Developing Self Discipline:
Key to Start-Over Success
Having self-discipline is an essential small-business skill that is often overlooked. Self-discipline allows you to stay focused and motivated and can help you achieve your goals. It is a powerful tool for any entrepreneur or small business owner and can be the difference between success and failure. In this blog post, we’ll discuss nine tips to help you develop your self-discipline and take your business to the next level.
1.Set Realistic Goals
Before you begin a project, consider all the resources you need to achieve your aim. Do you have the knowledge, experience, and skill you need for this project? If not, you’ll need to learn and practice to be able to do what it takes. If you don’t have the ability, it’s difficult to muster the necessary willingness.
What other resources do you need? Are there materials, software, money, workspace, or something else you need in order to work toward your goals?
—Then, begin by setting small, achievable tasks each day or week instead of a huge task that might overwhelm you. This will help get rid of procrastination habits in the long run. It’s like Alexander Dumas said, “Nothing succeeds like success.” The more successful you are at completing small steps, the more your confidence, commitment, and motivation grow – acting with self-discipline becomes easier.
When you believe you can accomplish your goals, you feel more motivated to achieve them.
2. Consider Why This Goal Is Important To You
Tony Robbins says, “If you have a big enough Why you will figure out the How.” One of the “hows” for small business success is self-discipline.
Ask yourself, “What will you gain by reaching this goal?”
Knowing why you want to develop your self-discipline and visualizing the end results can help you stay motivated and on track with your goals.
Your Why motivates you when it becomes difficult to continue.
Ask yourself, “What consequences will you suffer if you do not reach your goal?? Visualizing the potential costs of inaction (financial, social, emotional) can be a powerful motivator to overcome procrastination and push past personal barriers.
Be mindful of negative thoughts or feelings that arise during challenging times; allowing them to linger could lead to self-sabotage. Instead, use positive affirmations or mantras to shift your mindset in order to motivate yourself and focus on developing self-discipline.
3. Plan to Take It One Step at a Time
When we believe we can accomplish our goals, we feel more motivated to achieve them. The best way to believe we can achieve is to, well, achieve. And the best way to ensure our achievement is to plan to take one step at a time. Sometimes we need to take small steps.
Leaders learn that, if a team member can’t complete a particular task, the step is too big. (Unless they are unwilling to do the task. That’s a subject for another day.) As small-business owners, we have to be our own leaders and see what’s going on with our own performance and productivity.
Take time each day or week to assess the tasks that need to be completed and break them into manageable chunks. This will help to ensure that you are focusing on the most important tasks first and that you are not overwhelmed by too much work. It also helps to reduce procrastination and to prevent you from falling into the trap of self-sabotage. This will help motivate you to achieve what you set out to do.
Developing self-discipline isn’t an overnight process; instead, focus on small wins each day and build from there. Learning how to break down big tasks into smaller, manageable ones can also be helpful in overcoming self-sabotage.
4. Set Deadlines for Your Goals & Activities
As Robert Herjavec (Shark Tank) says, “A goal without a deadline is just a wish.” And we know the difference between wishes and goals. We can’t count on the blue fairy to show up. But with self-discipline, we can count on ourselves to stick with our plans and to win.
Having your goal in mind, deadlines for completing tasks along the way, and a way to track your progress, can help you stay focused and motivated and help you overcome procrastination. Deadlines provide the structure and guidance needed to stay on track and prevent self-sabotage.
Break down larger tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces and set deadlines for each one – that gives you adequate time to complete them. This will help you stay organized and motivated while helping you develop the self-discipline needed to succeed in your small business.
5. Track Your Progress
Track your progress regularly by making note of what actions you are taking that are on the path to your goals. Tracking your progress gives you a sense of accomplishment which can be an incredibly powerful motivator and help to overcome procrastination and other counterproductive habits. With your notes, you have proof of your self-disciplined action and confidence that you will reach your aims.
