What habits would have the biggest impact on helping you reach your goals? One of the biggest lessons I’ve had is around the utter uselessness of goals unless they’re turned into habits (or one time actions/projects depending on the type of goal you’re working on).
I’ve found the, in my experience, magic combo for forming impactful business habits AND sticking to them consistently.
So start thinking about those goals you’re working on and let’s turn them into something you can move closer and closer to every single day.
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I've talked a lot about how I started this year feeling really stagnant, stuck, and a little uninspired. These feelings were a big wake-up call that something had to change.
In last week's video, I talked about how I found myself building a business that I didn't really want and the process I used to come back to center and realign myself on my vision for the business AND my life.
The second thing that I did to get back on track, or better yet get on a whole new track, was to revisit my systems, which I've also talked about previously in my recent systems sprint video (both of which I’ll link below).
This is a quasi part three. The third thing I did was to take those systems, take that vision, take those goals and turn them into daily habits (or work daily habits). So in this video, I am going to share how I combined 75 Hard and James Clear's Atomic Habits habit stacks to revamp my day-to-day actions, aka my habits and really LIVE my vision in actual practice.
The Business 75 Hard Inspiration
There are two types of goals that I typically set every year.
- Project-based goals: These are ones where I have a whole lot of control over how I reach that goal and if I reach that goal because all I'm concerned about is ticking the next item, the next action item, off the list to complete the project.
- Achievement-based goals: These ones I have less control over. Yes, I can control my input but that doesn't necessarily translate into the outcome that I want.
I'll be honest, I find achievement goals kind of intimidating as somebody who likes to have a lot of control. However, the backbone of achievement-based goals are your habits, the things that you're doing on a daily or maybe weekly basis depending on the goal itself, that actually move you closer to that goal.
And by focusing on the habits, that's where you're going to find your control, your ability to be proactive with the goal. As long as you focus on doing the habit (albeit making sure they’re the right habits), doing these habits consistently should be moving you closer to the goal.
And so with these two thoughts in mind, I found myself very inspired by the 75 Hard. One of my issues with the 75 hard on a personal front is are these things really tied to the goals that you actually have? Anyone just telling you the habits that you should be adopting (because I said so style) isn't too helpful though. Unless you have a shared goal, I think it's much more helpful to think about your goals and what is that key performance action that is going to get you closer to it. Is it something that needs to happen on a daily or a weekly basis? What I like about 75 hard is the finish line aspect of it, the tracking aspect of it.
I came across an Instagram account @SabrinaLeeSocials who was talking about how to apply the 75 hard methodology to business. And it really got my wheels turning. What are the business habits that fit within the 75 hard structure? But even with her business edition of 75 hard, I still found it really important to use the structure but tailor my specific habits to my actual goals.
So I started out just trying 75 hard and I got a couple like a week and a half in before I started skipping those habits because I had what I thought at the time was “more important work to do” aka putting out fires and greasing squeaky wheels.
So I knew I needed to pair this with another strategy, which is where James Clear's Atomic Habits. I've been a long time fan of his work and have read the book multiple times. And one of the aspects I've always found really helpful is this idea of habit stacks. Where can you pair a habit that you want to form with something that you already do. Ideally something enjoyable. And so I combined the habit stack theory with a business edition of 75 Hard to get consistency. What are the daily things that I'm doing and how can I pair each of those to something that is going to be one of these habits from the 75 hard? Or if I can’t think of anything to pair it with, what’s a small treatie or bribe I can use that (a) add some joy into my day and (b) pair nicely with the habit.
Let's go over the habits, my habits for my version of business 75 hard or soft, because I'm habit stacking them with stuff I like.
Habit Stack #1: Coffee + Write for 1 Pomodoro
My first habit stack is drinking my coffee and writing for one Pomodoro (25 minutes).
Creating content is a really important part of both my business (it is in the name after all, your content empire) and also for myself to be in alignment with my purpose. When I don't create content, I feel disconnected from my business. It's as much about the output and having something to publish as it is about the ritual of getting my thoughts out and creating something. When business gets busy or life takes over and I start skipping this content creation part, I drift further and further away from that purpose.
One thing I never skip? My morning coffee. So this habit stack was a really easy one to come up with and think about. The goal that this ties to is content creation and publishing content consistently.
Every morning that I sit down and have my coffee, I set a timer and write for at least 25 minutes. This is actually the idea behind my content habit app too, I love that I start my work day having already created something, and I've already created something of my own before I start consuming other people's posts or other people's content. It makes me feel majorly accomplished and sets the tone for my day.
A little tip here is to make sure that you figure out what you're going to write before you sit down to actually write it. Some days I'm working on a script for a video, other days I'm working on the social media posts that go along with that video, sometimes I'm working on messaging or sales emails for an upcoming promotion or launch or funnel, but other days I'm just picking a few ideas that I'm curious about exploring, setting a timer, and see where that takes me. It's a little bit like Julia Cameron's morning pages, my own business purpose version of it.
Habit Stack #2: Post on Instagram (Story, Reel or Carousel) + Then Take a Break
The second habit stack that I've adopted is posting on Instagram, whether that's a story, a reel, or a carousel, right before taking a morning break. I usually have everything in my Airtable Content Hub all ready to go, but I like to do it manually so I can take some time to reply and respond to any comments and have the active process of showing up.
