For would-be entrepreneurs, solid self-discipline provides the same benefit. Honing your self-discipline means managing your time and tasks effectively, setting clear objectives and holding yourself accountable, and maintaining a steady trajectory to startup. With these skills developed into habits, you will be more productive, more efficient, and far more likely to succeed. Sure, there will be times when you feel extra-motivated and speed through, other times when you encounter obstacles or frustrations and slow down a bit. But, a strong dose of self-discipline will even out those anomalies and keep you on the right track.
For some, self-discipline comes naturally. There are ten-year-olds who have the internal drive to consistently and methodically work toward their goals. For most of us, self-discipline must be developed, honed, and forced into habit. It’s not always easy – just ask 90% of those who adopted tough New Year’s resolutions – but it’s always rewarding. Entrepreneurship demands discipline. There are just too many details that can slip through the cracks, too many opportunities that can be missed, without the steady efforts that self-discipline drives.
The first step to developing your self-discipline skills is to assess where you are now. Look at the areas where self-discipline is effective in your life – Do you exercise regularly? Get to work on time every day? – and where it’s not – Do you put off important tasks? Forget about commitments? Once you acknowledge where you are now, it will be much easier to decide what to work on.
There are a few self-discipline basics that can make the startup process much easier. First, set a schedule. Use a planner to schedule out your days. If you just never seem to have enough hours in the day, try writing down what you actually do for several days — every minute. Then evaluate how you are spending your time. Very often, people find that they waste a significant amount of time each day doing things that do not get them where they want to be. Look for these red flags and evaluate your options for making your schedule reflect your actual priorities.
Once your time is under control, work on task management. Most necessary tasks can be grouped into logical, more efficient groups. By planning ahead, you can save time, money and effort. For example, if you find yourself running to one store or another several times per week, developing a comprehensive shopping list and getting it all one at once saves time and aggravation. Take a few minutes each morning or night to put together your to-do list for the day. Keep it to ten items or less and reward yourself for completing the tasks. Break big jobs into smaller bites and include one piece on your task list each day. It may seem to take longer to finish, but the odds are you weren’t going to even get it started otherwise.
The most critical time for any startup is the pre-launch planning. Many would-be entrepreneurs find themselves stuck in this stage for months or even years because they lack the self-discipline to stay on track. Work on your time and task management skills, set your priorities, and develop the discipline to see them through. Set your cruise control to work through developing your business idea and it will all be downhill from there!
About the Author- K. MacKillop, a serial entrepreneur with a J.D. from Duke University, is founder of LaunchX and blogs about starting a business. The LaunchX System is a complete business startup kit that will help you develop your idea into a successful business by providing a roadmap and the tools to maintain your self-discipline through the process. Visit LaunchX.com to see how we can help you start a business.
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