Success on autopilot. 9 habits that changed my life

Habits change people. They can revive and kill, toss and drop to the bottom. All the daily activities that we perform on the machine are habits. They control us: affect mood, development and health. Making a good habit, as an investment in a profitable project, day after day brings dividends with virtually no participation from you. You just have to eliminate bad habits, select useful ones and watch how the world around you changes.

All my achievements: personal, professional and financial, were the result of making small changes in life, which after some time brought results.

Over the past three years, I have managed to work as a web developer, an author of articles for a men's magazine, and a chief product designer. I visited two countries, moved from a hostel to a comfortable apartment and continue to work with habits as one of the most important development tools.

These 10 habits changed my life:

Fear

At the age of 18, I first went on stage to present a project. More than a day of continuous work has passed. I was the youngest on the team, but they sent me to represent the project. It was scary. In the dark, a bright light blinded me, and I saw almost no one. Representatives of large IT companies asked questions, and I tried to answer them. It was scary, but I knew that this opportunity should not be missed. Several years have passed since then, and that moment remains one of the most memorable in my life.

Why overcome fear?

Each exit from the comfort zone proves that we are capable of more. This gives confidence that all obstacles are surmountable. Indeed it is, but to develop the habit of ignoring fear is not easy.

How to start?

Fear is a signal that it is time to act. Two days ago, I met a famous artist and immediately approached him. We talked for a couple of minutes and broke up. Nothing complicated. Did you see a beautiful girl / man? Come up. Has the crazy idea occurred to wake up at dawn and go for a run? Get up! Without doing this, you will regret it. Over time, self-pity will become a habit, and dreams will remain dreams. What would you like? To write a book? Open a company? Never mind. Take action.

Important
- Understand that fear almost everything. This is normal.
- Realizing that fear is a common feeling. Overcome it and discomfort will cease to bother you.

Early rise

Two years ago, I started experiments with early awakening. Then I studied at the institute, worked as a project manager, wrote articles and studied English. There was not much time, so I started to wake up at 5:30, so that I could go to a training session and study a foreign language before leaving for college. I didn’t withstand it for long, since falling asleep in the hostel before 11 o’clock in the evening is as simple as rising at dawn. Then I had to change the schedule, but this summer several days a week I woke up when the sun was just starting to warm, went out, did 10 sprints, came back, cooked for the day, sometimes read a book and went to work.

Why wake up early?

When one thing is done, the second is easier. Waking up early, running a run or a simple task, you will become like a player who scored a goal at the beginning of the match and was filled with confidence that he would score more.

How to learn to get up early

You can list dozens of tips that will help you get up earlier, but none of them can be compared to having a goal that is so strong and conscious that it will be stronger than the desire to lie down for another hour. Why do you think students wake up classes? Maybe because they don’t see the point in the lessons? It may well be. But sadly not that. Many adults wake up for the same reason.

Important
- Have a plan for what you will do in the morning. Without this, it’s better not to wake up. It will be more useful.
- Lie down at least 6.5 hours (preferably 7-8) before lifting.
- Eat smartly. Errors in nutrition strongly affect the tone (more on this below).
- To understand that an early rise is not a guarantee of success. As a result, everyone has 24 hours in a day.

Fitness

At 16, I weighed 84 kg. I was fat. By the end of school, my weight dropped to 62 kg, and after two years I again reached a healthy 80-84 with a percentage of subcutaneous fat of 10-12% (this is like Daniel Craig’s in the Bond films). Fitness is not only a healthy body. He disciplines, makes him overcome difficulties and achieve new goals. These qualities are transferred to all areas of life.

Why healthy lifestyle?

Discipline, self-confidence, emotional, mental and physical stability. And most importantly - the core of life.

How to improve your health?

Everyone knows this: eat right, get enough sleep, move.

Important
- Adhere to a moderate training regimen. Do not overwork.
- Allocate time to rest. There was a time when I trained 7-8 hours a week. This is permissible at a certain stage, but will have a bad effect on the long term.
- Attentive to each movement. This will help to avoid injuries and accelerate growth.
- Progress, give all the best for every workout and set new goals.

Smart food

I have not eaten sweets and pastries for more than two years. They say to me, “How can you limit yourself like that ?!” And I do not limit. I eat what I want. After all, it’s not a diet. Smart nutrition is a way of life.

What for?

Your energy level directly depends on what you eat. Take a break and think how you feel? Feeling sleepy, tired, or alert? Now remember what you ate all day.

A sprinter needs energy to run a distance no less than you need to complete a task. It is becoming apparent that a healthy diet is the key to success. Of course, you can swallow a croissant, drink its frappuccino and get the necessary energy boost. This will work a couple of times, but in the long run it will negatively affect health. Excess sugar, caffeine, fat does not lead to anything good.

How to eat smart?

Imagine a bonfire. It burns while branches are thrown at it. If you throw a lot at once, it will go out. If he dies a little. The body also needs to be fed from fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Morning meal allows you to wake up the body (to make a fire), and several meals throughout the day maintain it in the right state. To eat smartly, you need to know which foods contain the main components: proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

Important
- Understand which products contain empty energy and which contain useful energy. Regular sugar is a useless thing, but fruit is not.
- Consume enough protein. It is the building material of your body.
- Drink at least 2 liters of water per day (I drink several times more). Without water, everything dies.

Goals

I started to set goals at 18. I remember how in the column “Purpose” of the service MyKrug wrote “Become a project manager”. Having stumbled upon a forgotten resume a year later, I only smiled, as the goal was achieved. Having written down the goal, the probability of its achievement increases significantly. It ceases to loom in your head, and you have the opportunity to do business.

