New York Times bestselling author, John C. Maxwell, once said that:
“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
And while making big changes like moving across the country or getting a new job can alter your life in some ways, it’s really the simple things you do every day that add up to the most impact.
Once you understand how powerful your daily habits are, you can structure your routine in a positive and life-changing way. Through consistency and effort over time, you’ll find that practicing daily habits has an immense impact. Here are a few simple habits you can incorporate into your day to truly change your life for the better:
Have you ever heard someone say they’re a great “multitasker”? Or had a potential employer say they’re looking for someone who can “multitask”? In today’s world, being able to juggle numerous tasks is practically seen as a badge of honor. Those who can keep up with the demands of many responsibilities are labeled more productive, more dedicated, and “worth more” than someone who only does one thing at a time.
However, in recent years, psychological studies have indicated that multitasking in the way we imagine it, doesn’t really even exist.
The Power of Doing Only One Thing
Our brain doesn’t actually focus on multiple things at once. Instead, it flits back and forth between tasks at a rapid pace. When our brains have to dart back and forth like this between all our different tasks, we end up losing focus for a fraction of a moment while we switch. Ultimately, this causes us to lose time while dancing back and forth, and also causes us to never enter into a state of “flow” — a state where we fully engage and enjoy our work. These studies demonstrate that multi-tasking isn’t actually an effective productivity technique at all, and that by trying to “multitask,” we actually diminish our overall efficiency.
But multitasking doesn’t just cause problems in our day to day. It also causes issues over the long term in regard to our life goals.
When we “multitask” – or “dabble” – in a variety of different activities and pursuits, we never fully master any of them.
Putting your time, energy, and resources into many different goals means that you have to distribute your time, energy, and resources further, therefore causing each goal to develop slowly over time.
Think of your time, energy, and resources as a water pitcher, and each of your goals as a cup. If you have many cups, it will take longer to fill the cups and you may never fill any of them at all. If you do end up filling a cup, it will probably take quite a long time.
So, is there a solution to this multitasking problem?
Gary Keller, author of The One Thing, thinks there is. And if the title doesn’t give it away yet, it’s to simply focus on one thing at a time.
Keller writes that:
“Success demands singleness of purpose. You need to be doing fewer things for more effect instead of doing more things with side effects.”
In other words, Keller suggests we drop our multitasking habits, both in the short term and long term. Instead of answering calls, reading emails, working on a project, and scrolling on TikTok, just choose one thing to focus on at a time, and you’ll get much further (and faster!) than if you hadn’t. This also means you should choose just one goal to give your attention to, rather than 5, or 10, or 50, like we often try to do with our New Year’s Resolutions. (Which may be why we give up on all of them by mid-February!)
One reason doing only one thing at a time works so well is because you’re able to achieve a state of flow. A state of flow is a term psychologists use to describe a state in which you’re not easily distracted and can work fluidly and calmly. You’ve probably experienced this state of flow at some point in your life. It feels amazing, right? In order to harness that “flow,” you have to focus on only one thing at a time. Rather than forcing your mind to keep stopping and starting, you can drive forward purposefully.
Doing only one thing also means that you can devote more time, resources, and energy to that thing and gain massive improvements within a shorter amount of time. Remember our water pitcher from before. Now that you only have one cup to fill, it fills up pretty quickly, right? And once it’s filled, you can move onto the next cup, then the next, and so on and so forth. Before you know it, you’ve filled up many cups very quickly.
You may have also heard the story of Warren Buffett’s pilot, who asked Buffett the secret to his success. Buffett told the pilot to write down his top 25 goals in life. After writing them down, Buffett told the pilot to circle his top five, and that everything else on the list should be avoided at all costs because those goals will only distract him from ever accomplishing the top five.
Whether the story is true or not, the moral still applies.
If you have 25 goals, it’s unlikely you’ll accomplish all of them. But if you choose your most important 5, you’ll have a greater chance of success. And of course, those other 20 goals could easily get in the way of your progress with the top 5, so it’s actually to your benefit to avoid working on them.
