Just as it’s important to pay attention to the habits that will help you become more profitable, it’s also important to pay attention to the habits that are currently killing your profits.
These are the things you need to stop doing so you have more time and energy to dedicate to profitable daily success habits.
Daily Profit Killer #1 – Getting Distracted from the Start
If you’re like many people I’ve talked to, then you’ve reached the end of the day without having gotten anything done many times.
This is extremely discouraging for you. Maybe you start the day off really excited and thinking that you’re going to be highly productive that day. But, it just doesn’t happen.
If you look back over the hours you spend on days like this, then you’ll probably realize that you got distracted from the very start.
You woke up and checked your email, read some blogs, flipped around on social media, and fell down the rabbit hole clicking link after link.
When this happens, you reach the end of the day in shock and start scrambling to get anything done at all.
If you start your day off distracted and unproductive, that’s probably how you’ll end the day.
Instead, I highly recommend you get at least one very important thing done right away. Get this important thing done before you do anything else at all.
If you get distracted from the start, you’ll probably be distracted all day. If you really focus from the start, then you’ll probably be focused all day.
It’s very simple in theory. It’s something you’ll have to work toward and really strive for. It will pay off big time for you if you can avoid getting distracted during your work day. Work when you work and play when you play.
Daily Profit Killer #2 – Not Having a Clear Picture of What You’ll Be Doing Each Day
I’ve mentioned already that it’s so important to plan ahead. If you’re starting your day off without a clear picture of what you’ll be doing that day, then you’re killing your profits.
If you plan ahead and know what your most profitable activities are, then you can write those things down on your to-do list and get them done every day. Rinse and repeat and your daily successes will stack up into bigger successes.
If you don’t know what your most profitable and important activities are, then you might do the wrong things. Or worse, if you don’t have any plan at all, even a poor one, then you’ll accomplish nothing at all. That’s no way to run a business.
Make sure you have a clear picture of what you’ll be doing each day. Make sure these tasks are in line with your goals and your overall business plan.
Visualize yourself completing those important, profitable tasks. Do this on a regular basis and you’ll be rewarded.
Daily Profit Killer #3 – Allowing Social Media to Distract You
It might seem a little silly that I’m putting this here in such a prominent spot. But, social media is really getting to be a big, distracting problem for many people in business all over the world.
It’s fun and exciting to see what other people are doing on Facebook and Twitter. It’s fun and exciting to follow the latest news updates and things like that, since many of us do get our “breaking news” updates from social media.
Despite that, it’s a huge, huge problem if you’re spending hours upon hours of your day on social media every day.
It’s a huge problem if you’re constantly checking Twitter feeds and Facebook updates from your phone or your computer or wherever you do it.
Your work time is your work time. It’s great if you use social media for business, but don’t get sucked down into the rabbit hole.
Make sure you focus when you’re using social media for business—have a plan for how and why you’re using it.
Make sure you completely shut down social media accounts and don’t check them or allow notifications to come through while you’re working on other things.
Pay attention to your work. Focus on your work. There’s always time for social media in your off hours. Use social media well and it can help you profit.
Allow social media to become a distraction and it can suck all your profits and productivity away.
Daily Profit Killer #4 – Not Developing Systems
There are likely certain things you do on a daily basis for your business. Struggling through these same tasks over and over again is an inefficient, poor habit. Instead, create systems for your common, important tasks.
Create a system of checklists and steps you follow every single time to get things done better and more efficiently.
That way, you won’t have to think about the next steps while you’re working on these things. You’ll be able to breeze through these frequent tasks with ease by just following the checklist.
Your systems and strategies for common tasks should be so defined that you could easily hand the steps over to an outsourcer if needed.
You likely waste a lot of time thinking about next steps; even for things you do all the time. End that now—don’t waste time worrying about what the next step should be.
Instead, develop systems, breeze through it, and get it done. Tweak your strategy so you’re efficient and confident while you’re working.
Daily Profit Killer #5 – Waiting for Perfection
Perfection might be a bad habit of yours. In fact, if you’re a frequent procrastinator, then perfection might actually be your main issue.
If you’re a perfectionist, you subconsciously think it’s not even worth attempting to do the work if you know it can’t be perfect.
Well, I have news for you – nothing’s perfect.
It doesn’t matter how long you work on that article, product, or email autoresponder, it’s never going to be perfect.
There will always be ways you can tweak things. There will always be imperfections. Sometimes, good enough is good enough.