What for?

Goals are the guidelines of life. They indicate the direction of development and help to avoid confusion and stagnation.

How to work with goals

Now I use a paper notebook. One page - one week. I categorize tasks. The point determines the priority.

Six months ago I used Todoist. A great application that includes the David Allen GTD technique. You have the opportunity to distribute tasks among projects, filter and set reminders and much more.

It is worth paying attention to the SmartProgress service . This is a complete system for achieving goals. In addition to a rating that motivates accomplishments, you can join a group and achieve goals together. Important - Understand that when you reach your goal, you will not be happy. You can be happy only now. The goal gives an impetus to your life, and it is in the movement towards something ambitious that you feel happy and successful. - Refuse goals if they have lost relevance. This happens with long-term goals.

Focus

Steve Jobs' return to the position of CEO of Apple is my favorite moment in his biography. Returning, Jobs reduced the product line to 4 devices. What happened next you know yourself.

In an interview with Chinese television, Apple founder said that in order to create a breakthrough product you need to focus on one idea and bring it to the ideal.

What for?

Multitasking is appropriate only for simple tasks, such as talking on the phone while making coffee or stealthily examining girls during training. More complex tasks require more mental power. It's like juggling. The more balls, the harder. Now imagine that one ball (a big task) weighs 20 kg. To throw only one ball you need to concentrate on it all the forces. The same with tasks.

How to focus?

If you want to achieve something in the chosen business, you need to turn off social notifications. networks, close unnecessary tabs and, if possible, retire. Run sprints, not marathons. I have a convenient Pomodoro Timer on my laptop. I use it constantly. If you are disturbed by external sounds, use the Noisli service.

Important
- Remember that the world is changing people who know how to focus.

The experiments

I experiment with nutrition, training, regimen and every month I discover something new and get to know my body better. Do not stop finding a good solution. Everything can be improved.

What for?

Experiments are movement, openness to the new, and self-knowledge. Experiments with coffee helped me to identify the necessary dose and time of consumption, which will allow me to sleep 6 hours a day and work productively. Having tried various products, I know how to increase the energy level without harming the figure.

How to start

Change the time of awakening or going to bed. Reschedule your workout in the morning or evening. Remove or add some foods from your diet.

Important
- Monitor your health, fitness and tone. Focus on these indicators. I add new products and see how they affect my shape and tone. Thanks to this, I find the best products for every time of day.

Communicative

Yesterday I met a famous actor, a week ago with writer Dan Waldschmidt, six months ago with Igor Mann. Each conference, read book or interesting article is an occasion to make acquaintance.

What for?

I am familiar with the staff of the largest publishing houses in Russia, art directors of leading IT companies, writers and just interesting people. Thanks to this, I can get an authoritative answer to a question within a few minutes. In addition, the higher the circle of your communication, the better you become.

How to start

Liked the book? Find the author’s contacts and contact him. This will take no more than 15 minutes. Listened to an interesting speaker? Come and ask a question. Find interesting people on the Internet. Now it is very simple and fast.

Important
- Do not get a person. Contact only on business and with an interesting question.
- Be open to any communication. It does not matter whether it is a waiter or a famous writer.

Reading

A year and a half ago, I conducted a study. Each idea that came to mind was recorded along with the lesson during which it appeared. Reading three times was the most productive way to get ideas.

Why read

New ideas, the opportunity to get distracted, focus, get new skills, gain motivation ...

How to start

Find the three most popular books in your industry and read them. Read a book a week. This is not difficult. Imagine that in every book you will find at least one idea. As a result, you will get 52 ideas in a year. One of them can radically change your life.

Find out your favorite books of interesting people and make a reading list.

Important
- Do not strive for quantity. A year and a half ago, I accepted the challenge and read 50 books in six months. The experiment is interesting, but I reread some books again.
- Make notes. Most often I read on iBooks. From there it is easy to export notes to e-mail. After reading, I process them and enter them in the knowledge base.
- Implement ideas!

Useful books

Productivity
How to put things in order. The art of productivity without stress - David Allen
How to work four hours a week - Timothy Ferris

Speech and Negotiation
Turn on the charm of the special services - Jack Schafer, Marvin Carlins Reason
it! How to convince anyone of anything - Nikita Nepryakhin

Creativity
How to come up with an idea if you are not Ogilvy - Alexei Ivanov
Steal as an artist - Cleon Austin

Success Stories Genius
Corporation. How to manage a team of creative people - Ed Catmell, Amy Wallace
Losing Innocence. How I built a business, doing it my own way and enjoying life - Richard Branson

Development
Number 1. How to become the best at what you do - Igor Mann The
art of learning. How to become the best in any business - Josh Weitzkin

Motivation
To the Limit. A week without self-pity - Eric Bertrand Larssen
Be the best version of yourself. How ordinary people become outstanding - Dan Waldschmidt

Business
Development of value propositions - Alexander Osterwalder
Rework. Business Without Prejudice - Jason Fraid, David Heinmeyer Hansson

Marketing
Life- long Clients - Karl Sewell, Paul Brown
More Money From Your Business - Alex Levitas

Conclusion

While studying English, I used a table in which I checked every day when I devoted at least 20 minutes to classes. So I fixed the habit and it worked. You can take my method, or use the already mentioned SmartProgress service .

You will not wake up successful one morning. The habit of becoming a part of your life the moment you forget about its existence. And it takes time.