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Russian composer Igor Stravinsky reportedly did a 15-minute Headstand every morning. Inventor Nikola Tesla did 100 toe curls every night. Only the poet and writer Maya Angelou wrote In a hotel room.
We may poke fun at the quirks of famous creators, but we all have ingrained habits, whether we’re aware of them or not. In fact, research shows that about 43% Our daily actions are habitual. Your morning espresso? the habit Choosing an aisle or window seat? the habit
Habits are powerful — and they run a wildly subjective gamut from good to bad, with loads of gray in between. However, the changing nature of entrepreneurship can make it difficult to create and maintain creative habits. “Consider the upheavals in the almost daily schedule that require us to drop what we are doing or have planned to do, and choose the best response. right now” writes researcher Michelle Sager, author of The Joy Choice.
People with busy lives and ever-changing roles, schedules and responsibilities often struggle to put complex behaviors on autopilot, Seger says. In the 17 years since I started Jotform, I’ve implemented a few key habits, like spending an hour with my personal trainer before work. At the same time, I am a classic founder. My focus breaks, and my calendar often looks like a chaotic LEGO tower.
Although habits are essential, entrepreneurs should use another tool to maximize their time and focus: automation. I’ve spent the last decade automating my most repetitive, manual workflows and building a team that does just that. If you want to start a habit, like checking email only once a day, automation can reduce the mental bandwidth needed to make the change. Or he may take over a task entirely; You don’t even have to think about making or breaking a habit.
Let’s break down three common habits that drive entrepreneurs, and how automation can smooth the path to success.
Related: 3 ways to automate your busy work and increase your productivity
1. Let your to-do list run your life
Most of us thrive Make a list Habit early in life. Teachers, parents, and coaches ask us to dive in by itemizing tasks and crossing them off one by one. But the list does not reflect what is important versus what is urgent. Thus “Buy printer paper” ends up in the same list as “Launch a new website”. And if you can’t do it all—an impossible goal indeed—it’s easy to feel like you’re failing or falling behind.
You are not failing. The only problem is thinking that you have to tackle everything on your list individually. Instead, take a cold, hard look at your calendar and to-do list. Pick the one most important item – the activity that can transform your business – and give it your undivided attention. Afterwards, examine the remaining tasks and consider what you can automate. For example, let the software schedule (and reschedule) your meetings. Set the bill to auto-pay. Use automated tools to analyze reports and organize social media posts.
The more you start automating, the more opportunities you have to let machines do the heavy lifting. Adopting an automation-first mindset will give you more time to think strategically and grow your business.
Related: From Mundane to Magic: The Incredible Benefits of Automation for Small Business Owners
2. Doing everything yourself
Founders know they need to Representative. But what if you’re just starting out? Before you have a team to share the workload, you’ll cover sales, IT, marketing, operations and maintenance. Thanks to recent advances, technology can now be your assistant — and it has deep expertise in almost every task your business needs.
With AI and automation tools, you can track your competition online, find daily trends in custom spreadsheets, hire Chatbots For customer support and more. For every task you want to delegate, there’s a strong chance someone has created a free or low-cost solution to meet your needs.
Research from Columbia Business School It also shows that women feel guilty when they delegate tasks to their male counterparts. In my experience, Bootstrap installers (of all genders) often struggle to be represented as well. They recognize a need and move immediately to address it – whether they want it or not.
Fortunately, automation doesn’t have feelings, nor does it value your deep self-reliance. No problem backing up a server at 3am or adding another line to a spreadsheet. Most importantly, delegation is a habit you can strengthen over time. Like editing your to-do list, reassigning manual and repetitive tasks gets easier with practice.
Related: 5 Ways Automation Can Help You Manage Your Team
3. Saying “yes” every time
As an entrepreneur, you’ve already said “yes” to an idea or opportunity. Chances are, you’ve also accepted many requests along the way Initial meetings To find new directions. You are ready to say yes. As author and habit-building expert James Clear explains, saying “no” is just as important. “When you say no, you’re just saying no one option,” writes the net “When you say yes, you’re saying no everyone else option.”
Sometimes, “no” is the best choice for your business. Automating tedious activities saves your time, focus and energy and opens the door to innovation. As I was writing mine Next book, I realized that modern business needs machines to succeed. When you automate your busy work, you build that machine and then refine and improve it over time. Instead of spending all your time baking pies, you can develop better and better recipes.
Whenever I share this theory, someone inevitably suggests that saying “no” is a luxury reserved only for founders with money, power, and established businesses. These puzzle pieces certainly make it easier, but “saying no is not a privilege reserved only for the successful among us,” Clear says. “It’s also a strategy that can help you banavu Success.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Related: How to enhance business automation and unlock new levels of operational efficiency
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