What sets successful creative founders apart from the rest is their daily practice of daily habits. Like every sportsman or athlete, when it comes to focus and getting things done, anyone who is running a creative business should have the same attitude. Now, this can be quite challenging especially when you work on your business alone.
So if you feel like you’re lost or you’re losing focus, or you feel you’re burning out, here are my 5 daily habits which will help you run your business better:
1. Doing the same thing everyday – honing and working on your skills
Many tasks we do as creative founders on a daily basis might seem boring or too challenging. It’s very easy to slip into our conform zone and stay there as long as we can. Whether tasks are repetitive or challenging I personally see them as something that will help me in the long run. Approaching developing your business skills in this way can help you run your business better too.
So for example, if you need to pitch yourself to potential customers or clients but you’re finding it hard, do it more often. Try different angles and learn from every conversation you have. Read books and case studies and try to apply techniques, which you think are suitable for your situation. The idea is that you might not necessarily like what you’re doing (of course you try to do what you like doing every day) but you try to push through it regardless.
2. Having a strict schedule – working towards self-defined timescale
I think that running a business requires tons of self-discipline and the ability to manage time to maximise productivity. There are four things which help me to be more productive:
Get up an hour earlier or stay up an hour longer – Either way you’re gaining extra time to do tasks which you otherwise have to fit in your normal schedule. For example, I do tasks which don’t require so much focus at night and tasks that require a lot of focus first thing in the morning. You have to know yourself and work out a schedule that fits well around your productivity pattern.
Achieve zero inbox – Leaving work with no unopened emails was another big help for me. This means that when I start a new day I don’t have to remember to deal with emails which I received days ago. Try to be disciplined and deal with as many of them as possible on daily basis so you don’t give yourself extra tasks and don’t fall behind, or worse miss out on opportunities.
Switch off emails while working on something important – This has been a game-changer for me. Nowadays, we are all plugged in on smart phones and the inbox is constantly open. However, once I’m logged out I find myself being more focused. I manage to complete tasks quicker and more efficiently than if was being disturbed by notification sounds.
Time-slotting tasks – Another game-changer. I used to be quite chaotic and disorganised in my time management. These days I’m very strict and try to set myself a time-slot in which I have to complete whatever I’m doing. Try to time-slot your tasks and see if you can fit in the time-slot or even finish them earlier. Put yourself under artificial time pressure and see how this will impact your productivity.
3. Setting business goals and targets
This daily habit some of you might find hard to do. I believe that we can easily achieve three targets or goals a week. Now, I don’t mean anything big. We, creative founders, have small and big projects we are continuously working on. What I mean is, for example, if you know that you are launching a product, you focus on getting three main things done, which will lead you to the next stage. In the middle of a project? Write down three goals or targets that need to be completed in order to move the needle.
4. Having confidence to try everything and anything
How many of us have been in a situation which we’ve “never done before”. Positive mindset is key. Tackle everything with “can do” attitude. Never put limitations on yourself because you’ve never done it before. Trying is better than avoiding or doing nothing. Train your brain to challenges. After all, if everything was easy, anyone would be doing the same thing. Your own mental fitness will help you to see things more positively. Having, and practising, positive thinking, will help you grow in confidence and as a person too.
5. Gathering information and analysing data
Whether you like it or not data in business are important. And, to get data and gather information you need to ask questions and analyse the results and outcomes. So many of us are worried that we will look like fools if we ask. But, honestly, who cares? Stop caring about what others think and get the data you need. I don’t mean just analysing Google Analytics. You need to go way deeper.
I mean, do you really know how your market works? Do you really know why your competitors are doing things the way they do? Do you really know if there is a need for what you offer? And if so, do you really know how and what is the best way to attract new customers or clients? What can you do to be more disruptive rather than passive or even worse copy someone else?
If you want to run your business better, get the answers to your how’s, what’s and why’s. The more you know, the better you understand and therefore the smarter decisions you make both in the short and long run.
Written by Karolina Barnes, STUDIO/ESTILA
If you enjoyed this article, why not subscribe to our bi-weekly “Creative Advice” round-ups? That way you never miss out on a good idea, case study or tip that you can get inspired by and use in your own business.
