There are many things that contribute to financial success as an entrepreneur and, often, your daily routine is an underlooked part of the secret sauce to success. My daily routine allowed me to not only find financial and professional success, it also allows me to thrive personally.
Waking up in the wee hours of the morning has been catalogued countless times as being the one thing that successful people do differently.
For me, that simply wasn’t enough.
I’ve been waking up, naturally, between 4:45 am and 5:15 am for my entire life (yes, really, just ask my mother) and it wasn’t something I had to try to create a routine around. It was more that I created a routine around my early-rising and the one routine to keep me on that pace and stay creatively connected to everything I needed to do for myself, my business and my personal brand throughout the day.
Exercise, sleep and waking up at the same time every weekday and every weekend is what truly contributed to my success.
And it happened thanks to a ball of fluff named Fiona.
Getting a puppy changed my outlook on sleeping late — if someone or something is waiting for you to care for them, you can’t take the time you normally would to sleep in.
The best way to get started with a routine that works for you? Simply start and then, follow these tips!
Get a Reset
Getting up at the same time every weekday can be challenging at first, especially if you’re not used to getting up early. Find 5 days where you can reset this. Waking up at the same time, every, single day IS the key to better sleep but I found that by training my body to wake up at the same time Monday through Friday and then instituting another system on Saturday and Sunday, I was able to actually get MORE rest and be MORE productive. It’s all about listening to your own body and understanding what you need to succeed. Once you figure out what your system for success will be, it’s all about getting a reset to put it into play. Vacation is a good time to do this. I know what you’re thinking, “I want to rest on vacation!” If you do this, you’ll find that you will naturally wake up every day at the same time, allowing your body to understand the optimal rest for YOU, not based on what someone says on the internet (yes, even me).
Create Non-Negotiables
For me, going to SoulCycle 5-6 days a week is a non-negotiable part of my routine. I also meditate every morning and listen to freevibeoftheday.com in addition to some podcasts. These are not rigid requirements — sometimes, I listen to the podcasts on my way to SoulCycle or for coffee and other times, I listen while I unload my dishwasher — it’s more about making sure these items are getting done in a way that makes you feel supported by the routine.
Your Calendar is Your Guru
Years ago, I used to use my Google calendar to manage everything from appointments to budgets. Now, I use it to monitor my daily tasks, due dates and client calls. Doing this in a routine way, with certain tasks and calls happening every week or every two weeks at the exact same time, allowed me to see pockets in my schedule and plan for productivity. This is KEY to scaling a 6-figure business and beyond rapidly.
Secret Sauce to Productivity? 45-Minute Sprints
In my early years a cub reporter, I spent a lot of time covering productivity methods… not really realizing how useful this would prove to be. I studied Agile and Kanban, Scrum and Pomodoro. For me, the most productive window is 45-minute sprints. By blocking time for 45-minutes on every activity (calls too), you give yourself 15 minutes to refresh, recap and reset before jumping into the next activity.
It is easy to stay on track with this routine as long as you commit to it. Fall is a great time to test out a new routine and to be kind to yourself as you do it!
Is this working for you? Have plans to try additional elements? Tweet me @vixinthecity and tell me about it!