Also, instead of this being a standard habit stack that I do with something I enjoy, I do the habit (spending 15-20 minutes posting on Instagram) before I do something that I enjoy. So this is a little more in line with BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits methodology of the trigger habit. Might also be known as bribery. But no shame here.
This particular habit relates to my business visibility goal. My biggest tip for this habit is to do your best to have your content all ready to go so all you have to do is post. But I don’t let NOT having something ready to post stop me but I want to make it as easy as possible for me to follow through by having systems in place like an ideas bank for reels, a b-roll video library of of things that you can easily pull and just write a caption for and add on a visual hook to the video, whether that is pulling something from an existing piece of content, or like me, pulling from my morning content habit. I find myself doing that fairly often as well.
Habit Stack #3: Morning Walk + 1 Lesson or Podcast Episode
The next habit stack I've implemented is listening to a lesson of a course that I'm currently taking or a podcast episode during my morning walk. I live right next to the ocean and I want to make sure I am making a point to enjoy it. So this one is a twofer. I get to walk my dogs and make sure that I'm actually following through on finishing that course I signed up for or listening to that podcast episode I'm curious about.
I'm not usually someone who can listen to something interesting while I work. I'll get way too distracted. I like to hyper focus for whatever Pomodoro I'm working on. But I'm also someone who will buy the course and then not go through it because I don’t really have time so this makes sure that I am setting aside an an intentional time slot to actually go through those materials.
The goal this connects to is around staying inspired and staying connected to what is going on in my industry or moving my business forward by learning new skills. I love the fact that this learning/walking time comes after I've already written something and created something so I'm making sure not to consume other people's content before I've made a point of creating my own.
A quick tip for this one if you decide to take it on as one of your habit stacks is to make sure that as you're going through these lessons or listening to the podcast to jot down a few notes or ideas that I've had around whatever lesson I've gone through or go and implement it. No course in the world is going to do you any good unless you are actually taking action on it. All of the goals and all of the reasons you signed up for that course in the first place come through taking action.
Habit Stack #4: Income Generating Activity + Read 1 Chapter Novel
The habit stack that has made the biggest difference is doing one income-generating activity and then rewarding myself by reading a chapter of whatever novel I happen to be reading at the time.
I have a tendency to let money things and money chores kind of pile up, and so by making an intentional effort to deal with at least one of them every day, I have seen a big uptick in my monthly revenue and get to avoid feeling like I have a huge backlog of things to deal with.
Some of the income-generating activities I’ve done are: promoting one of my offers on social media, writing a sales email, sending a sales email, following up on inquiries or proposals, following up on delinquent payments, following up with current or past clients who’ve expressed an interested in ongoing support, sending out invoices, canceling subscriptions for things I no longer use.
This daily habit supports my revenue goals for the year.
My little tip if you are interested in doing some version of this would be to create a list of all of the ideas of income-generating activities that you could do. What are your money opportunities? I learned this years ago from Denise Duffield Thomas, and it was to basically do an Eisenhower matrix for all of the money opportunities in front of you. It's about training your brain to see those money opportunities right in front of you. You create your list of all the things you could do and then sort them into quadrants. Quick & Low ROI, Slow & Low ROI, Quick & High ROI and Slow & High ROI.
Habit Stack #5: 1 Episode of TV Show + 5 Conversations on Instagram
The final habit stack that I tacked onto this iteration of 75 Hard Business Edition was to have 5 conversations on Instagram while watching one episode of whatever TV show I happened to be obsessed with at the moment, whether that was Real Housewives or some juicy drama.
One of my big values in business and one of the things I was craving more of this year is connection. And so when it came to thinking of an actionable and measurable habit to pair with this goal, this felt like an easy place to start. It's measurable, it's something I can get done, and it's something that I also paired with something I would be doing anyways. And instead of just wasting my time mind numbingly watching a show, I could get something out of that time as well.
Create Your Own Version of 75 Hard Business Edition
So, are you ready to create your own version of 75 Hard, the business edition?
- Get Clear on Vision and Goals: The first thing you're going to want to do is get really, really clear on your vision and goals. I don't think I could have come up with my habits had I not taken that reverse engineering approach. So, first vision, then from there, goals, and then come up with the habits.
- Pair Your Goals with Daily Habits (Key Performance Actions): The second thing you're going to want to do is pair each of those goals with daily habits. What is the key performance action that is going to make that goal happen? How are you going to get, as they say, 1% improvement? How are you going to make 1% progress towards that goal through your daily actions? What is that one action that is going to get you there?
- Pair Your Habits with Pleasure: Third is to pair your habits with pleasure. This is especially true if you are having trouble getting consistent. If you are setting these habits, wanting to stick with them, and then not following through. The best thing you can do is pick something that's joyful or pleasurable that you're already doing in your life and pair the habit with that.
- Commit to a timeframe (like 75 days): Then commit to a timeframe, like say 75 days, and then track it.
- Check in and adjust: Finally, you're going to want to check in and adjust as you go and at the end too. These might be habits that you stick with for the duration of your business, the life of your business, but they also might change over time as your goals evolve.
