1. Improve Structure, Routine, & Discipline

The foundation of personal mastery is Structure, Routine, and Discipline (SRD).

Beginning with your habits.

Most people go wrong trying to build new habits by not realizing a few days per week is not enough.

Remember, you’re trying to make this new habit automatic.

If I was building a new habit of a workout routine…

I would schedule it on my calendar every day at the same time 7 days per week.

Then, even if I was taking a day off from intense workouts…

I would still put on my workout clothes, go to the gym (or wherever I would normally work out), and just do something light.

The point is to engrain behavior by repeating it at the same time, in a similar manner, EVERY DAY.

Another thing I encourage is the “Diet Uniform.”

Meaning I eat the same thing daily for breakfast and lunch, with some variation for dinners.

My good friend and business partner, Bedros Keuilian, does this too.

It saves time… you never have to think about food and always know what to eat.

(It’s the nutritional equivalent of Steve Jobs’ “famous black turtleneck”.)

PLUS… this helps eliminate mistakes and unhealthy snacking (keeping both me and Bedros lean and mean in our 40’s).

Now… do try to be smart about this…

I don’t recommend a Big Mac every meal (yes, there is a guy out there who does this → 50,000+ Big Macs and counting).

But always be searching for the right breakfast and lunch to keep you focused all day long… and then don’t deviate.

Next…

Control your environment.

Control what’s around you and eliminate distractions.

An easy example you can do for this:

Next time you’re sitting at your desk, stretch your arms out to full length…

… and look at all the different things within your reach.

ALL of those are potential distractions.

Get the phone off the desk (even better if it’s in another room)…

… put away the snacks when it's not snack time… and get rid of any work that’s not your current focus.

Another part of controlling your environment is avoiding toxicity.

This involves managing your inputs…

Whether it’s your social circle, Facebook groups, or what you choose to follow for news or entertainment…

If there’s negativity bringing you down…

Remove that toxic waste.

Finally, the common element of all successful people…

Planning and Preparation

For example, things like meal prep save you time and save your health (like I hinted at a minute ago).

When all your meals are ready to go for the week, it’s hard to go wrong.

Likewise…

- planning a productive week - being well prepared for a business meeting - or planning a sales presentation…

All are virtually guaranteed to bring you better results.

And THAT is how you get ahead.

From : Craig Ballantyne earlytorise.com

Note: This is Part 1 in a mini-series on some of the core strategies I’ve been using for years to overcome my anxiety and take control of every area of my life.