Blog 3: Five Best Habits to have to make yourself more successful

Hi, Lovelies! 

Today I want to talk about some of the habits that I've used to make myself more successful. I think we all understand the importance of a good routine and getting ourselves into a rhythm where we can be as efficient as possible at the time when we have our energy and motivation up. I have those days where I feel like I can't concentrate on one thing and I want to run over to the gym and just get all my jitters out. But having these habits in place for my routine helps me to stay sane and focused on the tasks in front of me, and allows me to be successful wherever I am. 

1. Read read read! This seems pretty self-explanatory, but there are studies showing that the most successful people in society, like leaders or entrepreneurs, are always reading! This is because they're always learning new things, and reading is an easy way to do that. I allow myself to have curiosity, and ask "why this?" or "what is this like?" In allowing yourself to be curious about something and try to follow that curiosity, you discover more about yourself, how you think, and how you learn. Once you know how you learn, It's much easier to change your work ethic to fit your learning style, so you soak up more and grow more. Reading is one of the ways to explore your curiosity. I try to read at least part of a book every night, whether the book is about sales, or leadership, or something random and fun like historical fiction. Reading is proven to help you relax more and challenges your brain. Unlike staring at a computer screen, reading won't strain your eyes as much. I add reading to my routine at night, before bed, and I have learned a lot of information quite easily by doing that. 

2. Get up earlier. This one is definitely not that easy. I love to sleep in when I can, but I notice that if I don't wake up near the same time every day, I can get groggy and more sleepy. I try to get up earlier because I feel more refreshed and have more of my day to be productive. As the old saying goes: "Early to bed, Early to rise, makes one healthy, wealthy, and wise." I usually get up early and do a bit of meditation and stretching to wake my mind up and listen to how I'm feeling. I think people don't listen to their own bodies as much, as we do tend to have other things that distract us. I take the time of getting up earlier to listen to my body and see where I am. Are my legs sore from my workout? Do I need to stretch more to work on my flexibility? Allowing yourself to get up earlier gives you more time in the morning to wake up and get in that productive headspace. 

3. Work during the times when your brain is best working. By this, I mean work during the hours when you know you're most productive. For me, I'm a morning person, so I work better in the mornings. Knowing this, I schedule most of my meetings in the mornings, when I'm the most concentrated and motivated. I do all my harder tasks in the mornings as well because I'll be more focused on them and do a better job. 

4. Take the time to invest in your dreams. This may seem a bit cliche, but honestly, it's not. Dreaming big seems to be overrated now, as most people understand that they will have to settle for something less than what they want. However, if you have dreams to be a runner, why not invest in your dream right now and do a light jog? Or if you want to be really good at the violin, why not work on it right now and practice for a bit? What's holding you back? Your dreams can be as big or as small as you want, but investing little bits into your dreams will make you happier and make them more achievable. Even if it's 11pm and you didn't work out, just do five push-ups before bed. The contribution doesn't have to be huge, but every little bit helps. 

5. Exercise a bit each day. This is another hard habit to get into, but you'll see and feel the results immediately. Exercise has so many good benefits for you and very few bad ones. Even just going for a walk in a park, or sitting in your office doing some crunches on the floor, will help your stress levels. Exercise helps to release endorphins which make you more awake and happier, as well as help with neural connections in your brain. So you can actually exercise your way to becoming smarter! I tend to do at least one hour of cardio every day if I can, but you definitely don't have to do this much. 

With all these habits, take them in a way that works best for you. Don't overdo anything, and give yourself grace if you're not perfect the first time. Within time, these habits will help you to become more successful.