10 Minute Micro Habits for Online Entrepreneurs
As an entrepreneur who is working in a solo situation, the most precious commodity you have is that of time. Many men and women who work for themselves find it difficult to achieve all of their goals and cross off items on their task list simply because they feel overwhelmed and disorganized.
Instead of trying to overhaul your entire life in one go, it’s often better to integrate a series of micro habits that can gradually improve your systems as a whole and move you further toward achieving the success you have always dreamed of.
There are many different types of habits people need to embrace, and those needs will vary from person to person. For example, one person may suffer from extreme distractions while another is able to fully focus, yet they struggle with disorganization or lower levels of energy.
By learning how to apply micro habits to whatever area of your personal and professional life needs changing, you will be building momentum and seeing consistent improvements over time.
You may think you need to devote hours each day to changing one thing in particular. But even 10 minutes of focus on one area can have a major impact over the course of many weeks.
Have 10 Minute Morning Routine
Many online entrepreneurs are sluggish when it comes to getting started in the morning. After all, there s no boss to answer to, no commute or traffic to fight. You just leisurely wake up and browse the Internet before gradually getting coffee in your pajamas and sitting down to work when you feel like it.
While this may indeed feel like a perk to being your own boss, for many people, it can be an inhibiting factor to their ultimate success. Instead of starting your day off with energy and momentum, you are easing into it slowly and without enthusiasm.
One thing you can do is give yourself 10 minutes to get yourself ready for your work day. This may include putting on comfortable clothes, brushing your teeth and hair, getting coffee, and sitting down to map out your day.
With the previous routine, you may have woken up at 7:00 AM, but not made it to your desk until 8:30. When you wake up and get a fresh start to your day, you still don’t have to rush, but you are allowing yourself an adequate amount of time to begin the work process.
If you have no problem with this particular process, then your morning routine might be just the work part. For example, after you sit down at your desk, you can spend 10 minutes getting your day organized and checking in on things so that you will hit the ground running when it’s time to bring out your to do list.
You might sit down and open up your email account so that you can reply to any pressing emails. You might open up your bank account and balance your business check register.
Depending on what business model you are following, you may want to check in on your ads or social media statistics quickly before you get started with the rest of your work task list.
Just 10 Minutes Can Recharge Your Energy Levels
Whether it’s at the beginning of the day, the middle, or the end, there will be times as a solo entrepreneur when you just need to recharge your batteries and get a boost of energy.
If you are a work at home parent, on top of being a solo entrepreneur, then you will have even more moments when you need to find that surge of energy to handle both your work and home life.
Whenever you start to feel like your energy is waning, you want to take a few moments, even 10 minutes at a time, and give your body and mind the relaxation it needs to reset. This can be done in many different ways.
Some people take a 10 minute refresher nap. Other people may want to engage in guided meditation. For some, getting out of their seat and doing some exercise can provide a boost of energy.
Practice different things to know what can help you shake off the lethargy that is plaguing you and reenergize your mind and body so that you can continue to work toward your goals.
Spend 10 Minutes Furthering Your Knowledge
As a niche leader online, it will be your responsibility to guide your subscribers and followers with good information. In order to do that, you have to consistently conduct research in your niche.
You can spend 10 minutes a day increasing your knowledge as an expert by reading as little as one page of a book, flipping through a trade or consumer magazine, watching a simple 10 minute YouTube video, etc.
There are also things that you will need to know for your business that are not necessarily conveyed to your target audience. For example, there may be times when you buy a tool, such as a page builder, and the learning process requires you to devote a certain amount of time.
Instead of stressing yourself out and trying to do it all in one day, give yourself just 10 minutes at a time to apply to the process. You will consistently make progress toward your goal of being able to use your new tool and it won’t detract from the rest of your to do list.
Create Content for 10 Minutes at a Time
Content creation is a huge part of all online entrepreneurial business models. Whether you are operating as a digital info product vendor, an affiliate marketer, a PLR creator, or something else, you will need to create text, audio, image, and video content.
Some people get overwhelmed at the thought of sitting down for hours at a time to churn out relevant content for their site and social media accounts. You don’t have to do it all at once.
In fact, many people work better when they divvy their content creation up into 10 minute increments here and there. Instead of having to focus for 60 minutes at a time, you have a shorter period of time to gather your thoughts and convey them.
Of course, depending on how much content you need and how fast you can create it, you can duplicate your 10 minute content creation micro habit if you need to throughout the day. But that may depend on your niche and business model as well.
