How To Get Your Mojo Back

As a business owner, or an aspiring entrepreneur it can be tough to keep constantly motivated. One day you’re writing blog posts (hello!) and others you’re struggling to find the motivation to clear your inbox and design that story on Canva.

I hear you.

The longer you own your business, the harder this is to maintain. Just like a relationship with your partner, you’ll have a honeymoon period with your business too.

You’ll wake up with an extra spring in your step and the motivation to jump on your laptop. But, like any relationship, the ‘honeymoon’ flurry of excitement wears off, and the more deliberate work starts. You need to make an effort, and sometimes it’s hard to continue that.

But what if we could learn to extend that honeymoon period? If we could learn how to wake up each and every day with the same spring in your step as day one?

The answer? HABITS.

Habits have had a bit of a negative connotation in the past, biting your nails, hitting the snooze button on your alarm and scrolling through Instagram. But, if you delve deeper into the science of habits, and even the etymology of the word, you’ll begin to understand that you can use habits to your advantage.

In short, habits are the brain's version of autopilot. They’re the things we do without even realising. They can feel out of our control but, like the majority of our behaviour, they are learnt.

Habits are formed through the repetition of a process or sequence of events. This is great news. This means you can choose your habits.

So how do we make this work in our favour? 

Well, I've tried and tested a lot of different ways of controlling my habits, and I've found that the three I'm about to share with you are the most effective. These new habits (and this ability to introduce them), revolutionized my business.

1. When trying to create a new habit, create a habit chain. That means you attach your new desired habit, for example reading, to an existing action. Something you do everyday. For me, it’s my morning coffee. I read whilst I drink because trust me, i’m never missing my morning coffee.
• Bonus: I used to spend this time scrolling through my phone. Not only am I learning far more than ever, but I've also reduced my screen time. A win-win.
• Shameless plug… If you’re looking to read more, you can check out what i’ve recently read here.
2. Create a morning routine. This fits in with the above point. I’ve spoken about my morning routine before because for me, it’s been a game changer. I wanted to be at my laptop by 7:30 every morning, but every day I would miss it. 7:45, 8:00, sometimes 8:30. I needed to create a habitual routine that got me there by 7:30. By forming a sequence of events, and repeating them every single day, I've created something I can do on autopilot. Whether I feel motivated or not, I'm there at my laptop ready to start my day. But then what?
• Bonus: By 7:30 i’ve danced, had a great breakfast and learnt something. Not bad before many people are up!
3. For me (and for many), every decision I have to make is an opportunity to deviate from the difficult tasks. It’s way more fun to create a blog post (Hi again!), than to do my monthly tax calculations. But, as a business owner, it’s important, nay, essential to do both. So how do you create a habit for something that isn’t daily, or even weekly for that matter? Well, you take one step back. I needed to create a habit for how I approached each day. A system that would take away the decision making process for me.

I introduced daily planning the night before and my entire business changed.  I take 15 minutes at the end of each day to plan out the next. I give a time slot to each task and I prioritise the things I don’t love, first. By my morning tea break I've finished the tasks I used to put off and I have a diary full of the things I love. This prevents boring or laborious tasks from hanging over me and impacting my motivation. Instead, as I finish my tea I get up with a spring in my step ready to dive into what I love.

Now of course, these are just the habits and approaches that have worked for me. They might not work for you, but I promise you’ll lose nothing for giving it a go. If you’re interested in learning more about habits, check out our bookshelf. Our two FAVOURITE books on habits are featured amongst a heap of other books you might want to read as an aspiring business owner.

Ps, we've found the best deals in there for you too. You can save up to 30% :)

If you’ve found this helpful, leave a comment below👇