Progress is such a positive word.
After all, we all want to move forward in life, achieve more, double our results, perform better and feel good about it.
And all that is a result of developing super successful habits and staying consistent.
Because progress is a process, a never-ending journey that shows you better sides of life every step of the way.
Improving means getting 1% better every day, and never looking forward to the day when you’ll be the best in everything, but enjoying the process in the present moment, knowing it’s a lifelong experience.
And if you want to get optimum results and make things a little faster, here’s what progress fanatics tend to do (not just daily, but constantly):
What to Do to Make Progress All The Time
1. Always look for chances to grow and learn.
Every single thing that happens in your life, no matter how small or negative, can be a priceless lesson, an experience that will make you stronger.
Even hearing what others around you are talking about can give you an idea. You can learn a fact from a single random sentence you’ve heard from strangers on the street but it can turn out to be the foundation of your new business.
That’s how important this is.
But, of course, you’ll have to open your eyes for the lessons around you. You need to be always on the grow, to notice details, let people share stuff with you, welcome opportunities and act when the right time comes.
2. Always ask yourself what can be improved.
Even if you become successful, make enough money doing what you love, are in a great relationship, or else, enjoy it but also see what can be optimized, try to make things even better, and most importantly – eliminate what’s unnecessary.
That means you may have built 10 great habits that have changed you as a person and your whole life. But you may also have one or two bad ones, that only you know about, but which are slowing your down, are making you feel bad about yourself.
In this case, don’t leave the self-improvement process behind, but work on them.
3. Always keep your goals in mind and take decisions based on them.
Losing weight is basically being offered chocolate, but saying ‘no’ because you immediately think about what you want to look like in the future and that you’ll have to push harder in the gym later.
It means choosing long-term success over instant gratification.
In the beginning, it will be harder than you imagine, and it won’t work every time.
But soon it will become your second nature. And you’ll start avoiding any unnecessary calories, knowing that 30 seconds of pleasure will only hurt you later.
That’s just one simple example, but it can apply to anything.
4. Track progress.
Not only should you write down the stuff you’ve achieved every now and then, but you actually need to list everything you do in the area of life you want to improve.
A good example is a writer I interviewed some time ago, who by the way describes himself as a progress fanatic.
He’s got an online journal where he’s been writing daily for the past 2 years.
There he describes in details how much words he’s written about each book he’s working on, what else he has done connected to publishing on Amazon, emailing readers, editing, proofreading, connecting with people in the niche, etc.
He also tracks his sleep, his morning routine, how many of his other habits he’s managed to do during the day, plus some family commitments and financial stuff.
And all these are exactly the things he wants to achieve in life, to get better at or to keep doing. That’s why he sets aside a minute or two a few times per day to list down what he did that will help him move forward.
And he’s been doing it every single day for 2 years. (It’s no wonder that he just published a book on persistence.)
What I’m keeping a record of right now is my food intake, blogging activities and words written per day. As these are the things I’m focusing on.
I’ll be adding more as I find myself being more productive when I know I’ll be writing it down. It really works.
5. Multitasking.
I’m all about single-tasking, don’t get me wrong. Concentrating all your attention on one activity is a productivity technique that’s proven to give great results.
But we’re talking about being fanatic here.
Which means wanting to get better so bad that we get obsessed with personal development.
And that’s not bad. It’s just how some people handle this.
So in that case, you’ll have to do two or more things at the same time whenever you can.
And it doesn’t need to be hard or overwhelming.
Here are some examples:
• listen to motivational podcasts or audio books when jogging or in the gym;
• going through your to-do list for the day when going to a meeting;
• repeating your mission statement while brushing your teeth (another crazy but powerful habit of Michal – the writer I just mentioned);
• reading while eating;
• writing/reading while waiting for an appointment.
You get the point.
Basically you can do some of these whenever your mind is not busy and can double your results.
***
These are the 5 most common habits of progress fanatics.
Can you think of another one? And are any of these something you’d try?