Set Aside 10 Minutes for Networking with Others
Another thing you will need to do as an online entrepreneur is network with others in an effort to help grow your business. There are three main types of people you will be networking with.
The first are your customers. You want to be able to build a rapport with the men and women who are following you as their niche expert. The networking you do here may be in the comments on your blog, in direct emails, or on social media comments.
You don’t have to spend all day interacting with people. Just 10 minutes here and there will do the job just fine. Another type of person you need to network with are colleagues who are also online entrepreneurs.
These are the people who will be your friends and acquaintances, who can answer questions whenever you have any about your business, tools, courses, strategies, etc. They say that no man is an island, and this is especially true when you’re working for yourself in a new type of career.
Another type of individual you will want to network with are affiliates. If you have products of your own, you will want to spend some time recruiting and catering to the needs of your affiliates to get them onboard for future launches.
It doesn’t take much time to reach out to someone in a private message and share a link to your joint venture page, write a brief one paragraph explanation about the product, and let them know why it may be a good fit for their list.
Organize Your Workspace for 10 Minutes Every Day
As a work at home man or woman, you may find yourself struggling with the right way to separate your workspace from the rest of your home. Not everyone has a separate office where they conduct business.
Some people have a small space set up in the living room, some work from their couch and coffee table, and some just carry their laptop around and work from wherever they happen to sit, whether it’s on their bed or at the kitchen table, or even on the porch.
While some solo entrepreneurs may have everything they need online in their laptop, others have things like a pad of paper and pen, notebooks, printed papers, books, and more.
If you are working in a space that is frequently cluttered and disorganized, it will help you strategically and mentally if you spend 10 minutes a day clearing up the clutter so that you are working in a clean environment.
Sometimes, people who work from home tend to eat and drink at their desk. Your children may wander over to your desk and leave a toy or two behind. You need a few minutes each day to remove what doesn’t belong in your workspace so that your focus is not interrupted whenever you sit down to do your job.
Give Yourself 10 Minutes of Freestyle Brainstorming
It’s important that not everything you do in business is structured. As an online entrepreneur, you are already showing signs of being creative in your endeavors. Therefore, you need a certain amount of time to free your mind and let it explore the possibilities ahead of you.
For example, you can set a timer for 10 minutes and allow yourself to freely brainstorm info product ideas, business models, niche slants, and more. During this time, you can use tools such as a mind map, or even a simple pad of paper and a pen that you can doodle on as you explore ideas.
You can make lists, brainstorm titles, consider what a hybrid business model or niche would look like, and more. When you engage in focused, freestyle brainstorming, make sure you are not spending that time analyzing your thoughts, but instead simply getting them down on paper.
Carve Out 10 Minutes Daily for Planning and Prioritizing
Whether it’s at the beginning of the day or the end, you’ll need to carve out 10 minutes a day for you to plan your business. You may be planning the next day’s tasks, a new business model, or an entire year s worth of projects.
Once you have an overview of your plans in place, make sure you take the time to prioritize them as well. If you need an additional 10 minutes to do this, take it. But you may also be able to do both the planning and prioritizing all at once.
The planning and prioritization process can take place on pen and paper or digitally. You just need to have a way to track what the next steps are for your goals so that you don’t veer off in another direction.
Use 10 Minutes Every Day to Handle Menial Admin Tasks
There are many tasks you’ll have as an online entrepreneur that may not seem as if they help your business grow. However, these are things that are necessary and tedious.
For example, you may need to go into each of your online blogs and update the plugins. This can help with security for your website and ensures that the end user s experience will be one that is flawless.
It doesn’t take much time to ensure the proper running of your site. You can tackle things like making sure there are no broken links, and other tasks that aren t urgent, but which need to be done at some point.
Allow 10 Minutes for You to Take Decisive Measures
The decision making process is one that paralyzes many online entrepreneurs. You can get lost in a number of hours sitting there feeling conflicted with your choices. You may second guess the niche you have chosen, the business model you want to pursue, and other strategies you are considering.
Instead of allowing yourself to feel consumed by the decision making process, set a strict amount of time for it instead. For example, when you have narrowed down your business models or niches to the final two options, give yourself 10 minutes to weigh your choices before making a decision.
The same can be said for all of the different decisions you are making as an entrepreneur – from which font you will use on your header to the color pattern of your sales page – you should never let yourself sit with indecision for too long.