How to Create a Successful, Growth-Driven Daily Routine

Your daily routine is a direct reflection of your success potential.

Grow every day. This sounds like a cat poster and few people would disagree with the idea of growing daily. However, the truth is most people don’t have the discipline to grow and improve every day. Individuals graduating from school are quickly expected to grow, mature, and adjust to life after their structured learning comes to an end. There is so much pain being young and broke, that most in society hustle as much as they can until they land that first decent-paying job. Then, they breathe a sigh of relief as they experience an initial level of comfort and settle into their average life. 

The sigh of relief doesn’t mean that they’re long term goals have changed, it simply means they are less willing to put in the work to reach those goals. Soon, daily growth and the drive to advance themselves, is replaced with seeking security, lazy weekends, and credit cards. One day, they start to notice social media posts of friends from past lives that appear to have blown by them in the game of life. They become discouraged, they no longer see the path to their goals and give up on their dreams.  Instead of facing the truth, they redefine success with goals that require them to put forth little to no effort. 

The good news is that person doesn’t have to be you! By making a few changes to your daily routine, combined with the discipline to grow daily, you can reach exponential growth in a short amount of time.  After implementing these changes, suddenly you will find yourself prepared for and noticing new opportunities all around you. Change will come, because it is impossible to grow without change.  If you want to change your life, change your daily routine. 

What elements make up a growth-focused daily routine that will bring change to your life? Although there is no exact formula for growth, one thing is certain; growth will not come to you, you must pursue growth. A daily routine of growth has a purpose to end the day being better physically, mentally, and spiritually, than you were when the alarm went off that morning. A daily growth routine, and the discipline to keep it, will change your life, family, community, and legacy.

Core Elements of a Successful Daily Routine:

Awake early– Big surprise. People who naturally get up early love to tote this as a secret to success. Don’t worry, most of them still waste this time on social media, watching the news, or some other useless action.  Researchers say the first three hours after waking up is the most productive mental state, as long as you don’t keep hitting the snooze button. Use this peak mental time productively! 

Eat the Frog– Eating the frog simply means to do the task that you really don’t want to do, first. Maybe for you that’s sales calls, paperwork, or an uncomfortable conversation that needs to be had. Whatever it is, do it. Get it out of the way so it does not hang over you all day long. Get in the habit of “eating the frog” as soon as you get to work. 

Prioritize your daily greatness– Stephen Covey’s book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” has a great system for prioritizing daily tasks. However, prioritizing your greatness is acknowledging that a day can be a long time to stay sharp. Ask yourself: what is the most important meeting, appointment, or call that day, that I must be at my peak? Then, make sure you are prepared mentally, administratively, and physically, for that moment.

Connect with people– Regardless of what field of work you choose, the degree to which you succeed is determined far more by the way you connect with people than the skills you possess in that trade. Still, most people spend most of their time studying impractical information that can be easily looked up, and virtually no time learning about how to better connect with others around them. Co-workers, clients, and even the boss want to work with people they connect with.  When you connect with people, they want to see you succeed. Peers and clients will even be more patient if you have to get back with an answer you might not immediately know.            

We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts and ideas on how to have a successful daily routine in the comments below!

This material contains the current opinions of the author but not necessarily those of Guardian or its subsidiaries and such opinions are subject to change without notice. John Paul is a Registered Representative of Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS). Securities products offered through PAS, member FINRA, SIPC. General Agent of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America? (Guardian), New York, NY. PAS is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Guardian. Iron Horse Financial is not an affiliate or subsidiary of PAS or Guardian. 2019-72171 Exp 01/21