Recognise the habits holding you back from success

The writer lists some of the common mistakes we fall into

As an entrepreneur, your skills are best utilised when you focus on certain aspects of the business you excel at and delegate someone to work on the mundane or time-consuming stasks.  Oli Scarff/Getty

I admit that I had a bad habit of getting caught up with my phone when I was working in the office. Because my work in the creative field involves social media, I would always be on my phone replying to clients or researching influencers. Sometimes in the middle of work, I would find myself unintentionally reaching for my phone and going through my social media feed. 

At first, I thought it was merely a one-time distraction, but it actually became a habit, and I would sometimes do that when I am in the middle of writing a column or drafting a plan. Once I became conscious of it, I put away my phone. This enabled me to finish my tasks faster, and go through my social media feed uninterrupted.

Now, this may not seem like a drastic problem. I may have wasted just a few minutes here and there and it may not be as bad as some would argue. 

Many of us may be going about our day unintentionally falling into habits that are holding us back from success. 

Have you ever thought about that? How many times have you assessed your habits to see if there is any room for improvement? 

Maybe we don’t have time for that. But it is important to dedicate some time for personal evaluation because some habits may be
stopping you from reaching your ultimate potential.

I can help recognise some of the common bad habits.

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You are not delegating 

Are you one of those people who likes to be involved in every side of your business? There's nothing wrong with such involvement, especially at the early stage of your business when you are short-staffed, or when you are working solo. As an entrepreneur, your skills are best utilised when you focus on certain aspects of the business you excel at and delegate someone to work on the mundane or time-consuming tasks. You can delegate tasks to a team member, an intern, or a  freelancer. Now that my company has grown and I delegate different tasks to my team, I find that my performance has improved, and I am focused on important tasks that require my full attention such as strategising and business development.

You are a procrastinator

A client of mine found herself procrastinating a lot because she was a perfectionist. She kept delaying working on a task because she wanted to execute it when she was in a perfect mood, in a perfect setting, with certain perfect circumstances. What do you think happened to her? She found herself approaching a deadline in a panic and had to rush through work. Once she acknowledged the problem, we were able to teach her time management tactics that helped her complete her work and avoid falling into a similar situation again.

You focus on your setbacks

You may dwell on a loss of a contract or feel hurt from a negative feedback your product has received. But setbacks and defeats are part of the process. There will always be someone who does not like your product. There will always be a goal that you will be unable  to attain, so wiring your brain to expect this failure will help you from wasting too much time dwelling on the past when you can be directing your energy towards something more useful.

You lack time management

The best thing I did for my business was to set up tasks for my work day in advance and have a time management routine. When I am done with my daily work, I jot down what I need to do for the next day. It helps keep me focused, and ensures that I do not forget to reply to an email or get back to a client. It keeps me on track, ensures that I dedicate my early morning hours to tasks that require my full attention, and leaves the admin tasks for later.

Overcoming one or more of these common habits will help you become more productive and set you on the road to success.

Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer, who manages her creative consultancy in Abu Dhabi