If you’re like most small business owners, you probably have at least one habit you’d like to change or get rid of forever.
Perhaps you procrastinate making sales calls or forget to update your financial records in a timely manner.
As small business owners, we have the freedom to work at what we love, when we want too. In fact, what others view as poor habits may actually be important parts of our business success.
The key is to figure out what habits are contributing to your freedom of being your own boss, and which ones are detracting from it. You need to identify the habits are just your personal choices and which are eating away your success.
Some classic bad business owner habits include being too competitive in all aspects of life. Certainly, a competitive spirit helped you get where you are. But when it filters into your personal life, that habit can have a detrimental effect. Also, entrepreneurs, by nature of their motivation, are very driven to achieve their goals, sometimes damaging work-life balance.
One key bad habit that many business owners are victims of is the time management debacle. All too often, we get lost in busywork simply because it’s easier. The anxiety of being overworked may cause you to turn first to whatever’s on the top of your pile rather than to prioritize.
Where to start? Here are a few ideas that can help you figure out your “bad” habits and how to work through them in a way that benefits you:
- Do your own “bad habit” inventory. Create a list of work-related behaviors you want to change. Simply brainstorm and write them down as they come to you.
- Highlight the habits that have long-term potential to hurt your business – and take action! If your habits prevent you from completing tasks that move your business forward, strategize a way to get help, whether it’s a coach, a class or an accountant.
- Highlight your good habits. Adjust how you feel about certain habits – it helps you to transform them into actual benefits. Perhaps taking a long lunch helps diminish stress, for instance.
- Don’t beat yourself up when an old habit resurfaces. Practice reversing your feelings by focusing your attention on the outcome you hope to achieve rather than the action you are taking at the moment. This positive attitude provides you with an incentive to discover unique ways to complete tasks.
- Take a break now and again. Let yourself have some habits—it is core to being human and living your life. As you explore breaking some rules, seek to create positive results, no matter what action you take.
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