If you’re working slowly and the quantity of your output is terrible, it’s time to eliminate the perfection problem. Get things done.
Work to make your customers, readers, and audience happy. Stand out in important ways…but don’t allow perfection to steal your profits, or allow it to rob your audience of the opportunity to learn from your wisdom.
Daily Profit Killer #6 – Letting People’s Doubts Cause You to Doubt Yourself
It’s never been easier to start your own business. That means that many people who never would’ve started their business before are now working to start their own business.
It’s also never been as free to start a business like this before. Just about anyone with an Internet connection can start their own successful online business these days. That’s a wonderful thing.
Unfortunately, many people start and stop before they even make any progress at all. Why do they do that when they were so excited about the possibilities? They often quit because others doubt them.
Is that something you’re struggling with? Get out of the habit of caring.
Your family members might doubt you. Your friends might doubt you.
Most of the time, they doubt you because they don’t understand.
They come from a world where if you aren’t working at a desk for minimum wage, or wearing a lab coat or business suit, or doing some sort of back-breaking labor, then you aren’t working at all.
Ignore that, because that thinking is so limiting and so false. You can build up your business. You can earn a fantastic income and you can earn money even while you’re sleeping. But, you have to work on it. You have to work hard.
You have to work hard at not letting other people’s doubts cause you to doubt yourself. Surround yourself with positive, successful people who are a lot like you.
Don’t let anyone drag you down. You can succeed if you want to succeed and if you work hard, no matter what anyone else says.
Daily Profit Killer #7 – Repeating Past Mistakes Over And Over Again
We’ve established that you’re likely dealing with a lot of bad habits in business. You might be doing the same unprofitable things over and over again.
Make some changes by not repeating past mistakes over and over again.
So, what are the right things in your business and what are the wrong things? Look at the 80/20 principle. What’s working for you and what’s not?
They’ve said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Take a look at the things you frequently do in your business and whether they are or aren’t working for you. Don’t be sentimental about this. If something is not working, then cut it out.
Pay attention to the things that are working and build those things up. Learn from your mistakes and move on. Don’t repeat the same mistakes. Moving forward and learning from everything you’ve done is what leads to success.
Daily Profit Killer #8 – Giving up When Success Is Just around the Corner
It’s unfortunate, but so many people stop working hard on their business just when they were about to become successful.
Or, they self sabotage. As soon as they start to see some success, it sort of freaks them out and they stop working altogether or move in another direction. This is the fear of success and it can really dash your profits forever.
Even when the going seems tough, keep on going. Know that if you work hard, you can achieve. Don’t give up. Don’t fall prey to the fear of success.
Yes, it’s hard in the beginning. No, you might not see profits right away. But, after you’ve earned that first dollar, $100, $1.000, and so on, it gets so much easier. Your success can snowball.
No, you don’t want to do things that aren’t working. But you do have to realize when things will work if you’re more patient.
That’s why it’s important to choose profitable systems and follow in the footsteps of those who are already successful. That can give you a beacon of hope. You’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Daily Profit Killer #9 – Working a Full Day Without Actually Working
This goes along with what we talked about before. How many times have you worked a full day but then realized that you actually didn’t get that much done?
Take a look at why this is. It’s probably the case that you don’t have a clear path. You don’t have an idea of what you should be doing every day.
If you catch yourself not working at any point during your workday, recognize it, acknowledge it, and improve right in that moment.
Revisit your goals and your overall business plan. Did you set up a to-do list the night before? You should have.
Many people feel like if they start their day off wrong, then they may as well give up altogether. That’s not the case.
As soon as you realize that you’re not paying attention to your new and improved positive daily success habits, correct the issue and move on.
The past is in the past. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been unproductive, late with your work, late with your goals, or anything before.
All that matters is what you do starting today. Make today the day that you decide to succeed beyond your wildest dreams.
Daily Profit Killer #10 – Not Treating Your Business like a Real Business
It doesn’t matter if you have an online business or an offline business. It doesn’t matter if you’ve invested tens of thousands of dollars into your business or you’ve invested zero dollars into your business.
Your business is a real business the moment you decide it is. In a real business, you have to work hard. You have to work hard to achieve your dreams.
Don’t expect to be able to put in 30 minutes of work a week and earn a lot of money. Expect to work hard. You’ll get out of this what you put into this.
Work hard and it will pay off. You’re in business now. Treat it like a real business and not as a hobby. Have the mindset of a successful businessperson and you can achieve.