This is the power of doing only one thing at a time: it makes your chance of success much greater, and you’ll get to enjoy that success sooner.
However, it’s important not to get sucked too far down the rabbit hole of doing just one thing at a time.
Keller writes that:
“Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls — family, health, friends, integrity — are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.”
Obviously, things like family, health, friends, and integrity are extremely important aspects of anyone’s life. If we choose to only focus on one thing, these other major facets would crumble and ultimately, we would become miserable.
In other words, you can’t let absolutely everything in your life fall to the wayside in pursuit of your “one thing.” But you should carefully examine each of your pursuits in your life and ask yourself how important they really are.
So, what’s the best way to focus on doing only one thing? Keller recommends creating a “Success List.” He explains it like this:
“Long hours spent checking off a to-do list and ending the day with a full trash can and a clean desk are not virtuous and have nothing to do with success. Instead of a to-do list, you need a success list—a list that is purposefully created around extraordinary results.
To-do lists tend to be long; success lists are short. One pulls you in all directions; the other aims you in a specific direction. One is a disorganized directory and the other is an organized directive. If a list isn’t built around success, then that’s not where it takes you. If your to-do list contains everything, then it’s probably taking you everywhere but where you really want to go.”
A success list is built by finding out what your values really are. You can try the exercise Buffett’s pilot used, or you could just think of what would really constitute success in your mind. This list should be extremely short. Once you have it, it will give you immense clarity when it comes to designing your day, your week, and your life.
By allocating your energy intentionally, you’ll stop getting pulled in a million different directions, and start making progress towards the life you desire.
As Keller writes:
“Achievers operate differently. They have an eye for the essential. They pause just long enough to decide what matters and then allow what matters to drive their day. Achievers do sooner what others plan to do later and defer, perhaps indefinitely, what others do sooner. The difference isn’t in intent, but in right of way. Achievers always work from a clear sense of priority.”
Prioritize your “one thing” and eliminate the rest from your life. The result may just surprise you. And the power of the “one thing” will help you achieve your goals faster than you could have ever expected.
In the past decade or so, you may have heard the term “growth mindset” thrown around a lot. Many podcasters, influencers, self-improvement coaches, etc. talk about how important it is to have a growth mindset and that it’s something we should all be striving for.
But what is a growth mindset? And why does it seem to matter so much? And finally, if it’s so great, how can we actually develop one?
How to Build the Most Powerful Mindset for Success
The term “growth mindset” was first coined by Dr. Carol Dweck, an American psychologist, after studying the behavior of thousands of children. In her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Dr. Dweck actually coined two terms: growth mindset and fixed mindset. These terms help us better understand people’s underlying assumptions about intelligence and their ability to learn.
Essentially, a fixed mindset describes a belief that we are only as intelligent and talented as we are now, and that no amount of hard work can really affect that. Those with fixed mindsets may find themselves feeling embarrassed when they don’t get something right on the first try since they are often worried about how others perceive their intelligence, skills, and abilities.
A growth mindset, on the other hand, describes a belief that we can grow smarter and more skilled with hard work, effort, and time. It’s about believing that you can grow, change, and improve.
Through her studies, Dr. Dweck discovered that students with growth mindsets significantly outperformed children with fixed mindsets. Believing that you have the ability to grow actually has a huge effect on morale and ultimate success.
But why is this?
As it turns out, when you have a growth mindset, you’re more likely to try new things, explore new possibilities, and you’re not afraid to fail or experience setbacks because you know that those are just a part of the process.
Dr. Dweck writes of the growth mindset:
“The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.”
So if a growth mindset helps students become more successful and happier, how can we cultivate a growth mindset in ourselves? Here are a few ways you can start training your brain to think with a growth mindset instead of a fixed one:
Stop worrying about if you’re smart enough, start worrying if you’re working hard enough
As Dr. Dweck explains:
“Genius is not enough; we need to get the job done.”
At the end of the day, does it really matter how intelligent you are if you get the job done? Of course not. The most important thing is whether you put in your best effort.
To cultivate a growth mindset, stop judging your worth based on how smart you perceive yourself to be and start focusing on trying your best, learning along the way, and enjoying the process.
