David A. Fields Consulting Group You know that adopting a few, personal, morning habits can dramatically improve your life.
Gifting your significant other with a hug before you spring out of bed creates a connection that can last throughout the day, even if you’re sequestered in your office for 10+ hours.
Eating a healthy breakfast equips your body (and brain) with the essential fuel you’ll need to steam through an energetic and productive day.*
A thirty-minute aerobic workout at the start of the day lowers cholesterol and staves off obesity-related ailments.
Similarly, improving your morning routine will yield major dividends for your consulting practice.
Below are four, start-the-day-habits you can model as a consulting firm leader to enhance the well-being of your practice.
4 Habits that Support Your Consulting Firm’s Health
1. Exercise
This one’s a “cheat” because the same habit that improves your personal life also enhances your consulting firm’s performance.
The research is clear: aerobic activity increases your mental acuity in the short term and long term. Morning exercise energizes you and heightens your intelligence. And since your consulting firm is in the smarts business, incorporating this brain-boosting habit is a must.
2. Get Your Head Straight
If you’re down in the dumps, discouraged, devoid of passion or unconvinced that the day ahead will leave your consulting firm better off than yesterday, you’re unlikely to make much progress. Exemplars of success from Benjamin Franklin to Steve Jobs started their days with a mindset check-up.
Franklin asked each morning, “What good shall I do today?” and Jobs’ self-query was, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?”*
Develop a morning, mental audit that works for you and take the opportunity to adjust your attitude right away if it’s askew.
3. Write
Your ability to generate awareness for your consulting firm and to capture clients is directly related to your verbal acumen. The two best ways to sharpen your communication skills are platform speaking and writing.
Writing, in particular, forces you to translate fuzzy into concrete, compelling language that is easily grasped by others.
You can outsource copywriting, article writing, book writing and skywriting; however, you’ll benefit enormously from writing yourself at least 15-minutes every day. Use that time to pen a blog, an article, a white paper, a book, a speech, a pithy reply to this article or some other communication.
4. Tackle Your #1 Priority
As Mark Twain sagely advised: get big work done early.
Each evening, identify the most important priority you can tackle the next day to support your consulting firm’s progress. When the new day starts, you’ll know exactly where to direct your energy.
Accomplish that #1 priority before you look at email or anything else. Then, no matter where you focus your remaining work hours, you’ll know you’ve had a successful day and moved your consulting firm forward.
What other morning habits do you use to jump-start your business day?
Text and images are © 2024 David A. Fields, all rights reserved.
Solid advice! Thank you.
You’re welcome, Del, and thank you for the feedback!
Good stuff!
That’s powerful feedback coming from a savvy consultant like you, Doc. Thanks!
Great “fore starter” for your day
“Fire Starter”
I liked “Fore starter” as well.
Doing a review of the most important task the night before is like a Foreword to a book.
Many days, I try to write a Gratitude List, of at three items. Harvard research has shown that people who practice this concept tend to be more positive. Prospects and clients FEEL that positivity when you call or are in person.
Great idea, Tom. A positive outlook also leads to higher productivity, more creativity, better collaboration and a host of other benefits–personal and professional.
Thanks for adding your terrific tip.
Fire starter and fore starter are both good! I glad you posted your reaction.
All of those are sound advice.
My first action:
Check my financials quickly.
Read material from competitors, industry, and business.
Love that, John. You make sure you’re solvent, breathe a sigh of relief, then check out the rest of the world. Seems like a good way to get moving!
Thanks for contributing your routine–I think other readers may adopt it too.
Excellent advice
I’m glad you appreciated the article and took a moment to comment, Peter.