This process is a great way to develop self-discipline because it gives you a tangible and achievable goal that motivates you to keep going when faced with difficulties. It also allows you to identify any potential areas for improvement or where you may be self-sabotaging yourself without even knowing it. If you can identify issues early on, it will make it much easier to overcome them and succeed.
Furthermore, when you track your actions, you can see how close you are to achieving specific goals. Seeing the end goal getting closer is motivating in itself.
6. Get An Accountability Partner
Put pressure on yourself. The idea of creating self-imposed deadlines and meeting those deadlines is essential for developing self-discipline. Find a way to make yourself accountable so that you don’t let yourself off the hook when it comes time to get things done. This way, you’ll stay on task and overcome procrastination.
Get an accountability partner: It’s always easier to stay on track if you know someone else is expecting results from you. Try teaming up with someone who has similar goals and check in with them regularly to make sure that you’re both staying on track.
If you don’t have an accountability partner, you can develop your own tracking system in MS Word, Excel, or even with paper and pencil.
You simply must have a support system, including colleagues or friends, who provide encouragement throughout your goal-achievement journey. For another person (who cares about your success) to know what you’re doing and to provide feedback is extremely valuable. Ken Blanchard says, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.”
When setbacks or roadblocks arise (and they will), you can refer to your tracking notes and see how far you’ve come, and feel encouraged to stick with it. it’s important to push through with persistence and dedication to succeed.
7. Remove Distractions
One of the best ways to develop self-discipline is to remove distractions. Distractions can make it difficult for you to focus on what’s important and keep you from succeeding with your small-business skill. We are surrounded by distractions. There are errands we should run, Netflix shows to watch, and checking social media that we may much rather do than the task we’re scheduled to perform.
It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the amount of information and technology available, but if you take steps to limit the amount of unnecessary noise in your life, it can help you to stay focused.
When it’s time to focus on your small business, turn off any unnecessary notifications or alerts that can disrupt your concentration. Find a space that allows you to be productive without constant interruptions. If possible, shut down all programs that are not relevant to the task at hand. It may help to silence your phone while you’re working.
By removing distractions, you can stay more focused on what matters most and give yourself the best chance to overcome procrastination and self-sabotage. Taking control of your environment and being mindful of what works best for you will help you develop the self-discipline needed to be successful in any business endeavor.
8. Take Breaks
Taking breaks throughout the day helps you to stay focused and avoid burnout. Taking short breaks can help reduce stress and enable you to stay focused. Knowing when it’s time to take a break will help you better manage your time and make sure that you don’t waste time.
I set a timer so I don’t forget to stop and take a break. Breaks actually help you to be more productive. It’s healthier and happier for you, too.
Finding ways to motivate yourself, like rewarding yourself with a break after completing an important task, can also be beneficial in helping you develop self-discipline.
Additionally, recognizing areas where you are prone to procrastination or self-sabotage is key to overcoming those behaviors.
Avoid fatigue and burnout by not overworking yourself. Work smarter by focusing on small goals instead of taking on too many tasks at once.
Determine what activities drain your energy. Can you delegate them? Is there an app to make that task easier? Is there a best time of day to do tasks you don’t like?
Focus on results instead of perfection; be honest with yourself about what needs to be done and find ways to motivate yourself; have regular check-ins with friends or colleagues who can encourage you along the way. By following these tips, you’ll be able to succeed with small business skills by developing self-discipline, overcoming procrastination, and overcoming self-sabotage.
9. Reward Yourself
As you make progress toward your goals, reward yourself. Celebrating the small successes along the way keeps you motivated and encourages you to keep going no matter how hard it may be at times. It’s important to recognize and appreciate the effort and progress made so far to stay on track and succeed with your small business.
Focus on results instead of perfection.
Be honest with yourself about what needs to be done and find ways to motivate yourself; have regular check-ins with friends or colleagues who can encourage you along the way and who will be there to celebrate with you when the time is right.
By following these tips, you will be able to succeed. You grow as a small-business owner, and as a person, by developing self-discipline, overcoming procrastination, and overcoming self-sabotage.