Developing a powerful mindset is crucial for reaching your goals. For a comprehensive approach to cultivating the right mindset and staying motivated, check out our Mindset & Motivation Guide.
Reframe failures as learning opportunities
A hallmark of the growth mindset is a reframing of failures as learning opportunities. People with fixed mindsets often see failures as reflections of their own intelligence or skill, so they end up giving up when confronted with disappointment.
But instead of seeing failure as a negative thing, reframe it as an opportunity to learn something. So it didn’t work, what could you try instead? If this set of actions resulted in failure, how could you change things next time to result in success?
This is a huge part of developing a growth mindset and will keep you headed forward instead of falling behind.
Reframe setbacks as part of the process
Similarly, it’s important to remember that setbacks, failures, frustrations, disappointments, etc. are 100% natural.
How many times did Edison try to make a lightbulb? How many setbacks did Oprah Winfrey face on her journey to fame? How many times have you yourself experienced a setback, but continued on regardless?
A setback or failure is not something to be ashamed of, but embraced. Learn from it, appreciate it, then move on.
Praise effort rather than outcomes
In Dr. Dweck’s book, she writes:
“After seven experiments with hundreds of children, we had some of the clearest findings I’ve ever seen: Praising children’s intelligence harms their motivation and it harms their performance. How can that be? Don’t children love to be praised? Yes, children love praise. And they especially love to be praised for their intelligence and talent. It really does give them a boost, a special glow—but only for the moment. The minute they hit a snag, their confidence goes out the window and their motivation hits rock bottom. If success means they’re smart, then failure means they’re dumb. That’s the fixed mindset.”
Dr. Dweck brilliantly sums up what is so insidious about the fixed mindset: praise itself is not always productive.
Even if you congratulate yourself, you may end up hurting long term. It’s important to remember that praising your intelligence and talent won’t help you grow and learn. Instead, praising hard work and tenacity is a better way to develop the growth mindset and encourage improvement.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions
One trait that people with growth mindsets often exhibit is the ability to ask questions.
Of course, we can all ask questions. But those with growth mindsets are not afraid to appear silly, strange, or unintelligent for asking them.
Rather than worrying about how others will perceive your intelligence when asking a question, focus on trying your best to learn and grow. You obviously can’t be expected to know everything or to do everything on your own. So reach out when you need help. Ask questions when you don’t know. That is where real intelligence is formed.
As Dr. Dweck writes:
“True self-confidence is “the courage to be open—to welcome change and new ideas regardless of their source.” Real self-confidence is not reflected in a title, an expensive suit, a fancy car, or a series of acquisitions. It is reflected in your mindset: your readiness to grow.”
Take on new challenges
People with growth mindsets deeply believe that they can learn and become anything if they apply themselves.
But if you’re currently stuck in a fixed mindset, this might be hard to believe right away.
So in order to start seeing it in action, take on a new challenge. Start with something small and manageable that you know you can do. When you accomplish it, move on to something a bit larger that maybe you’re not so sure you can do.
Over time, you’ll realize that it’s totally possible for you to improve your skills, abilities, and talents. You just need to put in the effort and time.
Final Thoughts…
In her book, Dr. Dweck writes:
“We like to think of our champions and idols as superheroes who were born different from us. We don’t like to think of them as relatively ordinary people who made themselves extraordinary.”
Why don’t we like to think this way? Well, maybe because it means there really is no excuse for us not to be as extraordinary as our champions and idols. Maybe because it means that the only thing holding us back this whole time was ourselves. Maybe because if we accept that our champions and idols are really just ordinary people who worked hard, then in order to become great, we have to work hard too — and maybe that sounds exhausting.
Whatever the reason, once we acknowledge that intelligence, talent, skills, abilities, etc. can be improved upon with effort, an endless array of possibilities opens up to us.
With a growth mindset, suddenly anything is possible. You can get a better job. You can ace your chemistry test. Sure, there will be setbacks, but your abilities will improve.
