you know what is going on at all times. As a real estate investor there are constant changes to interest rates, programs, niche markets and ways of generating deals. Trying to master every aspect of the business may seem daunting but is less difficult if you spend some time on it every day. Regardless of who you are or how busy you may be you can squeeze twenty minutes of education into your daily routine. You can find this time on the treadmill as you are getting some exercise in or from an audiobook as you are driving to an appointment. Instead of checking your social media accounts you can spend that time reading articles on real estate and business websites. Just twenty minutes a day can lead to hours of extra education every week. Whether you realize it or not that education will help when talking to a networking partner, trying to secure a deal from a homeowner or rolling out your next marketing plan. The real estate business is constantly changing. You need to stay on top of these changes or face being left behind.
- Make Goals & Lists. Success if often easier if you know exactly what needs to get done. Every NFL team installs a game plan at the beginning of the week that serves as a blueprint for what they want to do and hopefully how they are going to do it. The same approach should be incorporated into your daily routine. Before you go to bed you should make a list of everything you want to accomplish the next day. When you wake up give your list a second look and make any additions or tweaks you feel is necessary. Once finished use this list to guide your actions. Start by tackling the toughest task first and go from there. Without lists you will often wonder from task to tasks usually without accomplishing much of anything. The more detailed your list is the less you leave to chance. Accomplishing your goals not only makes you efficient but gives you a sense of accomplishment. This feeling is used as further motivation to work even harder the next day.
- Track Progress. Have you recently started something new in your business? Whether that is a direct mail program or simply trying to wake up earlier it is important that you track your progress. If you don’t know how you are doing it is impossible to make any changes or gauge the results. At the end of every day you should take some time to evaluate what you did to build on your progress. If you failed to do anything you need to ask yourself why. Does the plan of attack not work or is the problem with your implementation and work ethic. Taking a hard look at yourself is never easy but can often lead to greater success. Sometimes you need a kick in to butt to help you work harder. Tracking progress is also one of the best ways to monitor expenses in your business. Spending money on areas that produce results helps you make the best use of your capital. Without data to support your results you may be throwing money away every month.
You control which way you want your day to go. Changing habits is never easy but it can be essential for growth. Start by incorporating these four habits to your daily routine.