And perhaps more importantly, failures don’t seem so bleak. Setbacks aren’t a reflection of your self-worth. Frustrations don’t mean it’s time to give up — they just mean it’s time to pivot. And isn’t that just a more exciting, joyful way to live?
So in whatever small ways you can, begin to explore what it feels like to have a growth mindset. You may just be surprised at all the amazing things you accomplish.
Often, when we think about how to become successful we focus on all the things we need to do. We need to work out more, we need to eat better, we need to get this or that project done. We need to do better in school. We need to be more consistent. We need to be more productive.
But sometimes, we end up focusing so much on all the things we need to do, we forget about all the things we need to give up. Over time, we develop mindsets or habits that hold us back from achieving our goals, and if we never give them up, they keep holding us back, no matter how much we try.
That’s why it’s useful to consider what parts of your life you need to let go, the parts of your life that need to demand less of your focus, so you can have the space to work on your goals and aspirations.
Let’s go over some of the key things you probably need to give up in order to reach your full potential and see the kind of success you know you’re capable of.
In his celebrated book on organization, The Bullet Journal Method, Ryder Carroll describes his personal organization and productivity system: the bullet journal.
Throughout his life, Carroll struggled with keeping track of tasks, often forgetting important information, and feeling overwhelmed by tasks. However, through trial and error (and after trying countless other organization systems), he finally hit upon a way to, as he puts it,
“Track the past, order the present, and design the future.”
The dishes have piled up. Your work lays unfinished in a pile on your desk. You haven’t been to the gym in days or even weeks. You spend your time watching tv, or TikTok, or playing video games all day. Somehow, you’ve managed to wake up on the wrong side of the bed every morning. You lack energy, motivation. You can’t even remember why you used to be so productive in the first place.
What’s worse, the thought of picking yourself up by the bootstraps and getting back on top of things fills you with dread. You don’t want to clean your room. Lying on the couch all day is a much more enjoyable pastime. Catching up on work sounds like a huge burden. And the further you slide into this rut, the harder it is to come back out of it.
The Science Behind Why Your Study Methods Aren’t Working (and what to do instead!)
In the first semester of my freshman year of college, I had to take a math class to fulfill my major’s requirements. My advisor enrolled me in a 300 level statistics course, which ended up being much harder than I anticipated. It had been a few years since I had even taken a math class, and I hadn’t ever taken a stats class before.
That whole semester was a slog, and I got some of the worst grades on quizzes and homework I’d ever gotten. As the end of the semester loomed, I realized I would have to pull off a miracle in the final exam in order to pass and keep up my GPA.
Have you ever been given an assignment for an essay that’s due in a month, but waited until the last few days to write it? Or maybe you’ve had to give a work presentation at the end of the week, but put everything together an hour before you had to give it? Or maybe you’ve set a big goal for yourself to get completed in five years, but don’t seem to be making any progress?
If you’ve ever experienced this kind of procrastination, you’ve experienced Parkinson’s Law.
Parkinson’s Law is a theory developed by Cyril Northcote Parkinson in an essay published in The Economist in 1955. Cyril wrote his essay after spending a lot of time in the British Civil Service where he noticed tasks took up as much time as they were allotted.
Have you ever had a goal that no matter how hard you worked or how many hours you dedicated or how many affirmations you chanted, just didn’t seem to make any progress? Despite all your best effort, it felt like you were running on a treadmill — working hard but not going anywhere.
When I decided to take my career to the next level and become a freelancer, I encountered this problem. Even though I was putting in countless hours every week, I just wasn’t getting any clients. At the time, I didn’t even know the first thing about business or marketing or how to sell my services. The only thing I actually knew how to do was the service I was trying to get clients for.
There’s probably nothing more frustrating than knowing an exam is on the horizon, knowing you need to study for it, and completely lacking any motivation to actually sit down and get started.
Studying is one of those things that’s easy to lose motivation for. It can seem overwhelming, impossible, and never-ending. “Studying” as an idea is so amorphous it easily causes panic, fear, and even total shut down.
But regaining motivation for studying isn’t impossible. And there are several ways to make sure your studying is stress-free, structured, manageable, and even fun. Let’s break some of them down:
